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There is nothing more comforting and soul-warming than Pasta Fagioli!
Veggies, sausage and lots of pasta and beans create the most delicious Pasta Fagioli Soup for a favorite hearty meal.
What is Pasta Fagioli?
Pasta e Fagioli is a traditional Italian dish that translates to “pasta and beans.” It’s made with simple ingredients like pasta, beans, and tomatoes, and sometimes has a little bit of meat or veggies.
Sometimes confused with minestrone, the difference between the two is that minestrone has a variety of vegetables and usually more broth while pasta fagioli is mainly pasta and beans.
In this easy Pasta Fagioli recipe, I use two types of beans for extra protein, while dried herbs make the broth irresistibly flavorful. This version, somewhat similar to Olive Garden’s, has sausage and veggies so it’s as hearty as it is delicious.
How To Make Pasta Fagioli
I love soup recipes any time of year and one tops our list. It’s easy, delicious, and hearty. If making without sausage, reduce the broth slightly.
- Brown sausage and onion. Add in remaining ingredients (recipe below), except for pasta, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, cook the pasta in salted water until al dente.
- Stir the pasta into the bean mixture and serve.
Serve pasta Fagioli soup next to some warm garlic bread and a Caesar salad for the perfect meal.
Freezing Pasta Fagioli Soup
- Cool soup completely before packaging it for freezing.
- Add soup to gallon or quart-size zip-top plastic freezer bags.
- Lay bags flat in a single layer in the freezer, when frozen, stack bags to save space.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Holly’s Tips
- Cook the pasta on the side and add it to the soup before serving.
- If planning for leftovers, the pasta can be stored separately.
- Add red pepper flakes for a little heat
Savory Satisfying Soups
Did your family love this Pasta Fagioli Soup? Leave us a rating and a comment below.
Pasta e Fagioli Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage mild or spicy, or ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 1 rib celery diced
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 8 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 15 ounces canned red kidney beans drained and rinsed, 1 can
- 15 ounces canned cannellini beans drained and rinsed, or Great Northern beans
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 cup ditalini or small pasta such as tubetti or elbow macaroni
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ground Italian sausage and cook without moving for about one minute. Crumble it using a wooden spoon and continue cooking until browned, 3-5 minutes. Drain excess fat.
- Move the cooked sausage to one side of the pot, add the onion and garlic to the other half, and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender.
- Add chopped carrots, celery, and diced tomatoes. Stir and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes.
- Add basil, Italian seasoning, thyme, rosemary, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and drained and rinsed beans. Season with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. If needed, add more water, one cup at a time.
- In a separate pot, add water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Season with salt. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain well and toss with a bit of olive oil. Set aside.
- Once vegetables are tender, stir in pasta until heated through.
- Garnish with parsley and grated parmesan cheese if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Pasta, Soup
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I used sweet Italian sausage & used 2 cans of diced tomatoes replacing the tomato sauce with the additional diced tomatoes. Delicious!
Absolutely Delicious
Perfect on a rainy day
Absolutely delicious and easy to make. Shared with family who have never had this before and it was a big hit!
Excellent recipe! Doubled the recipe and used a pound of lean ground beef and a pound of ground Italian sausage. Tasted better than the Olive Garden’s!
Our favorite recipe!
Turned out super delicious. I added additional carrots and celery and used mini penne as the pasta and cooked it directly in the soup. First time making it and it will not be my last !
Absolutely delicious! I did add more carrots and celery cause I like a little more chunk. Leftover bacon, in it went and a splash of wine too. I make soup all the time and this a new family favorite.
I Love the Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup and I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. I have a question about the serving size. As written it says “8 bowls” but in my family one person’s bowl might be 2 cups (16oz) while another might be 1.5 cups (10oz). For meal planning purposes, and freezing portions, what is the volume that makes up the 8 bowls?
Hi Jennifer, a serving is approximately 2 cups.
Absolutely delicious! The spice blend is great. I also added about half a tsp of red pepper flakes for a bit of heat. I put this in a pressure cooker for five minutes (then quick release) instead of cooking it on the stove and it was super easy. Will definitely make this again!
What can I substitute tomatoe sauce for did not read and do not have
I have only tried the recipe as written Janice. You could try leaving the tomato sauce out and while it will change the flavor, it will still be delicious. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
We really liked the herb mixture in the recipe. I get now why you include “soup” in the title
because technically this isn’t pasta fajoli-the ratio of broth to pasta is way off from authentic pasta fajoli. I cooked the pasta in the broth and used a bit more pasta. Next time I might reduce the amount of tomato also.
With using beef or pork in this recipe why would you use chicken broth? I have not mixed then like that. I use an onion broth to let the herbs/spices mingle & give it the flavor.
I prefer the flavor of the chicken broth in this recipe. You can certainly change it to your liking.
I make soup almost every wk. I use every kind of pasta there is & it is all good. I even make my own pasta when Im real energetic. I also grow the majority of my out veggies & herbs/spices so I constantly try different combinations.
I bet this is even better with homemade pasta!
Ridiculously delicious soup. My son could live on this. But DO cook the ditalini right in it! You could even use half the amount of sausage and it would still be good.
a winter staple
Can this recipe be adapted to use a slow cooker? And what other types of pasta could be used if ditalini is not available?
This recipe can be prepared in a slow cooker. The following are the suggested changes:
To adapt this recipe for the slow cooker, brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Once browned, drain any excess fat and transfer the sausage to the slow cooker. Add the remaining soup ingredients except for the pasta. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high fo 3-4 hours. Before serving, boil the pasta in salted water according to the package directions. Stir in the pasta and serve.
How can I adapt this recipe for my slow cooker?
The following are the suggested changes:
To adapt this recipe for the slow cooker, brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Once browned, drain any excess fat and transfer the sausage to the slow cooker. Add the remaining soup ingredients except for the pasta. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Before serving, boil the pasta in salted water according to the package directions. Stir in the pasta and serve.
Absolutely delicious, easy, quick and customizable!
What can I use instead of kidney bean?
You can use another type of canned beans in this recipe.
why would you use more dishes to make this soup.I would add the pasta in the soup pot and add water or broth to allow
IT TO cook in the broth
IT WAS DELICIOUS
You can certainly cook the pasta in the broth!