ONE POT WHITE CHICKEN LASAGNA SOUP

ONE POT WHITE CHICKEN LASAGNA SOUP (VIDEO!)
ONE POT WHITE CHICKEN LASAGNA SOUP IS WONDERFULLY CREAMY, HEARTY AND COMFORTING BUT SO EASY – DESTINED TO BECOME A NEW FAMILY FAVORITE! 
One Pot White Chicken Lasagna Soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings -12 servings

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 9-11 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 15 oz can canneli beans, rinsed and rained
  • 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
  • 1 tsp EACH dried parsley, dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp EACH dried oregano, dried thyme, salt, pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • dash- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 10 uncooked lasagna noodles broken into approx. 1-2 inch pieces*
  • 2-3 cups half and half (may sub fat free evaporated milk)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
  • 10 oz chopped frozen baby spinach, thawed
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Cheese Garnish
  • shredded mozzarella cheese
  • freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • ricotta cheese 
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven/soup pot over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until almost cooked through. Remove to a plate.
  2. Melt butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil in the now empty pot and heat over medium high heat. Add onions and carrots and cook, while stirring, for 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle in flour then cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes (it will be thick).
  3. Turn heat to low and gradually stir in 8 cups chicken broth. Whisk 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 1 cup additional chicken broth and add to soup. Stir in chicken, beans, chicken bouillon and all remaining herbs and spices. Stir in lasagna noodles.
  4. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until lasagna noodles are tender, stirring occasionally so noodles don’t stick to bottom (approximately 20-30 minutes).
  5. Turn heat to low, discard bay leaf and stir in half and half, optional heavy cream and spinach and warm through. Stir in 1 cup Parmesan cheese until melted. Stir in additional half and half or broth if desired for a less “chunky” soup. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Garnish individual servings with desired amount of cheeses.
RECIPE NOTES
*I love lasagna noodles in this recipe - they are slurpilicious! Don't worry about them breaking evenly - you won't notice once they cook. You can also replace the noodles with 2 1/2 cups uncooked small shells if desired and simmer for less time.
**If you want to omit the heavy cream but still would like a thicker soup then I suggest whisking 2 teaspoons cornstarch with some of the chicken broth and adding to the soup to simmer and thicken.