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Slow Cooker Vegan Lasagna Soup

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Hearty lentils and tender noodles are simmered up in chunky tomato soup and topped with creamy vegan pesto ricotta to make this cozy vegan lasagna soup. 

Vegan Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

I keep saying I need to use the slow cooker more often, and I really do! Now that it’s getting cooler out I’m all about having dinner simmering on the counter all day, so I think it’s going to actually happen.

A few months back I posted this chili mac recipe, which was a revelation. The idea seems really simple, but for some reason it never occurred to me that I could let my liquid ingredients cook up in the slow cooker, and then throw pasta in at the end. With my newfound discovery, I decided it was time for some vegan lasagna soup.

Vegan Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

If you haven’t yet seen the non-vegan versions of this soup floating around on Pinterest, here’s the deal: tomato heavy soup, all the flavors of lasagna, noodles, and in most cases, copious amounts of cheese. Obviously, I had to work around the whole cheese thing.

Fortunately, ricotta cheese is one of the easiest things ever to veganize. I have a few formulas for vegan ricotta, but since I’m trying to keep things simple, I went with my basic cashew-tofu blend, flavored with some premade pesto. Easy! I had some pesto hanging out in the freezer (made from this recipe), but if you’d rather go with store-bought, Amore is a vegan brand that’s pretty widely available.

Vegan Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

My vegan lasagna soup turned out to be every bit as satisfying as a big slab of regular old lasagna, and after hanging out in the fridge for a day, the leftovers pretty closely resembled lasagna, thanks to the noodles sucking up most of the broth. This is the perfect healthy, cozy, and meal-worthy soup to have around during the week after a holiday feast.

Make a big batch, pack it up, and enjoy it for days.

Vegan Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

Vegan Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
4.92 from 12 votes
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Slow Cooker Vegan Lasagna Soup

Hearty lentils and tender noodles are simmered up in chunky tomato soup and topped with creamy vegan pesto ricotta to make this cozy vegan lasagna soup. The best part: everything cooks up hands-free in the slow cooker!
Course Soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 15 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 450 kcal
Author Alissa

Ingredients

For the Lasagna Soup

  • 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3/4 cup dried brown lentils
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 8 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
  • 3 cups chopped spinach leaves

For the Vegan Pesto Ricotta

  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup unflavored soy or almond milk
  • 1/4 pound extra firm tofu, drained
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons prepared vegan pesto, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Make the Lasagna Soup

  1. Place broth, onion, garlic, basil, oregano and lentils into slow cooker and stir a few times to blend. Set the slow cooker to high and cover. Allow to cook until lentils are just a bit on the firm side, about 2 hours.
  2. Add diced and crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker and stir. Allow to continue cooking on high for 2 to 3 hours more.
  3. Add noodles and spinach to the slow cooker and give the mixture a stir. Allow to cook until noodles are tender and spinach is wilted, about 12 minutes.
  4. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Make the Vegan Pesto Ricotta

  1. Place cashews, and milk into food processor and blend until smooth. Add tofu and pulse a few times, just until the mixture takes on a ricotta-like texture. Add pesto to taste, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve

  1. Divide soup into bowls, and top each with a dollop of vegan pesto ricotta. Serve.

Recipe Notes

You may have some extra ricotta. It will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days, or you can freeze it. Use it as a pasta or salad topper, or save it for another batch of soup.

Nutrition Facts
Slow Cooker Vegan Lasagna Soup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 450 Calories from Fat 151
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16.8g 26%
Saturated Fat 3.4g 17%
Sodium 887mg 37%
Potassium 802mg 23%
Total Carbohydrates 55.2g 18%
Dietary Fiber 13.2g 53%
Sugars 10.6g
Protein 22.6g 45%
Calcium 13%
Iron 39%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Comments

  1. This looks so good. I never use lentil for vegan lasagna recipes. I happen to have gluten-free lasagna noodles in my kitchen so now I know I have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing, Alissa!
    Reply

  3. Love this! I'm always looking for good vegetarian slow cooker recipes and this one is ticking all the comfort food boxes. Can't wait to try it out!
    Reply

  6. This was so good! It really does taste like lasagna! Thanks for a really great recipe! My husband enjoyed it, too.
    Reply

  8. Delicious recipe! I'm wondering though, should the onions still have a bite to them? I was in a rush so I cooked the lentils for 2 hours, and then added my tomatoes and cooked it for about 1 1/2 hours before adding the noodles and spinach. Where it says 2-3 hours, do you think that could have something to do with it? The flavor was delicious though - I'll definitely make it again. Thanks :)PS. SO glad I stumbled across your blog!! I'm newly vegetarian, and your recipes sound amazing. I saved a bunch of them to try! :)
    Reply

    • Hi Kari! The onions should be pretty well cooked, so no bite. :) If you're short on time I'd say give them a quick saute in a frying pan before throwing them into the slow cooker. I'm glad you enjoyed this though. Thanks for stopping back to let me know!
      Reply

