Cozy Lasagna Soup

This cozy lasagna soup is the perfect easy and comforting dinner recipe, and it comes together in one pot. It’s packed with colourful veggies, lentils, spinach, and the lasagna noodles are cooked directly in the soup. While it may not be traditional, it’s a quick and simple way take on lasagna, perfect for the colder weather!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp olive oil (see notes for oil-free)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 10 cremini mushrooms
• 1 zucchini
• 400g cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbsp Italian spice blend
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 can of lentils (540mL)
• 1 jar of tomato sauce (680mL)
• 2 1/4 cups water or veg stock
• 12 sheets of lasagna noodles (uncooked, gluten-free if needed)
• 2 cups chopped spinach
• Fresh basil leaves

Cashew Cream

See notes for nut-free

• 3/4 cup roasted unsalted cashews
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder

Equipment

• Large pot
• Blender

Instructions

1. Dice an onion and peel and mince the garlic cloves.
2. To a large pot on medium heat, add olive oil along with the diced onion and stir. After a few minutes, add the minced garlic.
3. Slice the mushrooms, cut the zucchini into half moons and halve the cherry tomatoes.
4. Add the mushrooms to the pot and let them cook down for a few minutes before adding the zucchini and cherry tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
5. Drain and rinse the lentils. Add to a blender with 1/4 cup water and blend for 30 seconds.
6. To the pot, add the Italian spice blend, salt, blended lentils, tomato sauce, and 2 cups water or vegetable stock and mix well.
7. Break the lasagna sheets into 1 1/2 inch pieces, then add to the pot and stir. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked.
8. Prepare the cashew cream by adding the cashews, water, lemon juice, salt and garlic powder to a blender and blending until smooth and creamy.
9. Wash and roughly chop spinach.
10. Once the noodles are cooked, add the spinach to the pot, stir and let simmer for another 2 minutes. Depending on how “soupy” you want it to be, you can add an extra 1/2 cup of water or vegetable stock. 
11. Serve with cashew cream and fresh basil and enjoy! 

Notes

*For an oil-free version, sauté the onions, garlic and veggies in few tbsp of water or vegetable stock.

*You can use either water or vegetable stock. If using stock, I recommend a low-sodium version, or to reduce the amount of salt you’re adding (from 3/4 to 1/2 or 1/4 tsp, and adjusting as needed).

*For a nut-free version, omit the cashew cream. Optionally, you can replace it with your favourite creamy plant-based cheese.

*Depending on the strength of your blender, you may need to soak cashews in boiling water before blending. I find the best blender for cashews is a bullet blender (you won’t need to do any soaking!).