Pasta e Fagioli soup is thick and hardy with beans, pasta, vegetables, a spicy tomato sauce, and optional meat. You can easily make this Olive Garden copycat at home on the stovetop or in your crock pot.
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Pasta e Fagioli means "pasta and beans" and is a traditional Italian peasant soup—meat is optional.
My version is adapted from Food.com recipe Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli with a few changes to simplify and expanded options to make it your own.
😊Why you will love this soup
- It is a delicious, hardy, thick soup packed with meat, vegetables, beans, and pasta.
- A "fancy" soup you can serve to company.
- Easy to modify the ingredients to your needs.
- Perfect for making ahead and will store well.
👨🍳How to make this Pasta e Fagioli soup on the stovetop
- Brown ground meat in a large pot like a Dutch oven—drain excess fat.
- Dice an onion, chop three stalks of celery, Juline one carrot, and mince garlic.
- Add the prepared veggies to the browned meat—cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- Rinse beans and add to the pot with diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, beef broth, vinegar, and spices.
- Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to simmer and cover.
- Cook a smaller ridged pasta al dente and add to the soup after it has simmered for one hour.
- Simmer another 10 minutes before serving.
👨🍳How to make Pasta e Fagioli soup in a crock pot
- Brown the ground meat in a skillet with the onion and add the garlic for the last minute of cooking.
- Add everything but the pasta to the crock pot that is 5 quarts or larger.
- Cook on low for 6 hours (3 hours on high) until the vegetables are tender. It does not usually need longer since the components are cut small, and the meat is already cooked.
- Cook the pasta al denta and add the last 15-30 minutes of cooking.
📋Ingredients
- Pasta—Ditalini pasta, short tubes with ridges, is the classic choice. But use what you have, but it should be small.
- Beans—The old Italian recipes use Cannellini beans. But the Olive Garden version is made with white beans like Great Northern or Navy, along with red kidney beans.
- Broth—The recipe, as written, uses ground beef, so the beef broth is used as the base and to replace fluid drained from the beans. But the chicken broth is more common if no beef is involved.
- Seasoning—You can use one tablespoon of Italian season to replace the basil, oregano, and thyme. Fresh herbs will add more flavor if you have them.
- Meat— Meat is optional, but my version includes ground beef. Other ground meat like Italian sausage, ground chicken, or ground turkey can be added. Meats like bacon or pancetta are commonly added for flavor. Or leave the meat out and make an excellent Vegetarian soup.
❓FAQs
Yes, this makes a great gluten-free soup just by your choice of pasta. Since it is cooked and added at the end, any gluten-free or alternative pasta is a good choice.
While both are Italian soups, Pasta e Fagioli is usually thicker and features pasta and beans. Minestrone features more vegetables and is thinner. But there are differences between regionals in Italy.
The pasta will absorb liquid from the soup during storage, somewhat changing the pasta texture and thickening the soup.
It is preferred to store the soup without pasta, but sometimes it just doesn't work out, and you will need to add a bit of water or broth when reheating.
Top your soup with a bit of fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese. Crusty bread or breadsticks with a side salad will make a perfect meal.
❄️Storage and Reheating Leftovers
If you plan to store, cook without the pasta and add it when reheating.
In the refrigerator, seal airtight and store for up to 4 days. To freeze, seal in an airtight container and freeze for 3-4 months.
Reheating
If stored without pasta, cook that first.
I always prefer reheating on the stovetop over medium heat, but a microwave will work. Add a bit of broth or water to adjust thickness, especially if stored with pasta in the soup.
📖Italian Recipes
Boursin Cheese Sauce with Chicken and Pasta
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Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
This soup's ingredients, pasta and broth are not pictured.
In a large pot like a Dutch oven, brown 1 pound of ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat.
While the meat is browning, dice one medium onion and chop three stalks of celery. Juline one large or 2 medium carrots. Mince 2 cloves of garlic.
Add the prepared veggies to the browned meat—cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Rinse 1 can each of red kidney and great northern beans.
Stir in two 14 ½ oz cans of diced tomatoes, 15 oz can tomato sauce, 12oz of tomato or V8 vegetable juice, 1 teaspoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon basil, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ½ teaspoon thyme. Add the rinsed beans and added a can of beef broth. Add the second can of broth if you want a little more of a soup texture. Simmer for 1 hour.
Cook ½ pound of pasta al dente. After the soup has simmered for one hour, add the al dente pasta a simmer for another 10 minutes before serving.
📖 Recipe
Easy Pasta e Fagioli Soup—Stovetop or Crock Pot
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Ingredients
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 1 onion - medium diced
- 3 stalks celery - chopped
- 1 carrot - large or 2 medium julienned
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 28 oz diced tomatoes
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 12 oz tomato juice - or V8 vegetable juice
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 14 light or dark red kidney beans - Low sodium, rinsed
- 14 Great Northern or Navy beans - Low sodium, rinsed
- 14-28 oz Low-sodium beef broth - If not using beef, change to chicken broth
- ½ pound pasta al dente - smaller pasta
Instructions
- In a large pot like a Dutch oven, brown 1 pound of ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat.
