Ingredients
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- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1.5 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
- 1/2 cup uncooked split red lentils
- 2 (28 oz.) cans fire roasted crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar, optional
- 8 uncooked lasagna noodles, broken into bite sized pieces
- 2-3 cups chopped fresh baby spinach, optional
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- fresh chopped parsley for garnish
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onion along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently for 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium, add garlic, Italian seasoning, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Sauté for another minute.
- Add tomato paste to the pot and stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the tomato paste turns brick red.
- Deglaze the pot with a splash of veggie broth.
- Add pesto, lentils, crushed tomatoes, and remaining vegetable broth, (and sugar, if using) along with a couple large pinches of salt and pepper.
- Turn heat up to medium-high, and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally as it comes to a simmer so that the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Stir in uncooked lasagna. Then reduce heat to low or medium-low and gently simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked al dente. Stir occasionally while it’s simmering so that the noodles and lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from heat and stir in spinach until it wilts. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Top the soup (or individual bowls) with Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and a dollop of ricotta. Put the lid back on the soup for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
Notes
- Can’t find crushed tomatoes? No problem. You can use tomato puree, canned tomato sauce, or jarred spaghetti sauce instead – the soup will just have a smoother consistency. Alternately, you can get a can of whole, peeled tomatoes and crush them yourself for a more chunky tomato texture in your soup!
- You can use whatever kind of pasta you have on hand for this creamy vegetarian lasagna soup. I like to use broken lasagna noodles, but bowties (or farfalle) penne, rotini, rigatoni, or even macaroni would work well in this recipe!
- Any sturdy green will work. You can easily swap out the spinach for another sturdy green like chopped kale. I sometimes like to use Swiss chard, mustard greens, or collard greens. I have even used arugula in a pinch, which added a little bit of a peppery flavor! Use whatever you’ve got in the fridge. And because it’s going to wilt anyway, you can use greens that are slightly past their prime!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Italian/American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 3.9 g
- Sodium: 468.4 mg
- Fat: 12.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.2 g
- Fiber: 4.5 g
- Protein: 12.6 g
- Cholesterol: 16.5 mg
