Cheesy Lasagna Soup

Lasagna in a bowl, chock full of what you love in regular lasagna, with the added 'Florentine' touch of spinach!

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 30 min | Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk sweet (mild) Italian sausage
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes (optional)
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups (32 ounces) chicken stock
• 1 to 2 cups water
• 8 ounces lasagna noodles (not no-boil), broken into 1 to 2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, + additional for serving
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups fresh spinach, packed and roughly chopped
• Salt
• 2 cups (8 ounces) Wisconsin mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 cups (16 ounces) Wisconsin ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) Wisconsin parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Heat Dutch oven or large pot over high heat. Brown sausage for 5 minutes, breaking up as it cooks.
2. Add onions; cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until onions are softened and sausage is cooked through.
3. Add garlic and red chile flakes; cook for 1 minute.
4. Add crushed tomatoes, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon.
5. Add stock, 1 cup water, lasagna noodles, basil and pepper. Bring to boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook at a gentle boil for 10 to 12 minutes, until noodles are cooked through, stirring occasionally to prevent noodles from sticking to pot.
7. Stir in spinach. Add salt to taste. If soup is too thick, add additional 1 cup water. Remove from heat.
8. To serve, divide mozzarella among 6 serving bowls. Ladle soup over cheese. Top with spoonsful of ricotta, parmesan and additional basil.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin