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Slow Cooker Pumpkin Lasagna Soup is just the recipe you want on repeat all Fall Season! This recipe is so perfect for those who love lasagna, but don’t love all the work! This recipe is cozy and delicious with all the taste of everything you love in a traditional lasagna, but with an additional pumpkin flair. It’s so simple to throw the ingredients into your slow cooker or Instant Pot.
I’ve been on a lasagna kick ever since I discovered the ease in which I can enjoy my Skillet Lasagna. I knew I wanted to change things up a bit with a slow cooker soup variation! This recipe is 10x easier than a labor intensive traditional lasagna, and so simple to throw together for a busy weeknight meal.
As a nutritionist with teenagers, I am always looking for hearty options that are filling but also so easy to make ahead! I have been prioritizing keeping our meals balanced with a hearty dose of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables for antioxidants and fiber. I love soups like this with all those elements packed into one simple, nourishing bowl. It checks all the boxes. And the best part? The leftovers make the easiest lunches or another quick dinner later in the week. This soup checks all the boxes! Best part, is that you can have leftovers for lunches or another meal throughout the week.
What you need to make Slow Cooker Pumpkin Lasagna
As mentioned above, this recipe is hearty and filling with all the right macronutrients. Here are the real food ingredients you will need:
- Ground turkey + Italian sausage: you can also use ground beef or chicken in its place, but I like to use ground turkey as a leaner option to balance out the sausage. The sausage is such a great way to boost flavor in this recipe!
- Canned tomatoes + tomato sauce: I do believe this combo is also a benefit. Using store-bought tomato sauce such as Rao’s is giving this recipe a bit more flavor than just the canned tomatoes!
- Onion + mushrooms: these are the vegetables we’ll sauté. I love adding mushrooms to recipes like this. The great part about mushrooms is that when you chop them up pretty finely, it’s hard to detect them in this recipe, but they add a punch of richness.
- Canned pumpkin: a great way to sneak in some vitamin A and antioxidants! You can’t really even taste the pumpkin flavor, it’s subtle. I love the way it blends so well with tomatoes and also adds some creaminess. I’ve been finding more and more ways to work it into recipes lately.
- Spices: Italian seasoning, sea salt, garlic powder are all used here.
- Lasagna noodles: you can use any pasta, but I prefer lasagna noodles to make it feel more like a lasagna recipe. Use real lasagna noodles, and NOT the no boil noodles!
- Cheese: I use whipped cottage cheese in this recipe and mozzarella, regular cottage cheese is also fine! Cottage cheese adds another element of protein. I use low-fat cottage cheese. To whip cottage cheese, just place in a food processor and blend until smooth. Feel free to top with parmesan cheese as an option.
- Broth: Chicken broth, vegetable broth, or beef broth can work in this recipe.
How to make Pumpkin Lasagna Soup
- Start off by sautéing the onion and mushrooms with the ground turkey and sausage. Dump into the slow cooker.
- Add the spices and salt, pumpkin, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and broth. Cook on low for 4 hours.
- After four hours is up, add the broken lasagna noodles and cook on high. After 30 minutes, give the soup a stir and swirl in the cottage cheese and mozzarella.
- Serve hot, and top with additional parmesan cheese (optional).
- Store in an air tight container for up 5 days in the fridge. You can freeze, but the noodles tend to break and get mushy when re-heated so it’s not recommended to freeze unless you keep the noodles out.
Can this be made in the Instant Pot?
Yes, absolutely! Sauté the turkey and sausage with the onion and mushrooms. Add the soup ingredients: spices, pumpkin, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and broth. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Use a quick release. Open the lid and add the broken lasagna noodles. Make sure the setting is on “keep warm” and cover the lid. Check after 20 minutes if the noodles are softened. It will take somewhere between 20 – 30 minutes. Once the noodles are soft, stir in the mozzarella and cottage cheese. Top with parmesan to serve!
Adaptations
As mentioned above, you can make some easy adaptations to this recipe! Feel free to change the protein to ground beef or chicken, you can also omit the sausage and use more turkey or beef. The pumpkin can be easily omitted. Extra veggies are also a welcomed addition! Chopped green or red bell pepper, carrots, or zucchini are also great additions. You can also swap out the type of pasta used if you don’t have lasagna noodles. Finally, ricotta cheese can be used in place of cottage cheese.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 lb Ground turkey
- 1 lb Italian sausage, (remove casing)
- 1 medium Yellow onion
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1.5 cups Tomato sauce or marinara sauce
- 1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 14 oz can Pumpkin puree
- 5 cups Chicken broth
- 8 oz Lasagna noodles, , (broken into smaller pieces)
- 1 cup Cottage cheese
- 1 cup Shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup Shredded parmesan for serving , (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan to medium heat. Once hot, add the oil then add the mushrooms and onion. Cook for a few minutes, then add in the turkey and Italian sausage. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the turkey and sausage is fully cooked. Add to the slow cooker.
- Top with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, sea salt, tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, pumpkin, and broth. Give the mixture a quick stir. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 4 hours.
- At the 4 hour mark, remove the lid and toss in the broken lasagna noodles. Set the slow cooker to high, cover with the lid, and cook for another 20 – 30 minutes or until the noodles are softened.
- Stir in the cottage cheese and mozzarella. Pour into individual bowls and top with parmesan cheese if using!
Oooops–just saw the InstaPot adaptation!!
How would the directions change for InstaPot?
This was delicious and easy to make! Instead of shredded mozzarella, I put in buffalo mozzarella balls. The first time I made this, I used lasagna noodles. The second time, I found Mafalda noodles which look like mini lasagna noodles. They were even easier to work with because they were already small. Everybody raved about this soup (we had extended family over) and it was so easy to make. Thanks for another great recipe!