Hearty lentils and tender noodles are simmered up in chunky tomato soup and topped with creamy vegan pesto ricotta to make this cozy vegan lasagna soup. It's easy to make and hearty enough for a meal!
This vegan lasagna soup is a comfort food favorite in my house! It's one of those super hearty soups that you can have for dinner all by itself (although I totally encourage you to eat it with a bit piece of crusty bread!).
If you haven't yet seen the non-vegan versions of this soup floating around on Pinterest, here's the deal: tomato heavy soup, all the flavors of lasagna, noodles, and in most cases, copious amounts of cheese. Obviously, I had to work around the whole cheese thing.
Fortunately, vegan ricotta cheese is ridiculously easy to make. I have a few formulas for vegan ricotta, but since I'm trying to keep things simple, I went with my basic cashew-tofu blend, flavored with some premade pesto. Easy!
I had some homemade vegan pesto hanging out in the freezer, but if you'd rather go with store-bought, Amore is a vegan brand that's pretty widely available.
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What You'll Need
- Olive oil. You only need this for the stove-top version of the recipe, and even then you can sub water or broth if you want to keep the dish oil-free.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Vegetable broth. I used Better Than Bouillon in seasoned vegetable flavor.
- Lentils. We're using basic brown lentils for this recipe. Green lentils will work, but will take a bit longer to cook. Red lentils will probably work as well, but will fall apart when you cook them, giving your soup a whole different consistency.
- Spices. We're using dried basil and oregano. Feel free to substitute with an Italian seasoning blend if that's what you have on hand.
- Canned tomatoes. You'll need one can of crushed tomatoes and one can of diced. Can't find crushed? Use another can of diced and blitz them in the blender for a few seconds.
- Lasagna noodles. Feel free to substitute with another variety of pasta if you'd like. Use a gluten-free pasta if needed.
- Fresh spinach. Frozen spinach works too, though it requires less time to cook. Other greens like kale and chard can also be used, but these will require a bit more cook time.
- Raw cashews. We're using these for our vegan ricotta. They absolutely need to be raw for the right flavor and consistency. You'll also need to soak them in water for a bit to soften them up.
- Non-dairy milk. Use any variety that's unflavored and unsweetened.
- Extra-firm tofu.
- Vegan pesto. You can use store-bough or homemade vegan pesto. Amore brand is a popular vegan one that you can find in many supermarkets.
- Lemon juice.
- Salt & pepper.
How to Make Vegan Lasagna Soup
The following is a summary of the process used to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Stove-Top Method
- Heat your oil in a large pot, then briefly sweat some diced onion until it begins to soften up. Add your garlic and cook it with the onion for about 1 minute.
- Stir in your broth, lentils and spices. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer until the lentils are almost tender, but still a bit undercooked.
- While the soup simmers, prepare the ricotta topping. First blend the cashews and non-dairy milk, then add the tofu, pesto, lemon juice, and salt. Pulse the machine until the mixture is chunky.
- Add the tomatoes, pasta and spinach to the soup. Let it continue simmering until the spinach and pasta are tender.
- Serve each bowl with a dollop of pesto ricotta.
Slow Cooker Method
- Stir the broth, onion, garlic, lentils and spices together in your slow cooker. Set the machine to high, cover it, and let everything simmer for about 2 hours.
- Prepare the ricotta while your soup simmers.
- Stir the tomatoes, pasta and spinach into the soup and let it continue simmering until the spinach and pasta are tender.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, and top each with the pesto ricotta.
Leftovers & Storage
Store your leftover soup and ricotta in separate, sealed containers in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The pasta will continue to absorb liquid from the soup during storage and it will become very thick. Feel free to thin it with some broth or water during reheating.
More Vegan Pasta Soups
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Vegan Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
For the Lasagna Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (stove-top version only)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ½ cups vegetable broth
- ¾ cup dried brown lentils
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can crushed tomatoes
- 8 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
- 3 cups chopped spinach leaves
For the Vegan Pesto Ricotta
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup unflavored soy or almond milk
- ¼ pound extra firm tofu, drained
- 3 to 4 tablespoons prepared vegan pesto, to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
Make the Lasagna Soup (Stove-Top Version)
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Cook it for about 5 minutes, until it begins to soften up.
- Add the garlic and cook it with the onion for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, lentils, basil, and oregano. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Add water to the pot if the liquid reduces too much. Prepare the pesto ricotta (instructions below) while the soup simmers.
- Stir in the crushed and diced tomatoes, noodles and spinach. Continue simmering the soup until the noodles are tender and the spinach is fully wilted, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Make the Lasagna Soup (Slow Cooker Version)
- Place the broth, onion, garlic, basil, oregano and lentils into slow cooker and stir a few times to blend.
- Set the slow cooker to high and cover. Allow the soup to cook until lentils are just a bit on the firm side, about 2 hours.
- Add the diced and crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker and stir. Allow to continue cooking on high for 2 to 3 hours more. Prepare the pesto ricotta (instructions below) while the soup cooks.
- Add the noodles and spinach to the slow cooker and give the mixture a stir. Allow the soup to continue cooking until noodles are tender and the spinach is wilted, about 12 minutes.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Make the Vegan Pesto Ricotta
- Place the cashews and milk into the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Add the tofu and pulse a few times, just until the mixture takes on a ricotta-like texture. Add pesto to taste, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve
- Divide soup into bowls, and top each with a dollop of vegan pesto ricotta. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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