Instant Pot Lasagna Soup Recipe

This Instant Pot lasagna soup recipe combines two of our favorite things: the deliciousness (and wonderful aroma) that comes with whipping up homemade lasagna and the convenience of the trusty Instant Pot. Oh, and we definitely agree with the philosophy that you can turn pretty much everything into a soup. There's also the perfect amount of cheese in this recipe, which seals the deal on any Italian-inspired dish. (And the best part is, if you want to add more cheese, that is totally not out of the question!)

We landed this recipe thanks to recipe developer and private practice registered dietician Kristen Carli of Camelback Nutrition & Wellness. As far as her motivation for creating this scrumptious dish is concerned, she says, "I love lasagna soup. I grew up with it as a kid." 

Keep reading for all of the details on how to perfectly pressure cook the tastiest lasagna soup you'll ever make.

First, make sure you have everything you need before you break out the Instant Pot. For this lasagna soup, you'll need olive oil, sweet Italian sausage (casings removed), a yellow onion (diced), marinara sauce, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, dried lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, shredded Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and shredded mozzarella cheese. You'll also need some basil for serving the soup.

It's worth noting that you should be using regular, dried lasagna, not the no-boil kind that's available as an option for making baked lasagna and bypassing the boiling step.

Before you do any pressure cooking, you have to do a bit of sautéing. Luckily, the Instant Pot has a mechanism for that. (Are you even surprised?) Turn the Instant Pot to the sauté mode, then add the olive oil, diced onion, and sausage to the pot. Stir the onion and sausage, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon as you go, cooking until the meat is no longer pink.

If sausage isn't really your jam, don't fret. According to Carli, "You could easily omit the sausage if you want to make this dish vegetarian. It would be delicious with white beans if you want additional plant-based protein."

After the sausage is fully browned, leave the Instant Pot in sauté mode. Then, add the marinara sauce, chicken broth, and can of diced tomatoes. (Be sure to use the full can — do not drain the tomatoes prior to emptying the can.) Stir everything together to combine. This step creates the liquid base of your lasagna soup.

By the way, if you're new to the Instant Pot game, we have tons of Instant Pot hacks to help you make the most of your new versatile kitchen magician. It's truly a life (and time) saver for so many recipes.

Now, it's time to add the lasagna noodles to the liquid. Break the dry noodles into smaller pieces (three to four per long noodle), then carefully add them to the Instant Pot. Stir everything to combine the noodles with the other ingredients.

After the noodles have been added, close the Instant Pot lid, and place the valve on sealing. Turn on pressure cook for three minutes.

The beauty of this Instant Pot lasagna soup is that it's a couple of minutes to prep and 10 minutes to cook. 

While the lasagna soup pressure cooks for three minutes in the Instant Pot, as directed in the previous step, combine the ricotta cheese, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Stir everything together so that it's well mixed.

This ingredient combo is never going to hit the Instant Pot. Instead, you are going to serve the lasagna soup with a dollop of this ricotta mixture on top. Another option is to set it out when you serve the soup, and let people add as little or as much as they like of it to their soup. This lasagna soup recipe certainly has room for a good amount of artistic license!

Get excited, because we're down to the final step in this lasagna soup recipe. (We told you it was super fast and easy.) At the end of the three-minute pressure cook of the soup, turn on the quick release function, and open the Instant Pot. Add the 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese to the soup, and stir it all together to combine everything. The cheese will melt into the soup, and it will be absolutely delicious. You are done with the Instant Pot, and can turn it off and unplug it after this step in the recipe. 

Now, it's time to serve the lasagna soup in small bowls. Divide the soup among the bowls, then top each bowl of soup with a dollop of the ricotta mixture, a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, and a few strips of the thinly sliced basil. Serve it immediately, along with some crusty, fresh bread if you want to go all out.

We'd like to point out that this Instant Pot lasagna soup also makes for delicious leftovers. According to Carli, "This [soup] will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days." So store, reheat, and enjoy!