Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
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A super easy, no-fuss copycat recipe that’s wonderfully hearty and comforting, except it tastes 100x better than the restaurant-version!
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what is pasta e fagioli?
Pasta e fagioli is a classic Italian soup literally translating to “pasta and beans”. This is typically made with vegetables, a variety of beans and pasta in a tomato broth.
why i love this recipe
- One pot dinner. This is one of those soups that come together so easily on the stovetop in a single pot, even the uncooked pasta gets cooked right in (unless you’re cooking it separately for leftovers). One pot means less clean up, less dishes!
- Uses pantry staples. The ingredient list may seem long, but most of the ingredients use pantry essentials, sparing you from that emergency grocery run.
- Freezer-friendly. Pasta e fagioli freezes very well sans pasta, making it perfect to stock up the freezer for those cold winter nights, for new moms or for those recovering from surgery.
tips and tricks for success
- Use short cut pasta. Ditalini, macaroni or a small shape pasta similar in size to the vegetables and beans is ideal.
- Save leftover Parmesan rinds. Get more out of those expensive Parmesan cheeses by using up the leftover rinds! Adding a Parmesan rind slightly thickens the broth and adds a level of nutty richness to the soup.
- Add leafy greens. Pasta e fagioli is a great way to sneak in some greens for those picky eaters. Stir in kale, spinach, cabbage, swiss chard or collard greens near the end of cooking time until wilted.
- Stir in more stock with leftovers. When reheating leftovers, stir in more stock as needed as the pasta will continue to soak up the broth. The pasta can also be cooked and stored separately.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
what to serve with pasta e fagioli
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli: Frequently Asked Questions
Ground beef or ground turkey will work very well here. Pancetta or bacon are also great additions.
Pasta e fagioli can absolutely be made in the crockpot, cooked low and slow for 7-8 hours. Recipe here.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the pasta (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked pasta and a splash of broth (if needed) when serving.
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 1 (3-inch) Parmesan rind
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup shaved Parmesan
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add Italian sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; set aside.
- Add onion, carrots and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, basil, oregano and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in Italian sausage, chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water, pasta and Parmesan rind; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Stir in beans until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, topped with Parmesan.
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I don’t have celery, will green bell pepper taste OK?
Yes, green bell pepper should be just fine.
Delicious recipe and easy to made. Exactly what a taste.
Making it in my crock pot as I write this. Tastes very, very good so far. Used half sausage and half ground beef. Used a can of cannellini beans and a can of black beans. Added a bit of sugar and lemon juice…plus Italian seasoning in addition to the other herbs. Will add the cooked pasta as I serve it.
Omg amazing – thank you!!! I love the OG version but this is even better. It’s much lighter and I actually know what’s in it 🙂
Only two small adjustments: no beans (I’m not a fan) and I added about 2.5 teaspoons of sugar to offset the acid in the tomatoes. Will def be doing this again.
Thank you.I have been looking for this recipe.Ever since i had it on nutria system
Made this soup today. Decided next time instead of cooking the pasta separately just add it to the soup during the 10 minutes of simmering at the end. Doesn’t make sense to me to dirty another pan. Also, the pasta gets done way before the soup. So it sat in the colander getting all clumpy and gooey until I added it to the soup. I would at least recommend waiting to cook the pasta until later in the process if you cook it separately, as it is a smaller pasta and doesn’t take long to cook.
Otherwise I loved the recipe. Very good. With a little bit of spice from the spicy sausage, would definitely recommend it. Had to omit great northern beans as I couldn’t find them in the Hyvee here. Just ended up using some cannellini beans. Tasted just fine with those. Will make again.
Rachel, cooking the pasta in the same pot as the soup certainly saves you an extra dirty pot but if you plan on having leftovers, I would advise against it. The pasta will soak up all the liquid and you’ll end up with very clumpy pasta noodles later on!
I also used a can of Fire roasted tomatoes. I did not have the white bean so I used pinto beans, I also used a combination of very lean ground beef and turkey sausage. I used only kosher chicken stock and the crushed fire roasted tomatoes. The flavor of this soup was outstanding, very warm and comforting on a very cold and chilly day. I am getting ready to make another pot of this wonderful soup today.
I used a can of the Fire Roasted Tomatoes and it was so delicious with a hint of that charred favor!
I made this last night and I am very pleased with how it turned out. I used spicy Italian sausage and added spinach at the end. The leftovers are also great! Thanks!
This soup was delicious! I stuck to the recipe and then made a second batch adding 2 more cups of broth, a green zucchini, some chopped spinach, and red pepper flakes.
This was my first visit to your site but it certainly won’t be my last. I followed your recipe as written with the small exception of using a bit of fresh thyme for the dried. My house smelled great and my husband loved it. Next time I plan on halving the recipe, as it makes a ton, and trying to make a separate vegetarian batch so that I can try it
Thank you
i love this type of soup. Do you have any tips for storing the soup so it doesn’t dry out the next day?i find the pasta or something absorbs all the liquid.
It is best to store the pasta separately and add as needed for serving, or else the pasta will soak up all of the liquid!
I made this for the first time on Halloween, and I used fresh thyme, oregano and basil from my herb garden. The next time, during winter, I used dried herbs. It was still good, but not as wonderful as the first time. Fresh herbs in the winter are expensive of course. But to get that superior taste, I bought them at the supermarket today. I’ll also make spaghetti soup this week to ensure the leftover herbs don’t spoil. Next year, I’m expanding my herbs to harvest, puree and freeze into ice cubes, We are spoiled. Every dish is better with fresh herbs!
I’ve been making this soup for a long time. I’ve found Spicy V-8 is a great enhancer-a little kick. Also, I keep the pasta separate from the soup ’til serving time. The pasta soaks up too much of the broth. I have frozen leftover soup (after making a double batch) and then boil fresh noodles for each thaw and serve. I found adding more tomato or V-8 Juice dilutes the seasoning otherwise. This recipe is an Autumn through Winter favorite here in MN.
This is on the stove right now! But after I finished I realized I didn’t drain and rinse the beans!! Uh oh!! Hope it still comes out good!! :/
❤️ This recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!! I can’t stop making this soup…my family loves it. Since I discovered your recipe, it’s been almost a weekly staple. Thanks for your wonderful recipes! Your creamy spinach parmesan orzo has also become s fixture. Happy Holidays!
I want to make this recipe today, can I use ground beef instead of pork sausage? If so is it ok to still use chicken broth?
Yes, that should be fine, but it is really best to use sausage to obtain the best results possible.
I end up using half a pound of ground beef and half of mild Italian sausage..I’m making this in the crock pot right now and it smells good. Cant wait to try it.
Just wanted to say thank you for a great recipe! I ended up using 1/2 lb of spicy Italian sausage, and 1/2 lb single source grass-fed beef, and it turned out wonderfully. On a rainy Bay Area night, this hit the spot,
I’m going to try Chicken for my meat and stewed tomatoes for my tomatoes….I will let you guys know how it turns out….also, I will freeze some of it…if goes well, i’ll take to my daughters for Christmas..
Delicious! Made this today & my family loved it. The only thing I would do differently next time is add the cooked pasta to the serving bowl & add the soup on top instead of mixing the cooked pasta into the soup. It absorbs so much liquid so quickly!