Skinny Slow-Cooker Lasagna Soup

Skinny Slow-cooker Lasagna Soup

One of my favorite cookbooks is Skinnytaste Fast and Slow: Knockout Quick-Fix and Slow Cooker Recipes.   It really has so many quick and very delicious meals! 

And, of course, I love slow-cooker meals, so I knew I wanted to try out the Slow-Cooker Lasagna Soup.  Now, I will have to say it wasn't my favorite meal from the book, but it was good and definitely tasted like lasagna.  I guess in my head lasagna should be thicker, so eating it like soup was throwing me off.  But the surprising thing is, and the reason I wanted to post this recipe is that my kids loved it! And sometimes they are the hardest to please, so I thought that was a win! Here is the recipe:

Topping

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

3 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Soup

Cooking spray or oil mister

14 ounces sweet Italian chicken sausage, casings removed {I just used link sausage and sliced it up.  I think that's why my kids loved it so much...they are like their mama and love sausage!}

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp of minced garlic

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cups marinara sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 bay leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups baby spinach, chopped {I only put 1 cup of spinach because I knew my kids would bail if they saw too much green spinach}

6 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces

6 Tablespoons shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Freshly ground black pepper

For the topping: In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, and parsley. Refrigerate until the soup is ready.

For the soup: Because I used linked sausage, I just sliced it and added the sausage and the next 7 ingredients into the slow-cooker.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

About 30 minutes before the soup is ready, remove the bay leaves and add the spinach and broken pasta. Cover and cook on high until the pasta is cooked, about 30 minutes.

Divide the soup among 6 bowls and top each with 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture, and sprinkle with the mozzarella, basil, and pepper to taste.

A healthy serving is about 1 1/2 cup with 2 tbsp of topping!

I hope you and YOUR kids enjoy!

Much Love ~ Becky