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This One-Pot Vegan Lasagna Soup is made with a homemade tomato broth, nutritious vegetables, protein-packed lentils and hearty pasta. Serve with a dollop of rich vegan ricotta, vegan mozzarella, and fresh herbs. Gluten-Free Option.
If you love lasagna, you’ll love this quick and easy deconstructed Vegan Lasagna Soup. It comes together in just one-pot and has all the flavors of your favorite lasagna recipe but without the work! Customize this comforting soup to use your favorite shaped pasta, veggies, and plant-based cheese. Have this well-balanced lasagna inspired soup on the table in just over 30 minutes. And try not to eat all of the vegan ricotta by the spoonful while you cook!
Table of Contents
The One-Pot Soup That Has it All
If you love my Easy One-Pot Pasta and are looking for an equally easy weeknight dish, you’ll love this One-Pot Vegan Lasagna Soup. It’s made with simple ingredients – your favorite pasta, a rich and savory broth, lentils, veggies and a creamy dollop of plant-based cheese. It’s the ultimate creamy, filling and delicious one-pot meal even meat lovers will enjoy.
Not to mention, it’s ready in 40 minutes or less and cooks start to finish in one-pot. This vegan lasagna soup recipe truly does have it all. The whole family won’t mind curling up with a big bowl of this vegan soup and a piece of crusty sourdough bread after a long day.
What You Need for Vegan Lasagna Soup
Aside from your favorite soup pot, you’ll need 5 nutritious and tasty “layers” of plant-based goodness:
- Aromatics: The soup base is made with onions, carrots, cloves of garlic, and simple spices sautéed until fragrant and deep in sweet, earthy notes.
- Tomato broth: A combination of tomato paste, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and low-sodium vegetable broth makes a rich, well-spiced broth that is full of flavor.
- Brown or green lentils: Adds heartiness and nutritious plant-based protein that will help keep you full and satisfied for hours. Note that green lentils will hold up and make a more textured soup compared to brown lentils, but both work fine! I have not tested this soup with red lentils.
- Pasta: You can choose to use broken lasagna noodles for a true lasagna soup, but I find that gets a little messy since they don’t break evenly. I prefer to use Campanelle pasta – they look like mini lasagna curls and cook evenly.
- Vegan Ricotta Cheese: It’s not a true lasagna soup without a dollop of ricotta. For the ultimate cheesy lasagna flavor, I recommend topping off with a sprinkle of vegan mozzarella cheese, too.
How to Make Vegan Lasagna Soup
- In a large pot, sauté the onion, then stir in the carrots, tomato paste, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, black pepper and additional salt until fragrant.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and lentils. Pour in the vegetable broth and water and bring to a boil. Simmer until the lentils are almost fully cooked.
- Stir in the pasta and cook until the pasta is cooked to your liking. Lastly, add the chopped spinach, stirring until wilted.
- Serve warm in individual serving bowls with vegan ricotta, shredded vegan cheese and fresh herbs, or as desired.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Use high-quality canned tomatoes – There is a notable difference in taste between brands of lower quality versus good quality brands. Since the tomatoes add a lot of flavor to the broth, it is worth it to use quality tomatoes here.
- Cook the pasta separately for meal prep – If you plan on making this lasagna soup to eat over several days for meal prep or know you will have leftovers, I do recommend cooking the pasta separately so it doesn’t get soggy or absorb all of the broth overnight. If you do choose to cook the pasta separately, omit the 3 additional cups of water in the soup broth.
Serving Suggestions
This lasagna soup is hearty enough to serve on its own with a dollop of Vegan Ricotta, but can be paired with simple sides to round out the meal. Some of my favorites include a simple loaf of crusty bread, garlic bread, Pumpkin Cornbread, or quick salads such as Kale Apple Walnut Salad or my Winter Kale Salad.
If you’re looking for more one-pot hearty soups, you’ll also love this Coconut Curry Lentil Soup with Kale, Hearty Vegan Chorizo Chili and this Sweet Potato, Red Lentil, and Peanut Stew!
How to Store Vegan Lasagna Soup
Leftover lasagna soup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freezing this soup is not recommended – the pasta does not freeze well and will become mushy and over-cooked upon defrosting and reheating.
If you’d like to freeze this soup, I would recommend freezing the tomato-based soup broth without the pasta or spinach. Then, when ready to eat, defrost it overnight in the refrigerator before bringing it to a simmer again on the stovetop. For best results, I recommend cooking the pasta separately according to package instructions and stirring it in along with the spinach just before serving.
Reheat leftover soup in the microwave or on medium-low heat on the stovetop with additional vegetable broth to thin out the soup, if desired.