    • After 4 1/2 hours my onions and lentils weren’t done. And 12 minutes wasn’t enough time for my noodles. It also didn’t look like th picture, even though I followed the recipe exactly. I ended up adding a jar of pasta sauce and tomato paste to get a chunkier consistency and stronger flavor.
      Reply

      • Sorry to hear that! You didn't by chance add the tomatoes at the beginning of cooking? They'll prevent the lentils from cooking completely. My only other thought is that slow cookers vary so maybe yours is a bit slower than mine.
        Reply

  9. I made this last week and ended up with a delicious lentil veggie noodle soup, but definitely not lasagna! I'm not sure what happened since I actually followed the recipe to a "T" (which I rarely ever do!). Maybe next time I'll up my tomato game, adding another can or even some marinara. I love your website and recipes, even if this didn't turn out as expected! Saenz is a family name for me, by the way!
    Reply

  10. Is there a reason you add the tomatoes half way through cooking? It would be easier to add them in at the beginning and just leave it all day till adding the noodles and spinach at the end.
    Reply

    • Yeah, I thought of that. The problem is that when you cook lentils with tomatoes (or other acidic ingredients), they often won't cook all the way. One work around would be to use precooked lentils and just add them at the end with the noodles and spinach.
      Reply

  12. Great thanks, I have this in the slow cooker now. Only difference I used was I only had 1/4 a cup lentils but I had a bag of trio sprouted quick cook bean trio. Hopefully that will work.
    Reply

  13. 2 questions:1. Can I use the no boil/oven ready lasagna noodles? That's all I have. 2. I don't have a slow cooker. Any tips for making this on the stove?Thanks! Looks great, can't wait to try it!
    Reply

    • I'm pretty sure no-boil noodles would work okay - I actually used to work at a restaurant and the chef told me they're exactly the same as regular noodles! As far as making it on the stove, I'd say stick with the order of ingredients, etc., and just give the lentils 30-40 minutes to cook at a simmer over medium heat. You could even sautee the onion and garlic if you want, but that's totally not necessary and up to you. Enjoy!
      Reply

  14. I made this last weekend and it was delicious! So hearty, great flavor, and I love that it has lentils in it. I used pak choi instead of spinach because I had it growing in the greenhouse. Delish! The bonus was your recipe for ricotta using both tofu and cashews. The combo makes it truly a ricotta type cheese. So very tasty! Much better than any vegan ricotta I've made in the past. Thank you, Alissa!
    Reply

  15. I made this last night!! Delicious!! I did not make the pesto topping. It didn't need it! Can't wait to make it again. I didn't need any salt or pepper, fabulous taste just the way it is!!!
    Reply

  16. I'm curious -- you mention this is vegan (not vegetarian), but don't lasagna noodles contain eggs? Are you using some special kind of vegan lasanga?
    Reply

  17. Made this last night with a few tweaks - I didn't have diced or crushed tomatoes on hand and am working on using what I already have on hand, so I used 1 can of campbells condensed tomato soup (mixed with 1 can water) and some marinara sauce I had in the freezer, and reduced spices a bit as the marinara was already seasoned. I also added 1/2 cup plain cashew milk to cut the acidity a bit. I used broccoli and kale in place of spinach as that's what I hand on hand. I think I added a bit less liquid than called for as it ended up more like a sloppy lasagna, not so much a soup after cooling overnight, which I am totally okay with. As I'm not vegan I'll be adding a bit of cheese before eating and am so looking forward to lunch today :D Thanks for a great, flexible recipe that helps me clean out the pantry/freezer.
    Reply

  18. Made this on the stovetop as I wanted it done sooner. I don't eat oil so I just "fried" the onion and garlic in a small amount of broth in the bottom of the soup pot. After the onions were soft I added the rest of the broth and brought it to a boil. Added the lentils and simmered for 20-30 minutes until tender. Then I added the tomatoes and cooked maybe 10-20 more minutes. Lastly added the pasta for 10 and then the spinach for 10 more. Done in about an hour and a half! SO delicious and even better as leftovers though as I imagine the crockpot would be. Thank you !!!!!
    Reply

    • I think so, but I haven't tried it. If I had to guess I'd say about 6 to 8 hours total, with the tomatoes being added at about 4 hours. If you won't be home to add the tomatoes at that time you might be able to get away with adding then at the end, turning up the heat, and just allowing everything to cook for a few more minutes until it's heated throughout.
      Reply

  20. Just made this for my family, we are new to a wfpb and I have never attempted a vegan cheese before. This was delicious and everyone loved it, including my reluctant to this new way of eating teenager. Thanks for sharing.
    Reply

    • Just did this in the Instant Pot at 4 minutes, release after 10 minutes. I soaked the lentils overnight. I topped with follow your heart parmesan instead of the ricotta. Came out nice!
      Reply

