Weight Watcher Skinny Lasagna Soup

This three-point Weight Watcher Skinny Lasagna Soup is full of rich, deep earthy and cheesy flavors without all the fat. And, this soup cooks in the slow cooker all day so you can have it any time of the year without the hassle that comfort food dinners usually bring.

Prep Time20

Cook Time8

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: comfort food, crockpot, italian, pasta, skinny, slow cooker, soup, weight watchers

Servings: 12 bowls

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
2 pounds lean ground turkey or turkey sausage crumbles I do 1 pound each
15 oz can Italian stewed tomatoes
15 oz can tomato sauce
15 oz can crushed tomatoes
4 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups fat-free chicken broth canned or homemade
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box frozen or 2 cups fresh spinach optional
2 chopped zucchini optional
2 cups diced mushrooms optional
2 cups whole wheat rotini or bowties or 8 sheets lasagna noodles
Fat-Free Ricotta or Cottage Cheese
Fat-Free Mozarella cheese for topping

Instructions

Add a slow cooker liner to crockpot.
In a skillet, heat oil.
Dice onion and bell pepper.
Add to hot oil.
Saute for 4-5 minutes, or longer until onions are translucent and softened.
Scoop into the bottom of the slow cooker.
In same pan, cook meat, unless using sausage crumbles.
Once the meat is browned, add to the slow cooker.
Into Slow Cooker, add tomatoes, sauce, paste, chicken broth, and seasonings.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Longer means deeper flavor.
30 minutes before serving, add spinach, zucchini, and mushrooms if using.
20 minutes before serving, cook pasta*.
Serve - ½ cup cooked pasta in the bottom, 1 spoonful cheese, ladle over soup, sprinkle with mozzarella

Notes

Notes: This is adapted from a Pioneer Woman recipe and others I’ve had before from Pinterest. To make it Weight Watcher Friendly, I subbed out the meat for a lean turkey and added in lots of veggies and tomato flavors that get a deep and rich flavor from simmering in the slow cooker all day. I’ve replaced the cheesy part of the lasagna with one big scoop of Fat-Free ricotta or cottage cheese. I put mine in the bottom since my husband likes the taste but not the look. But, it could be a really fun bowl of food with that scoop of cheese on top. And, feel free to sub out fresh herbs any time you have them. The meat can be added when you build your bowl of soup if you do not want it simmering in the sauce all day.

*NOODLES - Many recipes call for you to add the dry noodles to the soup two hours before you are ready to eat this. I find the noodles just continue to absorb the liquid and turn into a really soft texture that I just don’t like. So, I like to keep my noodles separate and just spoon the soup over them as we eat this. If you were storing it for lunches or putting half in the freezer, just stir them together. But if keeping for leftovers later in the same week, store them separately in the refrigerator and serve them fresh in layers, like you did the first time.

PESTO - pesto is one of my favorite ways to season Italian foods. You can add 2 Tablespoons in with the seasonings. It only adds one more point per serving, but a big punch of flavor. Substitute 2 tablespoons of Pesto for 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning.