Paula Deen lasagna soup tastes like a cozy lasagna you can eat with a spoon: rich tomato broth, plenty of sausage and beef, tender noodles, and that big cloud of ricotta and mozzarella on top that melts into the bowl. It lands squarely in the comfort-food lane, but it still eats like a real dinner, not just a novelty soup.
The trick here is building a deeply savory base before the broth goes in. Browning the sausage and beef together gives you fat and flavor, and the butter rounds everything out without making the soup greasy. Tomato paste gets cooked long enough to lose its raw edge, then the noodles simmer right in the pot so they pick up the seasoning instead of tasting like an afterthought.
Below, I’ve included the one timing detail that keeps the noodles from going mushy, plus a few smart swaps if you want to adjust the richness or stretch the soup a little further.
The noodles stayed tender without falling apart, and the ricotta topping melted into the broth just enough to make every bowl taste like lasagna. My husband went back for seconds and asked if I could make it again next week.
Save this Paula Deen lasagna soup for a night when you want all the comfort of lasagna with half the layering and a lot more spoonable broth.
The Secret to Soup That Tastes Like Lasagna, Not Marinara With Noodles
The difference between good lasagna soup and flat tomato soup is the order you build it in. If the meat doesn’t brown first, the broth tastes thin. If the tomato paste doesn’t cook for a minute or two, it reads sharp and tinny. And if the noodles sit in the pot too long, they turn soft fast and start stealing the body from the broth.
This version avoids all three problems. The butter and meat create a savory base, the onion softens in the rendered drippings, and the tomato paste gets a chance to darken just enough to taste sweet and concentrated. The noodles go in near the end, which keeps them tender without collapsing into mush.
- Italian sausage — This brings seasoning and fat at the same time, so the broth tastes layered instead of just beefy. Mild or hot both work; hot sausage gives the soup a little more edge.
- Ground beef — Beef rounds out the sausage and makes the soup feel like a full dinner. An 80/20 blend gives the best flavor, but you can use leaner beef if you drain well after browning.
- Butter — It sounds indulgent because it is, and it matters here. It softens the tomato base and gives the broth the richer, almost silky finish people expect from a Paula Deen-style dish.
- Ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan — The topping is part of the recipe, not a garnish. Ricotta gives creaminess, mozzarella melts into long strands, and parmesan sharpens the whole bowl so it doesn’t taste bland or one-note.
How to Build the Bowl So the Noodles Stay Tender
- Lasagna noodles — Break them into rough pieces, not tiny shards. Bigger pieces hold their shape better and give you those familiar lasagna bites in the spoon.
- Crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes — The crushed tomatoes create body, while the diced tomatoes keep the soup from turning completely smooth. That mix gives the broth the right texture for a pasta soup.
- Chicken broth — Use a broth you’d actually sip. Since this recipe has only a few moving parts, a watery broth shows up fast in the final flavor.
- Tomato paste — This is the deepening ingredient. Cook it with the onions and garlic for about two minutes so it loses that raw tomato flavor and turns richer and sweeter.
The 20 Minutes That Turn This Into Dinner
Brown the meat first
Start with the sausage and beef in a large pot with the butter and cook until the meat is no longer pink and the edges pick up a little color. That browning is where the savory flavor comes from, so don’t rush it with high heat that scorches the bottom before the meat has time to color. Drain off excess fat if the pot looks greasy, but leave enough behind to carry the onions.
Cook the aromatics and tomato paste
Add the diced onion and cook until it softens and turns translucent, then stir in the garlic and tomato paste. Cook that mixture for about two minutes, stirring often, until the paste darkens a shade and smells sweeter than sharp. If the garlic browns too fast, the heat is too high and the soup will taste bitter instead of rich.
Simmer the broth and noodles
Pour in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, broth, Italian seasoning, and dried basil, then bring everything to a boil before lowering to a steady simmer. Add the broken lasagna noodles and cook just until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don’t stick together. The moment the noodles are done, take the pot off the heat if you’re not serving right away, because they keep softening in hot broth.
Finish with the cheese topping
Season the soup generously with salt and pepper, then mix the ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and basil in a bowl. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each one with a heaping spoonful so it melts into the broth instead of disappearing into the pot. If you stir the cheese straight into the soup, it loses that lasagna-like finish and turns the whole pot heavy.
How to Adapt This for the Way You Cook
Make it a little lighter
Use ground turkey in place of the beef and choose a leaner sausage. You’ll lose some of the deep richness, so keep the butter and cheese topping in place or the soup starts tasting thin.
Gluten-free version
Swap the lasagna noodles for a gluten-free pasta that holds up well in soup, and cook it just to tender. Gluten-free noodles soften faster and can break apart if you let them sit too long in the broth.
Extra-creamy finish
Stir a spoonful of ricotta into each bowl before topping it with the cheese mixture. That gives you a thicker, almost baked-lasagna feel, but it also makes the soup heavier, so keep the broth hot and seasoned.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Store the soup and cheese topping separately for up to 4 days. The noodles will keep absorbing broth, so expect a thicker texture the next day.
- Freezer: Freeze the soup without the noodles if you can. Pasta gets soft and a little crumbly after thawing, so it’s better to cook fresh noodles into the reheated soup.
- Reheating: Warm gently on the stove over medium-low heat with a splash of broth or water until hot. If the soup boils hard, the noodles can split and the dairy topping will lose its creamy texture.
Answers to the Questions Worth Asking
Paula Deen Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Melt the unsalted butter in a large pot over medium-high heat, then brown the Italian sausage and ground beef together until no longer pink.
- Drain the excess fat from the pot.
- Sauté the diced onion in the remaining meat mixture for 4 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and tomato paste, then cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and dried basil, then bring to a boil.
- Add the broken lasagna noodles and simmer for 10–12 minutes, until tender.
- Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix the whole milk ricotta, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh basil together for the cheese topping.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a very large, heaping spoonful of the cheese mixture.