  23. Just made this for dinner and it was fantastic. I’m not much of a soup eater, but with all of these clean and wholesome ingredients, I will definitely make this again. It is popping with flavor and I feel great about eating it
    Reply

    • I'm usually lazy and go with store-bought (Amore brand is vegan), but here's a recipe if you'd like to try making your own: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/lemon-pistachio-pesto/
      Reply

  26. Delicious soup! The ricotta pesto really brings out the lasagna taste. I was slightly worried because I did not have the full 4 1/2 cups of broth had to use 1 and 1/2 cup water as substitute. Thankfully it still came out delicious. Delicious once again maybe I didn't say that enough 😃 thank you for the recipe
    Reply

  27. The whole family enjoyed it! I think I’ll double the recipe next time and add a few more lasagna noodles than what is on this recipe.
    Reply

  28. my husband and I just moved to a tiny motel room in magdalena, new mexico for a contract job and we are so happy. however, we have no kitchen. only a crock pot and a high speed blender. we arrived yesterday and this was the first thing I made without the comforts of my own kitchen. it is so easy and delicious. thank you for helping to make our transition so lovely. ✨💚🌱
    Reply

  30. I’ve made this half a dozen times or more now and we love it!! My kids love it even though they are not vegan like we are. Thank you for this recipe! ❤️
    Reply

  31. Made this tonight in my instant pot. My oh my was this delicious!! Non-vegan husband went back for seconds! Ricotta pesto was divine, although I cheated and used a jar of vegan store-bought pesto. Husband isn’t a fan of tofu but raved about the ricotta as well. Picky teen also devoured the meal. Instant pot: sauté onion for a few mins and add garlic and cook one more min then throw everything else in, minus the greens, for 4 minutes. Natural release 4 mins then quick release. Stir in greens, I used kale, and let it sit for a couple of mins. No need to soak lentils! Thanks for a fab meal!!
    Reply

  32. Made this last night. Because i was concerned about it having too much liquid, i cut the broth a bit and added some tomato paste at the end when i added the pasta. Worked perfect! Was think and full of flavor. I also added a package of frozen chopped spinach that i had thawed and drained.After it was done, i put some in a separate pot and added some shredded chicken for the non vegans in our house.... Everyone was happy.... and I only h ad to cook one meal. And i have plenty of leftovers that will be even better today. Great, hearty soup for a snowy night.......
    Reply

  33. DELICIOUS!!! I sauted the onions and garlic in my iP first then put everything except noodles and kale (I was out of spinach but had kale I needed to use, and I also used green lentils because I was out of brown) brought it all to pressure for 8 minutes, did a quick release then added noodles, brought back to pressure for 4 minutes, quick release again, then wilted in kale. Delicious! Will definitely be a regular in dinner rotation! Thank you!
    Reply

  34. My boy and I made a gigantic double batch for this week's meal prep and we LOVE it! We used Trish's instant pot method from an earlier comment (Thank you!), and I'm not sure if it's because we doubled the batch, but but it turned out less like a soup and more like a deconstructed lasagna. It was still delicious though, no complaints! (But if anyone else wants it more soupy and intends to use the instant pot, I'd probably consider adding more broth/tomatoes.)Also: Just a quick note, (and I seriously apologize in advance if this offends anyone, because I certainly don't mean to!!!) but if you're vegetarian instead of vegan, using a low-fat ricotta cheese instead of the vegan recipe posted (which I'm sure is delicious!) brought my calorie count on this down to about 350 per serving at five servings and is still absolutely incredibly satisfying.Thanks for the fantastic recipe! This is the first I've seen on your site, and we can't wait to try more. =D
    Reply

  35. Oh no! I just threw everything in my slow cooker and started it... only to read that I wasn’t supposed to add everything at once. So sad!! Any fixes I can try since I just started it? There’s no way I can dig out the spinach or noodles... and obviously not the tomatoes.
    Reply

    • Oh no! I'm sure this is too late, but the only fix I could think of that might work is to transfer everything to the stove and let it simmer until everything is done. Even then you'd probably get some things cooking up faster than others.
      Reply

  36. This was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! We loved it compared to any meat lasagna dish. I used 1/3 cup almond meal instead of cashews, and added 3 tbs nutritional yeast. I food processed plain fresh basil instead of pesto. The ricotta was amazing amazing amazing. Thank you!!!!! Subscribing and shared this with all my friends.
    Reply

  37. This may be too late to ask, but as far as the calories go, does that include the ricotta or is it just solely the soup. Can't wait to make this soon for the family :)
    Reply

  39. Made this tonight. My husband and I LOVED it. I took a pic, couldn’t find a way to submit it. It is such a beautiful dish. Made garlicky ciabatta toast. We used it to dip into the soup. A terrific recipe. It gets printed out and put in my permanent recipe binder. Thank you!
    Reply

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