Slow Cooker Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
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Everyone’s FAVORITE Olive Garden soup made so easily in the crockpot! Just set it and forget it!
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Guys, it’s snowing. No joke. It has been snowing two days straight in the midwest. And yes, Cartman has his winter beanie ready to go. That being said, you can find me by the fireplace, chunky sweaters and all, with this Olive Garden favorite.
reasons to make slow cooker olive garden pasta e fagioli
- Copycat recipe. Make everyone’s favorited Olive Garden soup right at home! It is incredibly customizable and forgiving, swapping out the Italian sausage for ground beef or adding more sneaked-in veggies for those picky eaters. Dare I say it tastes even better than the original?
- So quick, so easy. This is truly the best kind of dump-and-go, set-and-forget crockpot dinner. Extra bonus points if you have one of those saute features in your slow cooker, making this a one pot meal from start to finish. Throw everything into a slow cooker before heading to work, coming home to the coziest, hug-in-a-bowl soup, warming you from the inside out.
- Freezer-friendly. Pasta e fagioli freezes beautifully, making it perfect to have ready-made meals on hand – ideal for those super busy nights where there simply is no time (or energy) to cook, and delivery or takeout just isn’t an option.
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.
minestrone soup vs. pasta e fagioli
Minestrone soup
Both soups include pasta and beans, but minestrone soup is made with an abundance of vegetables such as carrots, celery and greens.
Pasta e fagioli
Pasta e fagioli contains less vegetables than minestrone soup, focusing primarily on pasta and beans for a more thick, heartier soup.
how to make the easiest crockpot pasta e fagioli
- Brown and crumble the sausage
- Add all ingredients to the slow cooker
- Cook low and slow for 7-8 hours
- Add pasta during the last 30 minutes of cooking time
- Serve and top with shaved Parm
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite meat. Italian sausage (sweet or spicy), ground beef, chicken or turkey will all work very well here.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Use short cut pasta. Ditalini, macaroni or a small shape pasta similar in size to the vegetables and beans is ideal.
- 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 slow cooker olive garden pasta e fagioli
- Glazed Carrots
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Easy Skillet Dinner Rolls
- Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Slow Cooker Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli: Frequently Asked Questions
Sweet or spicy Italian sausage are both great options. Ground beef also works beautifully here.
No crockpot, no problem! You can try this recipe instead.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
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 stock (if needed) when serving.
Slow Cooker Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, , drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¾ cup ditalini pasta
- ½ cup shaved Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is browned, about 5-7 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Place sausage mixture into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in chicken stock, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, oregano and thyme; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 5-6 hours. Uncover and stir in pasta; cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until tender.
- Serve immediately with Parmesan, garnished with parsley, if desired.
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When I was growing up, my little Italian mama would make “Pasta va zool” and there was no meat in it. This recipe used whatever kind of bean and greens she happened to have on hand as well as left over marinara sauce, “gravey”. She used broken dried pasta or ditalini if she had it. It was always delicious, warm, and satisfying. Brava mama’!
Made your slow cooker pasta fagioli today, and it is so good! I used ground beef (just because it was what I had on hand), and I cooked the ditalini separately to add into each bowl (just a personal preference). I also diced up a zucchini that I needed to use and threw that in, too. This is such a fantastic, adaptable recipe! Thank you!
I’ve never had the Olive Garden soup so I can’t compare, but this recipe is delicious! It’s a staple in my winter meal rotation and I often make a double batch to freeze. I cook the pasta separately for this reason.
Just wondering does this recipe freeze well? I am looking for some make ahead recipes to freeze and have after a day at work.
It freezes beautifully! I’ve made it a few times and frozen it, no issues.
I’m constantly looking for delicious and easy recipes to make when I’m working. This was absolutely delicious! The only thing I changed was using hot Italian Sausage and added shredded mozzarella while it was cooking. Everyone loved it, will definitely make again!
My kids will devour anything with parmesan on it, but I really enjoyed it too
We used ground beef and it was absolutely delicious! And so easy. This has become one of our favorite slow cooker recipes ever.
This was excellent. I did a vegetarian version without sausage and using veggie stock. Super yummy soup, especially for a cold winter day! I also used protein pasta made from chickpeas that seemed to hold up better for the second day and not go mushy.
It’s rain/snowing here in chilly MN and this soup is guaranteed to hit the spot. I added one more can of cannellini beans and some extra chicken broth to feed more mouths. Extra credit for being a crock pot prep that can cook on it’s own and be ready when we all get home from work. Thank you
This smelled so fantastic that we couldn’t wait to eat it. I did one thing different with the pasta however. This makes enough that there are leftovers. I do not care for the texture of pasta after it’s been sitting in broth in the fridge. I cooked a pound of pasta and dressed it with a little olive oil and then let everyone add pasta to their preference. Some folks like a few pieces, some folks fill the bowl half with pasta before adding the soup. The leftover pasta and soup go into the fridge separately, and anyone warming a bowl for lunch or a snack can add as much pasta as they like.
Thank you for the idea!!! Genius
we did this as well, it made alot and all disappeared within a few days. gonna double batch it this week 🙂
really wish your star system went to 10…..5 just wasn’t good enough for this delicious soup.
I was craving pasta and beans, but since its been hot here in Boston I didn’t feel like standing over the stove. I was scrolling for recipes and came across this. Well, I made it and its fabulous! The only change I made was using ground beef because that’s what I had. Next time I’ll use the sausage. Your recipes never disappoint!
I love pasta e fagioli from the Olive Garden, and this recipe was fantastic! Thank you so much! I used half sweet sausage and half hot sausage- super tasty! Plus, it was so easy to make! I will definitely be sharing this recipe with others and making it again for my family!
This soup is simple to make and so so good! Perfect for a cold day with fresh bread. Love the parmesan on top- don’t skip this step!
So easy to make. I served it crusty French bread. Another winner, thank you for a great recipe.
Wonderful recipe.
Followed recipe exactly and it turned out great! Served with salad and pepperoni/cheese bread.
As per usual, this was delicious. Literally everything on this site is amazing.
Another delicious recipe. Amazing flavor. My family loved it!! Thanks again for sharing!!
Absolutely delicious as written, many thanks!