Substitutions and Variations
- Pasta options: Campanelle, or gigli pasta (my favorite), macaroni or rotini are good alternatives to lasagna sheets. Really any small pasta shape of your liking will work and still make a lasagna-reminiscent soup.
- Lentil options: Canned lentils can be used in place of dried lentils, if desired. If using, drain and rinse them well and add them in at step 3 with just 2 cups of water instead of 3.
- Oil-free option: Instead of oil, sauté the vegetables in ¼ cup of water. If things begin to stick to the bottom of the pot, add in 2 tablespoons of water at a time to loosen things up.
- Gluten-free option: Opt for gluten-free pasta! Corn or rice based gluten-free pastas hold up better than bean based pastas, but feel free to use your favorite gluten-free brand.
- Vegan cheese options: If you do not have ingredients on hand to make my homemade vegan tofu ricotta, any plant-based cheese will work here. I’d suggest mozzarella shreds, vegan parmesan cheese, or even smoked gouda. Or keep it simple and make a homemade cashew cream to stir in.
Recipe FAQs
In this vegetarian version, I’ve swapped the traditional ground beef or Italian sausage with lentils. They’re equally protein rich, hearty, yet good for you too. I also use a lentil filling in my Vegan Eggplant Lasagna, or even a vegetable filling in lasagna like my Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce. No one will miss the meat – promise!
Plant-based ricotta is typically made from tofu or nuts, or both! My homemade vegan ricotta recipe is made from tofu, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and a few other ingredients to give it that tangy, savory flavor. Brands like Tofutti and Kite Hill sell store-bought brands of vegan ricotta you can buy when you are short on prep time.
Ricotta gives this lasagna soup the classic flavor and makes it rich and creamy. It’s optional, but adding some sort of vegan cheese is highly recommended.
I have not tested an Instant Pot version of this lasagna soup and cannot recommend one at the time.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
One Pot Vegan Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 3 to 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- 1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes*
- 1 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes*
- 1/2 cup dry green lentils (see notes for canned)
- 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 3 cups water plus more if necessary
- 8 ounces Campanelle pasta or broken lasagna noodles (see note)
- 3 ounces baby spinach
For serving:
- 1/2 cup Vegan Ricotta
- Shredded vegan mozzarella cheese optional
- Fresh basil and/or parsley to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Aromatics: Warm the olive oil in a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots and stir in the tomato paste and sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Finally, add the garlic, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Sauté for one more minute, until the garlic is fragrant.
- Make the Broth: Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and lentils to the pot. Pour in the vegetable broth and water and increase the heat to high. Reduce the heat to medium-high once the soup begins to boil. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring the soup occasionally. The lentils should be almost fully cooked before proceeding.
- Pasta: Add the pasta to the pot and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the pasta is cooked to your liking. Reduce the heat to medium if the soup starts to splatter, but maintain a simmer. Turn the heat off and stir in the spinach until wilted. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste, if necessary. If the soup is too thick you can thin it out with water (or more vegetable broth).
- Serve: Divide the soup into serving bowls and top with 1-2 tablespoons of vegan ricotta, shredded vegan cheese, and fresh herbs (or as desired). Serve warm; leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- Pasta options: Lasagna noodles tend to break unevenly, so I prefer to use Campanelle pasta (but either will work!) Rotini would also be a good choice here, and you can use either gluten-free or regular pasta. If you know you will have leftovers, it might be best to cook the pasta separately and add only before serving, otherwise it will get soggy in the fridge and soak up a lot of the broth. If you choose to cook separately, only add 1 cup of water instead of 3.
- Lentils: if you opt to use canned lentils, drain and rinse them well. Add them in step 3, but only add 2 cups of water instead of 3, and simmer the soup for 5-7 minutes only before adding the pasta. If you are adding canned lentils and cooking your pasta separately, don’t add any water to the pot.
- Tomatoes: Try to purchase high-quality canned tomatoes here if you can; there is a difference in taste between brands and the tomatoes add a lot of flavor to the broth.
- Oil-Free: sauté the vegetables in 1/4 cup (60 mL) of water instead of oil, adding more in 2 tablespoon increments if things start to stick to the bottom of the pan.
This was a HIT! My husband was skeptical of this recipe (perhaps because tomato isn’t his favorite) yet here we are having day 3 leftovers. He loves it! I used rotini pasta since that’s his favorite and made a basic cashew ricotta in the blender which really complemented the soup perfectly, plus looked so fancy dolloped in the center of the soup with parsley sprinkled on top. 🙂
Another great recipe that comes together pretty fast! I love that Caitlin gives oil-free and gluten-free options! I used gluten free pasta in this soup and I subbed the spinach for chopped kale from my garden. It came out delicious!
