High-Protein Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
This high-protein slow cooker lasagna soup is easy to prep for dinner. It tastes just like lasagna with a creamy sauce, soft noodles, hearty ground meat, and delicious herbs and spices finished off with a sprinkling of two cheeses: mozzarella and parmesan. The soup gets a protein boost with the help of blended cottage cheese, but you can swap for traditional ricotta! Bonus points the slow cooker does the hard work for you melding all the delicious flavors together.
High-protein slow cooker lasagna soup ingredient notes:
Ground beef: Ground beef is our main source of protein here and gets cooked up before heading to the slow cooker in order to drain off the excess fat and liquid. Get as much of it out of the pan before adding it to the slow cooker, even transferring to a paper towel lined plate or bowl makes it easier. You can swap for ground chicken, turkey, pork, or sausage.
Lasagna noodles: Obviously we need lasagna noodles for a lasagna soup! To keep them from getting too mushy, these are added to the pot after the slow cooking time. The noodles are broken into 2-inch pieces so each bowl gets a hearty serving.
Marinara sauce: Another classic lasagna ingredient! A whole jar of marinara sauce cooks up with the other slow cooker components. This low and slow method allows all the flavors to come together. Any plain marinara sauce will do here, or you can swap for crushed or diced tomatoes.
Cottage cheese: Cottage cheese gets blended into a creamy sauce-like consistency and added at the end of the cooking process. It’s important to cool down the soup for at least 10 minutes prior to adding the blended cheese to minimize curdling. If cottage cheese isn’t your thing, swap for part-skin or whole-milk ricotta (you will not have the same issue with curdling!).
High-protein slow cooker lasagna soup
6
servings20
minutes4+
hoursThis high-protein slow cooker lasagna soup is easy to prep for dinner. It tastes just like lasagna with a creamy sauce, soft noodles, hearty ground meat, and delicious herbs and spices finished off with a sprinkling of two cheeses: mozzarella and parmesan. The soup gets a protein boost with the help of blended cottage cheese, but you can swap for traditional ricotta! Bonus points the slow cooker does the hard work for you melding all the delicious flavors together.
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Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef (90% lean)
1 large yellow onion, small-diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt, additional to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, additional to taste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
4 cups low-sodium beef broth (32-ounce carton)
25 ounces marinara sauce
9 ounces gluten-free lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces
6 ounces roughly chopped baby spinach
1 1/2 cups 4% milkfat cottage cheese (can substitute part-skin ricotta cheese or dairy-free ricotta)
6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup) or dairy-free shredded cheese
roughly chopped basil leaves, for topping (optional)
grated Parmesan, for topping (optional)
Directions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium until shimmering. Add the ground beef and cook until browned all over, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker, discarding any fat left over in the skillet.
- Add the onion, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using) and mix. Add the broth and marinara and stir to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
- Stir in the lasagna noodles and baby spinach (mix really well). Cover again and continue cooking until the noodles are al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through to prevent sticking. Meanwhile, add the cottage cheese to a food processor or blender and process on high speed until completely smooth, about 60 seconds.
- Once the noodles are cooked, turn off the heat, remove the slow cooker bowl and let the soup cool on the counter for 10 minutes (this is to prevent the cottage cheese from curdling if the soup is too hot, if you’re using a substitute no need to wait). Stir in the blended cottage cheese, taste, and add additional salt if desired.
- Divide evenly among four bowls and top with the mozzarella. Garnish with grated Parmesan and chopped basil.
Notes
- Store It: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat It: Return to a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
- Swap the cottage cheese for part-skin ricotta cheese or dairy-free ricotta.
- Stovetop instructions:
1. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or pot over medium until shimmering. Add the ground beef and cook until browned all over, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside in a bowl.
2. Add the onion to the same pot over medium heat and cook, stirring often until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using). Add the broth and marinara and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the sauce to a boil.
3. Stir in the lasagna noodles and baby spinach and mix well. Cover again and continue cooking until the noodles are al dente, about 15 minutes, stirring a few times as it cooks to prevent sticking. Meanwhile, add the cottage cheese to a food processor or blender and process on high speed until completely smooth, about 60 seconds.
4. Once the noodles are cooked, remove the pot from the heat and let the soup cool uncovered on the counter for 10 minutes (this is to prevent the cottage cheese from curdling if the soup is too hot, if you’re using a substitute no need to wait). Stir in the blended cottage cheese, taste, and add additional salt if desired. Add back the cooked ground beef.
5. Divide evenly among four bowls and top with the mozzarella. Garnish with grated Parmesan and chopped basil.
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Sounds good 👍
New to the instant pot game and would love to make this in there. Any suggestions on how to translate this recipe for an instant pot? Soup sounds delicious!!
I wondered the same thing then realized – – the instant pot has a slow cooker setting so you can follow these directions as-is! Just Google how to use it as a slow cooker if you didn’t save the directions.
We just had it and it was delicious!
This was delicious! I used my Instant Pot, slow-cooked for 4hrs. After adding the lasagna noodles, I pressure cooked on high for 5mins and the noodles were nice and al dente. Making it again the week with more veggies added in. Thanks Jenn!
I didn’t anticipate my 5 year old liking this, but she ate two bowls and wants it in the weekly food rotation! It was delicious.
Looks delicious. How do I find nutrition numbers for your recipes? Thank you.
A great change up from our traditional 9×13 oven lasagna. Definitely worth trying!
I made the stovetop version and it was delicious! I made the noodles separately so they don’t soak up all of the liquid and get mushy in my leftovers. I’ll definitely make this again!
Made this for supper and my family loved it! It’s a keeper! I loved that it was very quick to prep ahead of time and was mainly pantry/freezer essentials. I substituted thawed chopped frozen spinach (squeezed of all liquid), worked great. Filling meal. This is a perfect weeknight meal for busy parents! Sharing this recipe!
This recipe was a total flop for me. First of all, when adding the noodles to cook for 15 mins, the recipe doesn’t state whether that’s with the crockpot on low or high. I was already cooking the soup on low so stuck with that, and 15 mins later the noodles were far from being done. Not only that, but they had somehow stuck together and I was left with big, hard, layered chunks of lasagna noodles that were nearly impossible to separate without burning my hands off. I turned the crock pot to high and 40 mins later of cooking the noodles – they still aren’t done. And still sticking together. I’m not sure how I could’ve avoided the noodles doing this, and I’m surprised if this hasn’t happened to anyone else.
I love this soup! I cooked it on the stovetop in a Dutch oven. I did as suggested and waited 10 minutes for it to cool before adding the cottage cheese, but it still separated. Next time, I’ll temper the cottage cheese before adding it in. It was still delicious!
Just curious what the benefit of doing in the slower cooker if precooking the meat?
This was so absolutely delicious that I had to share the recipe with my parents. My husband could not get enough. Next time I think I’m going to add some mushrooms and maybe try it with tortellini. Thanks for a great recipe that, I’m sure, will be in my family for years.
I made the stovetop version and it was delicious and so easy to make. My husband loved it.