Healthy Lasagna Soup Recipe in One Pot, With Noodle Tips

Lasagna is a weekend dish. A lasagna soup is a Tuesday dish: the same tomato, noodle and creamy topping, in one pot, in 45 minutes. This healthy lasagna soup recipe uses lean ground turkey, spinach and whole wheat noodles, and a spoonful of cottage cheese on top instead of a layer of melted cheese.

Brown 1 lb of lean ground turkey with an onion, add 3 cups of crushed tomatoes and 4 cups of low-sodium broth, simmer, cook 2 cups of broken whole wheat noodles in the pot, stirring often, and add spinach. Top with cottage cheese. A bowl has about 341 calories and 27 g of protein.

Lasagna soup recipes at a glance

Version	What changes	Where to find it
This soup (one pot, stovetop)	Lean turkey, spinach, whole wheat noodles, cottage cheese	The recipe card below
Easy lasagna soup	Three steps in one pot	This recipe
Best lasagna soup	The details that matter, below	A section below
Slow cooker lasagna soup	The same ingredients, cooked low and slow	A section below
Crockpot lasagna soup	Another name for the slow cooker version	Covered by the same section

What goes in the pot

• Lean ground turkey, 1 lb (453 g). 93 percent lean. It gives protein with less fat than many ground meats.
• Crushed tomatoes, 3 cups, and low-sodium chicken broth, 4 cups. The base of the soup. Low-sodium broth lets you decide the salt.
• Whole wheat lasagna noodles, 2 cups broken (about 180 g dry). Broken into 1-inch pieces so they fit on a spoon.
• Baby spinach, 4 cups. It wilts into the soup in a minute or two.
• Cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons a bowl. It stands in for the ricotta layer.
• Onion, garlic, oregano and a little salt for flavor.

Easy lasagna soup recipe: how to make it

One pot, three steps: brown the turkey with the onion, simmer the tomatoes and broth, then cook the noodles and wilt the spinach. The turkey must be cooked all the way through: the USDA safe temperature chart lists 165°F (73.9°C) for ground poultry (USDA FSIS safe temperature chart).

One pot lasagna soup recipe: why one pot works

The noodles cook in the soup, so their starch thickens the broth a little and you wash only one pot. The trade-off is that the noodles keep soaking up liquid, so the soup is thickest right after cooking and thicker still the next day. Keep a carton of broth nearby to loosen it.

Best lasagna soup recipe: the details that matter

• Season in layers. Salt the onion lightly, then taste at the end, because broth and tomatoes bring salt too.
• Break up the turkey well, so every spoonful has some.
• Stir the noodles often for the first few minutes, so they do not stick to the bottom.
• Add the spinach last, so it stays green.
• Top at the table. Cottage cheese added to the pot disappears, so spoon it on each bowl.

Slow cooker lasagna soup recipe

You can make this soup in a slow cooker. Brown the turkey with the onion first for flavor, then put the turkey, tomatoes, broth, garlic, oregano and salt in the slow cooker and cook until everything is hot and the turkey is cooked. Add the noodles near the end, so they do not turn mushy, and the spinach for the last few minutes. Go by the noodle texture rather than the clock.

Crockpot lasagna soup recipe

A crockpot is a slow cooker, and the method above works for it. The noodles are the only part that needs watching. Once the soup is in your rotation, other pots can follow: our Mediterranean slow cooker chicken, bean and cod recipes are a lighter tomato-and-lemon option.

How many calories and how much protein?

Each ingredient was run through USDA FoodData Central to get the totals. One bowl, a sixth of the pot, has about 341 calories, 27 g of protein, 37 g of carbohydrate and 11 g of fat, and about 625 mg of sodium. It is an estimate: your noodles, broth and tomatoes change the numbers, and the weight of the noodles, the cottage cheese, the onion and the oregano are documented assumptions.

Most of the protein comes from the turkey and the cottage cheese. The sodium is about 27 percent of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, mostly from the broth, the tomatoes and the salt, so low-sodium broth helps.

Healthy lasagna soup recipe: what makes it lighter

Three swaps do the work: lean ground turkey instead of a richer meat, whole wheat noodles instead of white, and a spoonful of cottage cheese on top instead of a layer of melted cheese. A bowl has about 341 calories, and the soup has no sausage or cream.

High protein lasagna soup

By USDA data, a bowl has about 27 g of protein, mostly from the turkey and the cottage cheese. Add the cottage cheese at the table so it stays creamy, and add more only if you want more protein and accept more calories.

Emma's notes on the soup

For Emma this soup hit the right balance and was no trouble to make, so it will be made again.

Serving ideas

A green salad and a slice of whole-grain toast make it a full supper. A pinch of chili flakes on top gives it some heat. Serve it in warm bowls and add the cottage cheese at the last moment. On nights you want something other than soup, our low calorie meals for weight loss include a sheet-pan cod and a turkey burger bowl.

Tips and common mistakes

• Brown the turkey properly, until no pink is left, before adding liquid.
• Do not overcook the noodles. Take them off the heat when they are tender, because they keep softening.
• Watch the salt. Taste before you add the 1/2 teaspoon.
• Common mistakes: overcooking the noodles, adding the spinach too early and salting before tasting.
• Troubleshooting a soup that is too thick: stir in broth, a quarter cup at a time.
• Troubleshooting a soup that is too thin: simmer it uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes.

Variations and substitutions

• Lentil or gluten-free noodles: swap them for the noodles. Cook times and numbers change.
• More vegetables: add a diced zucchini or a handful of chopped mushrooms with the onion.
• Ricotta instead of cottage cheese: works as a topping too. We have not calculated the numbers for it.
• Chicken instead of turkey: use ground chicken. The numbers above are for 93 percent lean turkey.
• Vegetarian: replace the turkey and the broth with beans and vegetable broth.

Storage and reheating

Cool the soup quickly, refrigerate it in shallow containers and freeze portions you will not eat soon. The USDA lists 165°F (73.9°C) for leftovers, so reheat it until it is steaming hot, adding a splash of broth (USDA FSIS safe temperature chart). We found no official shelf life for this exact soup.

If you like make-ahead meals, you may also like our high-protein overnight oats for breakfast, or the cottage cheese breakfast bowl for another use of cottage cheese.

Safety: gluten, dairy and cooking the turkey

This soup contains wheat (gluten) and dairy (cottage cheese). Check labels if you or your family have an allergy or intolerance, and cook the turkey until it reaches 165°F (73.9°C). If you are watching your sodium or your blood pressure, run this recipe past your doctor or a registered dietitian; it is not dietary advice.

Sources and numbers

• Nutrition: values come from USDA FoodData Central for each ingredient; the weights of the noodles, cottage cheese, onion and oregano use documented assumptions, so the total stays an estimate.
• Food safety: we read the USDA FSIS safe temperature chart linked above on October 19, 2026.