Thank you so much, Lisa!
Perfect snow day cozy meal!
This sounds so good! I usually end up freezing half the soup. Would you suggest also leaving noodles out the soup for the freezer? Thank you.
Yes, personally I would leave the noodles out. They will get very waterlogged if you freeze and probably break apart when you reheat it
This soup was great. My husband was very excited at the idea of lasagna soup and it did not disappoint! I made the recipe exactly as written except sub of gf rotini. Cooked lentils and pasta with soup and the amount of liquid was perfect. Served with garlic bread. So good on this cold snowy night.
Thank you for this recipe! We are about to freeze in Texas and needed soup to get us through the long weekend. This soup is a true comfort. I used GF lasagna and appreciate being instructed to keep the pasta separate. I doubled the lentils and so glad I did.
My version was vegetarian, as my store was out of the vegan ricotta. My husband, who “hates lentils” and anything labeled vegan or vegetarian or vegan, LOVED this soup!
I will definitely make this again!
So happy you loved it, Terrie!
This lasagna soup has all of the classic flavors of lasagna without all the effort. I love lasagna, but sometimes I just don’t have the motivation to make such a complicated dish on weeknights after long days at work/school. This recipe is a great solution to that, and I’ve made this after 12 hour shifts at the hospital.
This was delicious ! I love lasagna and soup but would never gave thought to mix both !! Thank you 🙂
Glad you liked it, Elsa!
Another great soup recipe! This was very easy to make. I used canned lentils because that was what I had on hand. I did add mushrooms to the soup. It was a really nice meal for a cold night. It also made for really great leftovers. I will definitely be making this again.
Huge hit with the fam 🥰
So happy to hear that!
Wow, what an amazing soup!!! My whole family loved it! My husband said it is better than regular lasagna. This is a very hearty, flavorful soup that is easy for a simple stand alone dish. We all enjoyed the creaminess that the ricotta gave to the soup. It will be added as part of our regular rotation of meals in my household!
So happy you all enjoyed it, Jen!
All the flavors of lasagna with the ease of a soup! Super delicious and filling, plus it makes great leftovers. Yum!
Super easy and delicious! I added mushrooms and zucchini to get some more veggies in. Highly recommend!
Thank you so much, Jules!
So good and simple! The broken lasagna noodles are such a fun touch. I added some cabbage and mushrooms because I had them on hand and they went well with the recipe as written. Will definitely be making again and again!
Glad you loved it, Kim!
I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of this soup. I used canned lentils which were tasty and easy. I added more salt while I was sitting down to eat it. Also, first-timer with the plant based cheese…I didn’t notice much of a difference.
Glad you enjoyed it, Anne!
What can I say but… Mmmmmmmm! This soup turned out so delicious! It was tasty on its own, but as soon as you add the cheddar cheese and the vegan ricotta??? That kicked it up off the charts!!! I made it for dinner last night and I’m already thinking about it, so I might eat some for breakfast! This recipe definitely deserves 5 stars (and it’s my own mistake that caused the star drop), but last minute before a winter storm, I rushed to my local grocery store and their selection of pasta wasn’t great. I ended up having the get chickpea cavanelle noodles, because they didn’t have Campanelle noodles OR lasagna noodles!!! And usually I get whole wheat/grain noodles, but they didn’t have any of those either! So, I was left getting chickpea based ones. When the soup was done, it was perfect. But as the soup sat, the noodles started to fall apart. 🙁 So, I highly recommend to NOT use chickpea noodles. The soup is still absolutely delicious, but next time I will make sure to have the correct noodles. Thank you to the moon and back, Caitlyn, for never letting me down. Your recipes rock!!!
This was so tasty! A hearty and satisfying meal. Love the combination of pasta and 2 big protein sources.
So happy you loved it, Helen!
This was so tasty!!!! I love how inexpensive the ingredients are and I’ll be making that ricotta for even more things!
Glad you liked it, Kali!
We love a good lasagna soup and this recipe is very good one! We made your ricotta and loved the flavours it added, and the lentils are a great addition for some extra protein. Very hearty dinner – we didn’t need to add anything to accompany it. Looking forward to enjoying the leftovers for dinner tomorrow night!
Ive been seeing lasagna soup all over my socials so I was excited to see a vegan version of this soup!
I did not have the exact noodles that Caitlin called for in this recipe, but I made due with what I had on hand and it was amazing.
This was a budget friendly meal and so easy to make during the work week.
I will be making this again!
Glad you enjoyed it, Jessie!