Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
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This Olive Garden pasta e fagioli copycat recipe is so easy using pantry staples! It’s truly restaurant-quality soup and is freezer-friendly!
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why you’ll love Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
- Favorited copycat recipe. This soup tastes just like the favorited restaurant classic! It’s budget-friendly, incredibly cozy, and completely customizable for the entire family.
- 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 are simple and pantry essentials, sparing you from that emergency grocery run.
- Freezer-friendly. Pasta e fagioli freezes very well without the pasta, making it perfect to stock up the freezer for those cold winter nights, for new moms, or for those recovering from surgery.
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.
Key Ingredients
Meat
Italian sausage or ground beef
Veggies
Onion, carrots, and celery
Seasonings
Garlic, basil, oregano, and thyme
Base
Chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and water
Pasta
Ditalini pasta
Beans
Red kidney beans and white kidney beans (ex. cannellini or Great Northern beans)
Extras
Parmesan rind
How to make Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
- Cook the sausage. Crumble the Italian sausage (or ground beef) in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat, then set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the onion, carrots, and celery until tender. Then stir in the garlic, basil, oregano, and thyme until fragrant.
- Combine. Stir in the crumbled sausage, chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water, ditalini pasta, Parmesan rind, salt, and pepper. Pro tip: if freezing or preparing for leftovers, cook and store the ditalini pasta separately.
- Simmer. Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally to prevent any sticking, until the pasta is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the beans. Stir in the rinsed and drained beans until warmed through.
- Serve. Serve warm, topped with shaved Parmesan and alongside crusty bread for sopping.
what to serve with pasta e fagioli
Tools For This Recipe
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli: Frequently Asked Questions
Ground beef or ground turkey will work very well here. Pancetta or bacon are also excellent additions.
Short cut pasta such as ditalini or macaroni are both excellent options.
Canned red and white kidney beans work very well for weeknight speediness.
If possible, always store the pasta separately from the soup if preparing for leftovers as the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid as it sits.
Yes! It can be cooked low and slow for 7-8 hours using this recipe here.
Absolutely! 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
Video
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
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add Italian sausage 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.
Equipment
Notes
- 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!
- Freeze without the pasta. The soup can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months in individual freezer bags. Thaw overnight and gently reheat on the stovetop until warmed through, adding freshly cooked pasta just before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
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Delicious! Our family loved it.
I made this today! Four hours on high, used hamburger meat instead of sausage and added some red pepper for a kick. Of course it prob did not need it but this recipe is legit! So glad I found it!
I made this recipe tonight for dinner turned out good. I added some fresh red peppers with the veggies and took a little of the beans and some broth blended and added back to the soup.. mmmm Super yummy! I think it needs much more liquid tho… I added two and a half cups of chicken broth more than called for still dosen’t seem like enough. I think I put too much pasta it … Still turned out quite tasty. I didnt look at the amount of pasta it called for until just now! Haha ya I put an entire 16 oz package. I read as 1 package not 1 cup.
Sooo darn delicious!! Love it in the restaurant–but this version (with a few of my own tweaks) is superb! Great for this rainy, cold night!
Bon appetit!
I made the soup and it was a hit with my family! This will definitely be served in my home again! Recipe was easy to follow. Thank you so much!
Hi! I also live in Chicago, and this soup was so comforting on a cold day. I just felt like I needed unlimited breadsticks and salad to make this Olive Garden copy-cat meal complete. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipes!
My father in law recently passed away and alot of family would be coming to my mother in law’s house. I was trying to think of something to make that would be comforting to everyone. The last time I was there I made this soup for my father in law and he loved it. So I made a triple batch and it was gone and I had everyone asking for the recipe. Comfort food at its finest!
Made it last night, was very good. Easy and quick, nice for a weeknight. Very flavorful, will make again
I love this recipe. I made it vegetarian with vegan sausage and vegetable broth. It’s a big hit with my family.
One of my favorite soups that I only get when I eat out (which hasn’t happened in a long time due to pandemic). So I was excited to see your newsletter with the slow cooker version. When I went to make the soup a few days later I picked up on this recipe which has similar ingredients. I used a pound of Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage from the freezer, so I also replaced the 15oz can of diced tomatoes with two 10oz cans of Rotel tomatoes to add back in in some spice. I also added a half cup of wine because they did that in the recipe I saw on a PBS Italian cooking show last night (only difference between two recipes). Of course I topped it with some fresh parmesan cheese and served with some toasted sour dough bread. This recipe was easy to make and tasted superb! I often utilize your lovely recipes and Thank You for sharing then with us.
This is delicious! I used leftover lamb steaks because I had them and added 1 tsp. Turmeric and three in some dehydrated cherry tomatoes. Super great!
This soup is easy and quick to make. I prepare it ahead for when we go camping with the horses. I just have to heat it up! It’s always a big hit for cool night pot luck suppers! A fall camping favorite!
Tasty soup, a family favorite. Some posters commented that the pasta soaks up the liquid which is why the pasta should be kept separate and then added to each bowl before serving. To the poster that said they wished the recipe served 1-2 people- just freeze the leftovers it reheats well.
Oh my goodness. This has become a favorite in our home. I have some to my dad too. He said the only problem with it is that i didn’t give him enough. Made exactly to recipe. Sometimes i tweak it a little bit is perfect just as written. Really good with chicken sausage too which i actually prefer to regular sausage.
This soup was so yummy! My 14 yr daughter was craving some yummy fall soup and this hit the spot. It was easy enough that she could make it. This recipe makes a lot so she will be enjoying it for the next few days. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent soup!
So delicious! Made this many times and it’s always a big hit. Freezes really well and great for lunches! Only change I do is use chick peas instead of red kidney beans.
Love all your recipes
Made this last night – SO DELICIOUS!!!! I have a question though, upon reheating the broth seems to be sucked up by the noodles…what can can I add during reheat to bring back some of the “juices”? Thanks!!
I add 1/4 – 1/3 cup of filtered water (per serving) when I reheat.
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. 🙂