Lasagna Soup

Why This Went Viral

Danny Freeman, the TikTok creator behind @dannylovespasta, posted a video of himself eating a bowl of stovetop lasagna soup back in early 2023 — all the flavor of baked lasagna, none of the layering or the hour in the oven. Then SZA left a comment on it: "recipe please king." Freeman posted the recipe, the clip took off, and the internet started calling it "the SZA lasagna soup." That one comment kept the dish in rotation on TikTok for years; it's still showing up in "biggest food trends" roundups in 2026, and the #lasagnasoup tag now covers tens of thousands of copycat videos. The hook is simple: it tastes like lasagna, but it's a one-pot soup you can have on the table in under an hour.

Ingredients

Main Components

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 450 g (1 lb) lean ground beef
• 1½ tablespoons Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon fine salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 950 ml (4 cups) low-sodium beef broth
• 680 g (24 oz) jar marinara sauce (Rao's recommended)
• 411 g (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 60 ml (¼ cup) water
• 283 g (10 oz) lasagna noodles, broken in half

For the Cheese Finish

• 340 g (1½ cups) cottage cheese, plus 115 g (½ cup) extra for garnish
• 50 g (½ cup) shaved or grated parmesan
• 56 g (½ cup) shredded mozzarella
• 30 g (1 cup, loosely packed) chopped fresh spinach
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, for garnish

Substitutions:

• Ground beef → ground turkey or a 50/50 mix of ground beef and mild Italian sausage (adds more fat, so drain off any excess after browning).
• Cottage cheese → whole-milk ricotta for a closer match to traditional lasagna filling; the soup will taste richer and less tangy.
• Lasagna noodles → any broken pasta shape (rigatoni, mafaldine) works, though it loses the "unrolled lasagna" look. For gluten-free, use gluten-free lasagna sheets and check the label on the marinara and broth for hidden gluten.
• Beef broth → chicken broth or vegetable broth for a lighter flavor (use the low-sodium version to keep the salt in check).
• Fresh spinach → frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (use half the amount, since frozen is more concentrated).

Equipment

• Large pot or Dutch oven (at least 5 quarts)
• Wooden spoon or meat masher
• Ladle
• Instant-read thermometer (optional, for peace of mind)

Instructions

Preparation (Active time: 5 min)

1. Prep the aromatics: Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Break the lasagna noodles in half — this makes them easier to submerge and stir without clumping.

Cooking (Active time: 15 min)

2. Sauté the base: Heat the olive oil in the pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and garlic and cook 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until the onion turns translucent and smells sweet rather than sharp.

3. Brown the beef: Add the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon or masher. Cook 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains and the meat reaches a minimum internal temperature of 160°F (71°C). Stir in the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and tomato paste, and cook 1–2 minutes more, until the tomato paste darkens slightly and coats the meat.

4. Build the soup: Pour in the beef broth, marinara sauce, diced tomatoes with their juice, and water. Stir well and bring to a boil. Add the broken lasagna noodles, pushing them down so they're fully submerged. Cover, return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 12–15 minutes, stirring every few minutes to keep the noodles from sticking together or to the bottom of the pot. The noodles are done when they're tender but still hold their shape.

Assembly & Finishing (Active time: 2 min)

5. Stir in the cheese: Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the 340 g (1½ cups) cottage cheese, parmesan, and mozzarella until the cheese melts into the broth and turns it creamy. Fold in the chopped spinach and let it sit for 1–2 minutes until wilted.

6. Garnish and serve: Ladle into bowls and top each with a dollop of the reserved cottage cheese and a scatter of fresh basil. Serve immediately, while the noodles are still loose in the broth.

Food Safety & Storage

• Minimum safe internal temperature: Ground beef must reach 160°F (71°C) before you add the liquids; the simmering step afterward keeps it well above that temperature.
• Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3–4 days. The noodles keep absorbing liquid as they sit, so the soup thickens noticeably by day two.
• Freezing: Freezes well for up to 3 months if you leave out the cottage cheese and mozzarella before freezing — stir them in fresh after reheating, since dairy can turn grainy after a freeze-thaw cycle.
• Reheating: Warm gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a splash of broth or water to loosen the noodles back to a soupy consistency.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with crusty garlic bread for dipping into the broth.
• A simple arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette cuts through the richness.
• Pass extra grated parmesan and red pepper flakes at the table.

Scaling Notes

Half recipe (½×): Use a 3-quart pot. Reduce simmer time by 2–3 minutes since less liquid needs to come back to a boil — check the noodles a couple minutes early.

Double recipe (2×): Use your largest stockpot and brown the beef in two batches so it sears instead of steaming. The noodles need the same 12–15 minutes; just make sure they have room to move so they don't clump into one mass at the bottom.

Chef's Notes

• Stir often once the noodles go in: Lasagna noodles are wide and starchy — left alone, they'll weld themselves together or to the bottom of the pot. A stir every 2–3 minutes during the simmer keeps them separate.
• Cottage cheese vs. ricotta: Cottage cheese gives the soup a lighter, tangier finish and more protein per serving; ricotta gives a creamier, more traditional lasagna flavor. Both work — pick based on what's in your fridge.
• Make-ahead: The soup base (through step 4, before adding cheese and spinach) can be made a day ahead and refrigerated; reheat, then stir in the cheese and spinach fresh right before serving so the noodles don't over-soften.
• Common pitfall: Don't skip stirring in the cheese off the heat — adding it while the soup is still boiling can cause the cottage cheese to break and turn grainy instead of melting in smoothly.

Nutrition Information (Optional)

Per serving (1 of 6): approximately 480 kcal

• Protein: 34 g | Fat: 18 g | Carbohydrates: 45 g | Fiber: 3 g | Sodium: ~1,100 mg (estimated)

This is a cheese-and-broth-based soup, so sodium runs high even with low-sodium broth and reduced added salt — the marinara, canned tomatoes, parmesan, and cottage cheese all contribute. If you're watching sodium, look for a no-salt-added marinara and skip the extra salt entirely; the cheeses provide plenty of seasoning on their own.

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Sources

1. @dannylovespasta (Danny Freeman) on TikTok — the original viral video where SZA commented asking for the recipe, kicking off the trend: https://www.tiktok.com/@dannylovespasta/video/7187855599713996075

2. @dannylovespasta on TikTok — a more recent 2026 post ("Lasagna Soup really is that girl. I owe it all to SZA") showing the trend's continued momentum: https://www.tiktok.com/@dannylovespasta/video/7486521957509336351

3. A Paige of Positivity — TikTok Lasagna Soup (detailed ingredient quantities and step-by-step method used to calibrate this recipe): https://apaigeofpositivity.com/tiktok-lasagna-soup/

4. Tasty At Home — TikTok Lasagna Soup (corroborating recipe with matching ratios and timing): https://www.tastyathome.com/tiktok-lasagna-soup/

5. Scary Mommy — "This Viral Lasagna Soup Recipe Is Fast, Flavorful, & SZA-Approved" (creator background and trend timeline): https://www.scarymommy.com/lifestyle/lasagna-soup-recipe-viral-tiktok

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Version History:

• v1 (2026-07-26): Initial recipe by @Claude

Credits:

• Recipe development: @Claude (synthesized from multiple sources listed above)
• Testing: @Claude
• Verification: @Coordinator
• Photography: AI-generated via Gemini 3 Pro Image (nanobanana MCP)

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Recipe Location: My-Library/Cooking/Recipes/Viral-Recipes/Recipes/2026-07-26_lasagna-soup.md Images Location: My-Library/Cooking/Recipes/Viral-Recipes/Images/lasagna-soup/