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.
Video
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This recipe always gets two thumbs up. It’s become a go to/request because no matter the age (yes kiddos too) they always head back for more and leftovers never get wasted. I always add extra sausage, mix up my own broth usually 4c using Better Than Bouillon (our taste), and instead of the individual spices I substitute 1tsp of McCormicks Just A Pinch Italian Seasoning. Also, I toss my rinsed cooked pasta with a lil Olive Oil before adding to soup. It helps with absorption and mooshiness. If you haven’t blessed your family and friends with this yummy feel good soup DO IT!!!!!!
This is outstanding in taste and ease of preparation. It is definitely better than OG. Thank you for sharing!
Easy and delicious! I made this recipe with lower sodium broth, no-salt-added tomatoes and beans and if course left out the kosher salt. I added a pinch more garlic and oregano to compensate but was still afraid it would come out bland. I was wrong! The flavors all came through and it was every bit as satisfying as the OG, if not an exact copy. Highly recommended!
Delicious! I noticed almost everyone changes recipes a bit due to what ingredients they have on hand. I used a 32 oz. carton of Chicken broth as didn’t want to waste the rest of it. Also used a 28 oz. can of “Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies” as I did not have a 15 oz. one, but I figured this made up for the xtra cup of water that was cited and as I did not use the “spicy” Italian sausage. The soup was still thick after adding the beans. Thyme is a very strong taste so only used 1/2 tspn. After doing my final taste testing, I added a heaping tablespoon of sugar which made the soup taste perfect. Thank you, finally learned not to add the ditalini until you serve the soup so it won’t get mushy. Have had many mushy soups in the past, LOL. Wouldn’t freeze this soup with the pasta in it either. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Not only delicious! But damndelicious.net! Wow! So good and so easy. If you can read and follow a recipe, that’s all it takes to make a palate pleasing, crowd wowing soup. For our taste, we switched out the kidney beans for butter beans, and used fresh ground Italian sausage made by our local grocery meat department. (Also for our taste and texture.) Plus fresh-made leaves out a bunch of preservatives, nitrates and etc so it’s better for you.
Just made this tonite. Super easy and rich. 3 of the canned items were from the mark down bin. I didn’t have macaroni so I cannibalized a box of macaroni and cheese (keeping the cheese powder for use another time.) Especially appreciated the advice to add the cooked macaroni just before serving so it doesn’t soak up all the broth. Bravo. I have photos, but don’t see a spot for those.
In my opinion this version is better than Olive Garden’s! I’ve made this a handful of times and it always turns out great. Will be making this weekend too 🙂 Thanks for sharing this recipe!
do you drain the juice of the beans?
Anytime you use can of beans always always drain off the liquid and I rinse under cool tap water. The gases in the beans will torture your stomach.
Made this tonight, very tasty! It came out very thick though so next time I may add more chicken broth to thin it out. Thanks for the recipe!
Made it just as stated, no changes and it was delicious!
Made this many times. Making it again this Sunday. A few deviations I make are that I not only use Italian sausage but also
hamburger and prosciutto, which kicks it up a few notches. Also, instead of Northern beans, I use white kidney beans
or
cannellini beans. Those beans should be drained, where the red kidney beans I don’t drain. I also use both dark and light
red kidney beans.
I also use baby carrots, which cuts down some of the prep time. They’re perfect for this soup.
I also use
tomato paste instead of tomato sauce. A nice touch I do is go to OG and buy some breadsticks as they are the best. Everyone who has eaten this go absolutely gaga.
Thank you thank you thank you for such a fine recipe.
I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s easy and delicious every time.
Question one cup pasta was that half 16 oz box? I get confused when it’s cups not ounces etc.
Hi Dana! 1 cup pasta is not quite equivalent to 8 ounces of pasta – I would estimate closer to 4 ounces (ex. for elbow macaroni, 1 cup = 4 ounces, which is slightly larger than ditalini). Do you have measuring cups available?
This recipe calls for icup of water but it’s not in the ingredients list should I add the water or was it a typo thank you love your site. Sue
Yes, the water should be added. Some recipes typically do not include water in the ingredient list. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was legit just like Olive Gardens!
My husband can not get enough of the soup from OG so I attempted to make this recipe for him tonight! He can be almost too honest sometimes when he critiques my cooking. He loved this soup!!! He told me not to change anything!
My sausage was browned and then frozen, and it was not wonderful. Other then that, the soup was tasty! Perfect tomato and spice. Subbed white kidney (cannellini) beans instead of the red kidney. I chose to make the soup to use up leftover cooked macaroni noodles – and the other ingredients 😉 Thank-you! Colleen
I’ve never had pasta fagioli but I heard about it in a Dean Martin song years ago and wanted to try it.(The pasta, not the song). This recipe looked tasty. I made it today and I liked it a lot. Sort of like a chili macaroni but without the Spanish cumin, etc. flavor and not as thick;more like a soup. I used the “hot” store brand ground pork sausage. When I make it again, I will leave out the olive oil or get low fat sausage. Too much grease. That’s why four stars. Otherwise, it is very good and easy to make.
Dan, I have started making this using ground turkey instead of sausage for a leaner meal and have recently stumbled upon a package of Italian seasoned ground turkey in my grocery store. If you can find it, I highly recommend. Its a game changer for sure.
This soup is so tasty, I could eat it once a week, every
week! Plus, it’s loaded with goodies, good for me
goodies! Never thought I’d love something so
nutritious! Thank you!
Thanks so much for sharing, Debbie!
Very hardy and tasty soup that’s easy to make. Thank you!
absolutely YUM!!!!! Love this soup and love the ease of making it!! thank you for posting it!
Better than Olive Garden
Easy and my family loves it
We love that!