I'll Take Bowl over Pan Any Day of the Week

Good evening!  Typically, before I even start to cook, I like to review the ingredient list and /or the cooking methods. Call it being prepared, but I like to give it a good study before the recipe is created.  When I found this recipe, I did a double take at he ingredient list: 8 to 10 cups for broth??  'No way can that be right', I told myself.  That is an obscene amount of broth, especially for a soup.

As I review this recipe with Tyler, he told me 'You might want to condense the amount of broth.  Unless you are preparing to feed the masses, you won't need that amount of broth;.  As you'll see, packing all those ingredients into a humble Dutch oven, got quite a bit cramped.

The Recipe: Lasagna Soup
Original Recipe found from www.pinterest.com

What You'll Need:
1 Pound lean Ground Beef
1 Yellow Onion, diced
4-5 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 (24 ounce) jar Prego Traditional Italian Sauce
8-10 Cups Lower-Sodium Chicken Broth, divided
1 (14 Ounce) can crushed Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
2 Teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 1/2 Teaspoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon dried Basil
1 Teaspoon dried Parsley
1 Teaspoon dried Oregano
1 whole Bay Leaf
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
10 Uncooked Lasagna Noodles, broken into 1/2 in pieces

For the cheese garnish, any desired amount of shredded Mozzarella Cheese & finely grated Parmesan Cheese.


To start, heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add ground beef and onion.  Cook until the beef has browned, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds, until the garlic has become fragrant.  Pour the beef/onion mixture into a colander and rinse to drain any excess fat.

Next, add the Prego sauce, 6 cups chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar, basil, parsley, oregano, bay leaf, and lasagna noodles.  Stir and bring the Dutch oven to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, cooking until the noodles have become tender, about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover the lid after cooking and remove the bay leaf.  If the soup is plenty liquid-y for you, do not add the remaining 2-4 cups of chicken broth.  Ladle each serving of soup into soup bowls and top with desired amount of cheese.  Serve and enjoy!

The End Result:

I'm glad I listened to Tyler,  because I ended up using about six cups of broth and the soup turned out beautifully.  Cutting the broth down actually turned out to be a more cohesive soup.  The flavors were sharper, yet it was nice to actually have that flavor within the soup, instead of it being watered down.  The lasagna noodles were a bit large and made it difficult to eat.  But having the convenience of lasagna dish in a soup bowl was worth it and a recipe I'm willing to try again.

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~Cheers~