Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Brown the sausage and build the base
- Brown Italian sausage in a large pot over medium-high heat, then drain the fat for a cleaner, less greasy soup.
- Sauté onion for 4 minutes, then add garlic and chopped sun-dried tomatoes and cook 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute, scraping browned bits from the pot for deeper flavor.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes, then bring the mixture to a simmer.
Cook noodles, wilt spinach, and finish
- Add broken lasagna noodles and cook 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until the noodles are tender.
- Stir in fresh spinach and grated parmesan and cook 2 minutes until the spinach wilts and the broth looks creamy and slightly thickened.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, then taste and adjust before serving.
Make ricotta dollops and serve
- Mix ricotta with shredded mozzarella and a small amount of sun-dried tomato (or two) until you get a scoopable, thick dollop texture.
- Stir fresh basil into the ricotta mixture, then serve soup in each bowl with a generous ricotta dollop and extra spoonful of the tomato-basil mix if desired.
Notes
Pro tip: break the lasagna noodles into bite-size pieces so they cook evenly in the simmering broth. Store leftovers in the fridge up to 3 days; reheat gently (don’t boil hard) to keep the cream silky. Freezing is not recommended because the dairy can separate when thawed. For a lighter option, swap heavy cream for half-and-half and use part-skim mozzarella.