One-Pot Lasagna Soup with Ground Beef

<strong>Soup</strong>

1. To a large Dutch oven or soup pot, add the ground beef, onion, and saute over medium-high heat to brown the beef, about 5 minutes. Crumble and stir beef frequently as it cooks to ensure even browning. Tip - If desired, you can add 1 tablespoon olive oil to help things along if you're using very lean beef.

2. Add the garlic, stir, and saute for 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir continuously. Note - If you're using a fattier cut of ground beef, ground Italian sausage, or chorizo, you may consider draining the cooking liquid but in most cases, if you're using lean or extra-lean ground beef, there's very little fat that will be rendered out, and what is present is pure flavor and I do not drain it off.

3. Add the chicken broth, spaghetti sauce, petite diced tomatoes, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, stir to combine, and bring to a boil.

4. Add the lasagna noodles, and cook until they're al dente, about 11 to 13 minutes, or as indicated on the package. Broth Tips - If at any time the soup looks like it needs more broth because the noodles have soaked up a fair amount, add additional chicken broth 1/2 to 1 cup at a time. If by chance (less likely) the soup is too brothy, simply allow it to boil rapidly for an extra couple minutes and some of the excess liquid volume will evaporate.

5. Add a couple big handfuls of spinach, turn off the heat, and stir to combine until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes.

6. Taste the soup and make any necessary seasoning adjustments as desired. Tips - If the soup tastes at all flat, boring, or lackluster, it likely needs more salt. I personally add another 1-2 teaspoons at this point but do as you see fit. It may also need more pepper, Italian seasoning, or more red pepper flakes to add a tiny bit of additional flavor in the form of 'heat' without being spicy in the least.

7. Optionally, add 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. I find that it balances the acidic nature of all the tomato-based ingredients but it's personal preference. Set soup aside momentarily.