- While the meat is browning, dice one medium onion and chop three stalks of celery. Juline one large or 2 medium carrots. Mince 2 cloves of garlic.
- Add the prepared veggies to the browned meat—cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- Rinse 1 can each of red kidney and great northern beans.
- Stir in two 14 ½ oz cans of diced tomatoes, 15 oz can tomato sauce, 12oz of tomato or V8 vegetable juice, 1 teaspoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon basil, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ½ teaspoon thyme. Add the rinsed beans and added a can of beef broth. Add the second can of broth if you want a little more of a soup texture. Simmer for 1 hour.
- Cook ½ pound of pasta al dente. After the soup has simmered for one hour, add the al dente pasta a simmer for another 10 minutes before serving.
- Simmer another 10 minutes before serving.
Crock pot instructions are in the notes below.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You can use Italian Seasoning (1 tablespoon) to replace the herbs in this recipe.
- Ground beef is optional, and you can make it vegetarian or use other meats. If not using beef, use chicken broth instead of beef.
- Like all soups, you can vary the veggies and spices to your taste.
- This is a thick soup as written. I liked it better with the second can of broth.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
- Try to store without pasta, but if you do store with pasta, you will need to add some fluid to reheat.
- Make this gluten-free by using gluten-free pasta.
To make in a crock pot:
If you want to make a crock pot version of this soup, use a 5-quart or larger slow cooker.- Brown the ground meat in a skillet, adding the onion and garlic for the last couple of minutes of cooking. Drain well.
- Add everything but the pasta to the crock pot.
- Cook on low for about 6 hours (about 3 hours on high) until the vegetables are tender. It does not usually need longer since the components are cut small and the meat is already cooked.
- Cook the pasta al dente and add the last 30 minutes.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published January 5, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Brian Mooney FRMS says
Let me comment as a recently-retired university life sciences/chemistry professor who taught for years at several institutions with well-known culinary programs.
Rinsing the beans gets rid of a large proportion of oligosaccharides, a sugar which is readily fermented by the bacteria residing in the colon (large bowel). One fermentation product is gas.
All childhood jokes about “musical fruit” aside, this gas is more than a polite social concern. Many people find the gassiness produces an uncomfortable, even painful distention of the bowel. Draining and rinsing the beans may do little to reduce sodium (just use “no salt added” beans) but oligosaccharides are readily water-soluble and thus can be rinsed away to a good degree. Simply place the beans in a bowl or colander and rinse under running cool tap water until all the canned bean liquid is gone. (Soaking for an additional short while in cool water will likely remove even more of the offending sugar.). The gassiness problem is now largely solved.
If you are still bothered by gassiness, then “Beano” and similar enzyme-based products will likely be the best answer in addition to rinsing.
Yet another lovely recipe in this amazing collection of wonderful recipes.
Brian
Efghi's mommy says
Happy holidays! This year has been all about food. Food for ME...and food for the fridge...I detest cooking and I don't like combining money with food. I've been through many "cheatsheets to success" for food ideas and finally have settled down with 1.)101 cooking for two 2.) Food Network website and app..for all of my adventures in the kitchen. Then...I decided I ate everything good! And wanted a baby! Then! I realized it's not time for baby. Hope you get the message ❤😚😙💭😍🍾🍾🍾
Alicia Bland says
Looking forward to trying this and noticed that pepper and thyme are not on ingredient list.Made the broccoli cheese one last night-delicious and a big hit with my kids! Thanks!
DrDan says
Hi Alicia,
Thanks for the proof-read. This recipe in is need of a buff-up of text and pictures and is on the list. I have put them in the ingredient list. As you know, they were in the instructions at least.
Thanks again for the note.
Dan
Michael@Banquetssandiego says
This was outstanding… Loved it. My family wanted the recipe.
Dr Dan says
I think I will rinse beans from a can more than from a jar. I don't know why. It does decrease the sodium some but not that much. I'm going to try to plan my cooking more and I want to do some dried beans soon.
The soup was excellent but I will try to do half a batch or immediately freeze some if I do it again. It made a massive amount.
Chris says
That is one of the girls' at Alexis' work favorites. I made a version for them last year and they went nuts over it.
I sometimes rinse beans, sometimes don't, depending on the bean and use. But it's probably a good practice to follow.
Steve Roth says
When I look at the gunk in the bottom of a can of soup beans that stuff makes me cringe. It also seems to have a peculiar odor (tin?) that I don't want reflected in my soup. Beans in a jar also appear cloudy. So, it is a matter of policy for me to drain, rinse, and drain. Repeat again, if need be.
In any case, I will be making this soup in the very near future.
Thank you.