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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Easy and excellent! My husband loves the Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli – this is the only one that I have made that he really enjoyed. The only thing I did slightly differently was that I cooked the soup, let it cool, put it in the fridge over night then removed the fat from the top of the soup. Delicious!
Excellent soup recipe! I love all of your recipes! Is there any way to get the nutritional information? I’ve started a food plan where I need to count macros.
Could I use ground beef instead?
Of course you can – any ground meat would work, but you won’t get the flavor derived from the sausage
Hearty and delicious! I love pasta e Fagioli and this is a super version … easy to prepare.
Awesome, easy and damn delicious! Even my picky kiddos ate it all up with crusty bread!!! Soooo good! And, I made it all and served in under 2 hours while in slow cooker!!! Thank you for another excellent dinner
I made this last night and got rave reviews from my family. It was easy to make and delicious!
CHUNGAH.
*BE STILL, MY HEART*
I MADE THIS YESTERDAY.
THIS IS WHAT FALL IS
ALL ABOUT RIGHT HERE.
Y’ALL JUST GO AHEAD
AND FOLLOW THIS RECIPE.
AS IS.
SPLURGE ON SOME FANCY PARM.
AND ENJOY THE BEST SOUP
OF THE SEASON. PERFECTION.
Thank you, beautiful fellow foodie,
for giving us these gorgeous recipes.
Definitely a keeper recipe. I made in the crock pot and the smell was heavenly as it simmered all day. Our guests loved it. Thanks so much!
Thank you for sharing this recipe
I had some leftover cooked Italian sausage I had made from ground turkey, and subbed homemade garbanzo beans for the white beans. This was a really good and easily personalizable recipe that I will make often. My preteen ate almost two full servings and deemed it delicious. Perfect for a Fall night supper.
I followed the recipe just as you wrote it, and it was fandamntastic! Sooo good. Hubby and I kept “trying” it before it was cooked completely. Loved it! Thank you!!!!
So good! Made this on Halloween and it was fabulous.
The olive garden recipe calls for beef not sausage and also it’s only dried basil leaves not oregano and tyme but I am sure it’s delicious either way enjoy…..
I haven’t made this yet because I need something clarified first. When do we put in the beans?
Step 2.
Haven’t made it yet, but I have all the ingredients ready to go! I gave it 5 stars because I’ve loved every recipe I’ve made from you.
Do I cook the pasta first before adding it in?
No, it should be uncooked.
Oh my goodness… Yes I did make this and it was damn delicious! Iused my instant pot with sauté feature the first time I made it. Then I made it on the stove top. The next time I make it I will certainly make it in my instant pot again because it has a slow cooker feature and a sauté feature. Bam! All in one pot just like you said. It is fantastic!
Haven’t tried this, but wondering if you have advice on how to make, and then freeze? As we enter ski season, it looks like a great recipe to make in bulk, and then freeze.
Easy!
Make it.
Then freeze it.
Yes, you can freeze in plastic freezer bags (I like to lay them flat in the freezer to save on space), thaw in the fridge overnight, and reheat over low heat.
Thanks, I am just wondering if you would recommend not adding the pasta if you know you are freezing the recipe.
@Chungah I’m so curious if you prefer this slow cooker version or the quicker version you have here: https://damndelicious.net/2014/05/17/olive-garden-pasta-e-fagioli/
Thanks in advance!
I would suggest keeping the noodles separate if you plan to freeze, otherwise they will get mushy and soak up too much liquid.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, I will definitely try to make this soup as colder weather is approaching.
However, I will make this soup in my Instant Pot as I don’t have a slow cooker. Not sure how the result will be.
I was just thinking of making this in the instapot! Let me know how it works out;)
Most, if not all instant pots, have a slow cooker feature. So, you should be able to saute right in the pot, remove excess fat, and the follow recipe directions with slow cooker feature. I would, however, add a little of the chicken stock after I drained excess fat and scrape that delicious fond from the bottom of the pot to incorporate it into the soup. Then just use instant pot as a slow cooker.
If you want to do it using pressure cooker features you can search a similar instant pot recipe as a guide for steps and times but still follow this recipe for ingredients. Hope that’s helpful.
Very nice recipe. We have to try. So easy, flavorful and delicious.