Slow Cooker Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Everyone’s FAVORITE Olive Garden soup made so easily in the crockpot! Just set it and forget it!
Featured Comment
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.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Dead simple and super delicious. Will make again and again…
Greg
Denver
Love this soup- have made it numerous times using both of your recipes for it. Just wondering if I could use fresh tomatoes on the vine as a substitute for the can of diced tomatoes? It’s what I have on hand that I’m hoping to use up! Thanks Chungah!
I made a mistake when I made this and used an entire box of ditalini instead of just 3/4 cup, so there was too much pasta and my end result was more of a pasta dish than a soup but it was delicious! Next time I will follow instructions more carefully so I get a soup but the flavors are spot on and this really did smell amazing while cooking all day! I used two cans of cannelloni beans instead of one can of kidney and one can of cannelloni, but that’s just my personal preference in beans.
This recipe is simple and foolproof. I appreciate how quickly it comes together and that everyone in my family enjoys it. One batch makes enough for two dinners for our family of four, so I often freeze half to save for a busy day.
Thanks for sharing this winner with us, Chungah! It’s on regular rotation in our home once the cold weather arrives.
We had this tonight! It was absolutely delicious!
My absolute favorite ! Have made it many times ! My go to for An Olive Garden Fix. Better than Olive Garden !
Made just as the recipe states. This is a delicious, very well balanced, hearty recipe.
I made this yesterday and it was DELICIOUS! The house smelled amazing while it was cooking. It was a perfect meal on such a bitter cold, snowy day! Thanks for sharing the recipe, it will def be a keeper in our house! YUM!
Question: is the pasta dry from the box when you add it in the last 30 minutes – OR- do you pre-cook per directions on the box before adding it in? Thank you for your reply 🙂
I made this with ground beef. I also didn’t have the diced tomatoes as I thought I did, so I used a can of Rotel instead. It was delicious. I almost don’t even think I need the pasta in it. I’ll be making this again.
The directions have no mention of the ditalini…….(on the preparation or adding to soup). Do we add it to the crock pot??????
@kathy … the directions say pasta. You could the soup 7 or 8 on low then had thecoarta in the end for 30 minutes its the last step
Made this tonight and will be making again. I used 90% ground beef and added zucchini to the recipe and cooked in a Dutch pot, I will try in the crock pot next time, loved the flavors so delicious.
This was absolutely fabulous! I made it with turkey sausage. My husband wants it again next week
Excellent! I can’t compare it to Olive Garden because I haven’t been in years, but this soup is great! The whole family loved it. I served it with garlic bread and a salad. I wouldn’t mind a copy cat of those 2 things myself!
We just got finished eating this! It was delicious, whole family enjoyed. Super easy to put together and I love that it makes enough for leftovers. Perfect for this snowy day today.
My family really enjoyed this soup! Followed recipe exactly and it turned out great! Served with salad and pepperoni/cheese bread. Made a great dinner before heading out to see Christmas lights!
Smelling delicious – silly question…should the pasta be cooked when you put it in at the end or not?
Kalsey, the pasta shouldn’t be cooked. I think you’ll find it’ll go very quickly that last half hour because the rest of it has been cooking for so long. Hope this helps.
Made on the stove. Total cook time about 1 hr, including saute veggies. Used ground turkey instead of sausage. Wow! Incredibly delicious. Thank you for another fantastic recipe!
My family really enjoyed this soup! Followed recipe exactly and it turned out great! Served with salad and pepperoni/cheese bread. Made a great dinner before heading out to see Christmas lights!
I’m making this today, but I’m perplexed by the sausage. Olive Garden describes their fagioli as having ground beef in it, not sausage. So is this really Olive Garden?
This was my first recipe after seeing a recommendation for the site on a local moms’ Facebook group. I am not disappointed. The soup turned out really delicious, and now, I’m buying three cookbooks for my family and friends for Christmas. We busy ladies need this wisdom and the really well-thought-out details/photos. I especially appreciate some of the Asian American and Chicagoan references too as I identify with both.
I do have a question for anyone who’s game to respond–I made this in my slow cooker on high (5 hrs, then added pasta, cooking another 30 mins). Of course I taste-tested it midway through because it was just too tempting. Is there really an advantage of cooking it beyond 3-4 hours? Will flavor improve? Was thinking if it doesn’t make a difference, I’d try to preserve some nutrients and take out a third of the cooking time. Thoughts?
This was FANTASTIC! I bought a pound of ground sausage (instead of removing links from the casing), otherwise I followed the recipe exactly (well, I did it on the stovetop and allowed it to simmer awhile before adding the pasta to cook for 30 minutes). This is so full of flavor and makes a huge pot! I brought some to my neighbors, and they have asked that I share the recipe with them. Yet another WINNER from Ms. Chungah – thank you! 🙂