If you love the flavors of traditional lasagna but want a new take on it, then this Dutch oven lasagna soup is the perfect alternative. It’s a hearty and delicious way to fill up on a cold winter’s night (or any night for that matter)!

A bowl of dutch oven lasagna soup — This Dutch oven lasagna soup is the perfect way to enjoy lasagna, but without all the fuss!

But unlike some lasagna soup recipes you find online, this one is super simple with basic ingredients that you likely have on hand in your pantry. No special cheeses or multiple different types of meat required. Yet it still has all of the flavors to make your mouth happy!

While traditional lasagna usually uses ground beef, this recipe uses Italian sausage. The sausage adds wonderful spice and flavor to the dish that takes this soup over the top. We have tried making the soup with regular ground beef, and it just wasn’t nearly as good or flavorful.

The best thing about making homemade soup like this is that you can adapt it to your family’s tastes and preferences. Even my husband, who doesn’t like lasagna because of the large pieces of noodles, enjoys this soup. You can add as many or as few noodles as you want, as well as adjust the amount of liquid.

Since this is a Dutch oven recipe, you do all of the cooking right in the same pot. That makes cleanup quick and easy. The fewer dishes, the better (at least in my house)!

Using A Dutch Oven

A Dutch oven is one of those pieces of kitchen equipment that you can use in so many different ways. From baking sourdough boules to braising large chunks of meat, Dutch ovens are a great multipurpose tool.

They are great for cooking items low and slow and can be used both on the stovetop as well as in an oven. And they are perfect for making this rich, flavorful lasagna soup! The best part of all is that it’s a one-pot meal that can be used for the entire cooking process. Some are a bit of an investment, but they will quickly pay for themselves with all their great uses.

A blue enamel coated cast iron dutch oven. — This is the Dutch oven I use. It is an enamel-coated cast iron from Lodge and can hold a ton of food! The entire recipe can be cooked all in this one pot.

The Dutch oven I have is enamel-coated cast iron. It doesn’t require seasoning or extra prep to use bare raw cast iron would need. While I love my cast iron pieces, it’s nice to have something that you can just pull out and use right away, and that’s what having the enamel coating does. (This is the Dutch oven I have and absolutely love – Product Link: 6 qt Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven With Lid.)

How To Make Dutch Oven Lasagna Soup

*Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the full recipe, including exact measurements and amounts. You can also print out the instructions. I go into a bit more detail about the recipe here first, just in case you need it.

Ingredients

Olive Oil – This is for cooking the sausage and onion. You can substitute olive oil for your favorite oil product, but we prefer the flavor that olive oil adds.
Ground Sausage – We like to use Italian sausage for the lasagna soup recipe, but you can use any kind that you like. The Italian sausage just gives the dish a delicious flavor profile.
Onion – Any type of onion can be used, but I typically prefer using white onion for this recipe.
Minced garlic – We use our homegrown garlic, but using pre-minced onion works just as well and is my go-to when I am out of homegrown garlic.
Chicken broth – You can use more for this recipe. Sometimes I add an additional 12 ounces if I want the soup to have a bit more liquid.
Tomato sauce – I try to use the canned tomato sauce that I make during the summer months. It gives the lasagna soup a nice, fresh flavor profile that store-bought tomato sauces sometimes lack.
Diced tomatoes – I just dump in one pint of canned diced tomatoes from our garden – juice and all.
Salt and pepper to taste – You add the salt and pepper later in the cooking process and adjust to taste. The amount you use will vary depending on whether you use low-sodium chicken broth and how salty your sausage is.
Shredded mozzarella cheese – Any shredded mozzarella cheese works. Shredding your own is always better since it tends to meld with the soup ingredients better, but we’ve used pre-shredded cheese plenty of times successfully.
Dried basil

Raw ground sausage and onions ready to be cooked. — Cooking all of the ingredients in the same pot makes cleanup a breeze!

Instructions For Dutch Oven Lasagna Soup

Start by heating the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can simply use a skillet for this part of the process. While the oil is heating, dice up your onion into smaller pieces. Add the onion and the sausage to the hot oil and start to cook.

Break apart the sausage as it browns and stir frequently. Once the onions have softened and the sausage is browned, add the minced garlic. Cook for about a minute or so, or until the garlic is fragrant. Don’t add the garlic too early since garlic can quickly burn.

If there is excess grease in the stock pot, remove it before adding any additional ingredients. If using a skillet, move the ground sausage, onions, and garlic to a stockpot.

Next, add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Mix well to combine everything together. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will allow the flavors of all the ingredients to start to really come together.

My hand showing the broken pieces of lasagna noodles and their size before adding to the mixture. — This is the size of noodle pieces we prefer. It’s about half the width of a traditional noodle and about the same size in height. Whatever size you prefer works just fine.

Adding The Noodles

Meanwhile, break apart the noodles into small pieces. I try to get them all around 1 to 2 inches, but there are always pieces that break off smaller. Even the small pieces can be added to the soup. If your family prefers smaller bite-sized pieces, then break them up smaller. There is no right or wrong to this part. The only thing I would suggest is not to use oven-ready noodles for this recipe.

After the 20 minutes are up, add the broken noodles to the Dutch oven. Mix them in and make sure they are completely covered in the liquid. Add additional chicken broth if needed.

Bring the contents back to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer until the noodles are tender. This usually takes around 10 minutes or so, but this might vary depending on the size of your noodles.

Turn off the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. The amount you use will vary depending on your taste buds and how salty your other ingredients are.

A big pot of soup — After cooking the noodles, the sauce should thicken up a bit.

Then, add in the shredded cheese. I never really measure this part, but it’s probably around half a cup or so. Mix the cheese in well until it starts to melt. Lastly, sprinkle in the dried basil right before serving.

We like to serve Dutch oven lasagna soup with a side salad and breadsticks or garlic bread. The soup keeps well in the fridge and is almost better the next day. (Aren’t most soups and stews though?!)

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea

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