Chicken Lasagna Soup

So it was wet, cold, and gray yesterday. I couldn't decide what to make for dinner, had completely forgotten to try to use the crockpot. I wanted soup. Or pasta. Soup and pasta are comforting on a blah cold dreary GA day. But soup makes my husband starve. The solution? I invented a chicken lasagna soup!


Chicken Lasagna soup
4 cups chicken broth (I made mine while cooking the chicken)
4 shredded chicken cooked chicken thighs
1/2 onion diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. crushed bay leaves
5 or 6 sliced mushrooms
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 bag homemade marinara
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup frozen spinach
1 cup garbanzo beans, cooked (yes I still had some from previous post)
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 box lasagna noodles (I like whole wheat)
fresh basil, for garnish

If you are making chicken and chicken broth, boil the chicken in about 12 cups of water with some onion, celery, garlic, etc. Shred chicken and reserve, return bones and skin to pot and let simmer for the duration of your cooking. Strain and freeze leftover broth.

Now, sautee onions & mushrooms with olive oil, garlic, bay leaves & black pepper. Once onions are about half cooked, add chicken & celery. Cook about 3 minutes and add the frozen spinach. Continue to cook until spinach is thawed, add marinara, 1 cup of broth, and the garbanzo beans. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and 3 more cups of chicken broth. Simmer another 20 minutes or until you just can't resist any longer. Break up lasagna noodles into bite size pieces (this is a great job for a first grade or so child running around driving you nuts) and boil about 10 minutes in a seperate pot. Once the noodles or done, drain and stir into the soup.

To serve, fill bowls about 3/4 full with soup, and scoop 1-2 tbsp of ricotta cheese on top of each bowl. Garnish with chopped fresh basil. Serve with toast or other bread item.


My daughter declared it yummy and my husband waited about an hour after eating and decided to go for thirds INSTEAD OF raiding the Halloween candy.

I felt like it need some cayenne. If you are a spice lover, you may want to add this. You could also make this in the crock pot, if you planned ahead.