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!
Featured Comment
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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Made this exact recipe multiple times. I have a large pot so I tripled the recipe. It freezes very well even with the pasta. Like others, I used a processor for the veggies. May add Romano cheese to the finish product. Delicious!
This soup came out really tasty! The only trouble was that there was not really enough liquid in it. Maybe adding more broth would help but I don’t want to dilute/complicate the flavor.
Do you drain the cans of beans/tomatoes/etc before adding? Usually a recipe will specify “one drained 15oz can of kidney beans” or whatnot. I drained all of the cans – maybe that’s my problem? I hope you find time to give me some feedback! Thank you for posting this very good recipe!
Help! I’m all ready to make this soup and I do t have the great northern beans anything I can substitute???
I have the kidney but no great northern
I know it’s the day after your inquiry but I would just use the kidney beans or any other beans you have. Also I use 4 cups of broth, drain and rinse the beans and add the whole can of tomatoes liquid and all. It is a thicker soup but we prefer it with the extra cup of broth.
I love this soup! I do not drain my beans, sometimes I add chick peas for a substitute. Also , I sometimes times Italian green beans. Thanks for this receipt!
Canellini beans would be a good substitute – they are an Italian white bean.
You’re right! Canellini beans work great, I use them all the time.
I noticed that in the video she added a cup of water yet it was not in the recipe itself. It might help next time you make it to add that extra cup of liquid:)
Margaret, the 1 cup of water is listed in step 4. 🙂
Excellent
All I can do is agree with everyone else who loved this recipe. I followed exactly and it was a huge hit. My 19 yr old son hates beans but LOVED every bite! I will make this over and over!
Delicious!
I made this a few times and then we went to Olive Garden. My son likes the version I make at home from your recipe better.
Never been a soup maker – I actually make this once or twice a month consistently.
Delicious!!!! Will keep the recipe for future dinners! All i missed was the warm breadstick from Olive Garden. Thank you so much.
Delious!!!!I put the onions garlic carrots celery in the food processor. I don’t process them for too long. I do each veg separate in the processor. A lot easier them dicing everything
My family devours the whole bowl quickly
Once the prep is done, its super easy to make. My family loved it. I will definitely keep this one to make again.
Absolutely the best pasta fagioili replacement anyone can find. Wish there was a way to make 1-2 servings, but I’m ok with eating this everyday for a week. HIGHLY recommend this recipe to everyone. And it’s even better the next day .
This was delicious!! Hubby loved it!! He’d been asking for us to try to make this for years, and I finally looked up a copycat recipe to try out. Followed the recipe exactly except for using only 8oz tomato sauce, and mild Italian sausage instead of spicy. Topped it with Muenster cheese instead of parm because that’s what we had on hand. Adding this to our monthly menu! Thanks!
Too much tomato, I’ll leave out the tomato sauce next time. Sausage sounds like a good idea if I make it again.
Best recipe ever. I don’t alter a thing and it is delicious. I make this at least once a month.
I love this soup! I wanted to try making @home and I saw your recipe.I can do this! Made it for myself for lunch one day. I’m hooked. Now time to try for the family.
Being in quarantine, I used up what was on hand and substituted for what I didn’t exactly have. (Ground pork,chickpeas, Rotel tomatoes w/chilies @chipotle peppers, leftover black beans, elbow pasta) wow it was good. A little spicy but that’s what garlic bread is for!
Yep, as the name says, Damn Delicious! I didn’t change a thing, but I did top my first and second bowls of this delicious soup with some grated parmesan cheese. Fantastic!
Delicious even for me cuz I am a terrible cook. My only suggestion is to specify how much salt and pepper instead of “to taste”. That is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. You might say, to MY taste, I used this amount of s and p.
I’ve made this a lot this winter since I found your recipe, but always with Mild Italian sausages. Now I’m changing it up a bit and doing it with Hot Italian sausage, my husband’s favorite so I’ll see how this goes. I’m loving this soup!
This soup is perfection. My family loves it so much it’s in the monthly rotation. I happened to have leftover Heirloom white beans (Marcella) and it was spectacular. Sometimes I’ll add a few handfuls of spinach to this. Either way, fabulous soup, perfect as written. Thank you for sharing.
Delicious
This is an excellent recipe. I make this almost once a week. I veganized it by using vegetable broth in place of chicken broth and i use Beyond Spicy Italian sausage in place of animal sausage.
We make this at least two X per month, kids love it