Pasta Fagioli Soup
Create THE BEST Pasta Fagioli Soup with this flavorful Olive Garden copycat recipe! It's easy to make on the stove, in a Crock Pot or Instant Pot, and guaranteed to become a new family favorite.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 2 pounds ground beef, or loose Italian sausage
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes, do NOT drain
- 15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounce can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 32 ounces tomato sauce
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 cup ditalini pasta, or other small pasta noodles
Optional toppings
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, fresh grated
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley or basil, chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large pot, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Add the olive oil and cook the diced onions, celery and carrots in the oil for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the pot and cook until the beef is browned, about 5-6 minutes, then drain any grease from the pot.
- Add the salt, oregano, basil, rosemary and black pepper to the pot and stir to combine the herbs and spices with the ground beef and veggies.
- Drain and rinse the great northern beans and red kidney beans, then add them to the pot, along with the tomato sauce and entire can of diced tomatoes.
- Add the beef broth and white vinegar to the pot and stir to combine all of the ingredients.
- Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the pasta to the pot and stir to combine all of the ingredients, making sure that all of the pasta is covered in liquid.
- Place a lid on the pot and reduce the heat to low.
- Cook for 25 minutes, or until all of the noodles are tender.
- Remove the lid and serve the soup topped with fresh grated parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil or parsley, if you'd like.
Notes
- How to make it in a Crock Pot:
- Follow steps 1-3 above, cooking the veggies and ground beef in a skillet on the stove, then draining any grease from the skillet.
- Transfer the cooked beef and veggies to a Crock Pot.
- Add the seasonings, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans, along with the beef broth and vinegar.
- Cook the soup in the Crock Pot for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
- Thirty minutes before serving the soup, add the pasta to the slow cooker, stirring to combine all of the ingredients and making sure the pasta is covered in liquid. Turn the Crock Pot up to high and let the pasta cook in the soup for 30 minutes.
- How to make it in an Instant Pot:
- Press the “saute” button on the Instant Pot, use the adjust button to set it on the “normal” setting.
- Add olive oil to the Instant Pot, when the display says “hot”, add the carrots, onions and celery, saute 4-5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the Instant Pot and cook until it’s browned, about 5-6 minutes. Press the “stop/cancel” button to turn the Instant Pot off, then drain any grease from the pot.
- Add the seasonings to the Instant Pot, with the ground beef, along with the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, beef broth and white vineger.
- Add the pasta and stir to combine all of the ingredients, making sure the pasta is covered in liquid.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the steam release is set to “sealing”.
- Press the “manual” button and use the +/- buttons to set the Instant Pot to 3 minutes.
- The instant pot will display “on” as it comes up to temperature and then will count down from 3 minutes on the display once it comes up to temperature.
- Once it has pressure cooked for 3 minutes, the Instant Pot will beep 3 times. Wait 10 minutes for the pressure to naturally release, then slide the steam release handle to the “venting” position to let out any remaining steam, before removing the lid and serving the soup.
- To make the recipe gluten free, substitute in gluten free macaroni noodles or penne pasta. You may need to add 5-10 minutes to the cooking time to make sure that the pasta is completely cooked in the soup. I recommend checking a noodle after 25 minutes, then adding 5 minutes at a time until the pasta is cooked al dente in the soup.
- To make the recipe vegetarian, substitute meatless crumbles, like Beyond meat or Impossible meat, for the ground beef. You can also double up on the beans. Instead of adding meatless crumbles, add two cans of red kidney beans and two cans of great northern beans. You’ll also want to substitute vegetable broth for the beef broth to make the soup vegetarian.
- Leftover pasta fagioli soup will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, sealed in an airtight container.
- You can reheat leftover soup in the microwave or on the stove. To reheat it in the microwave, place one serving of soup in a bowl and microwave for 3 minutes, stirring the soup halfway through the cooking time. To reheat it on the stove, add as much soup as you’d like to a pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Reheat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Serving 8gCalories 554kcal (28%)Carbohydrates 49g (16%)Protein 33g (66%)Fat 26g (40%)Saturated Fat 9g (45%)Polyunsaturated Fat 1gMonounsaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 1gCholesterol 81mg (27%)Sodium 1613mg (67%)Potassium 1410mg (40%)Fiber 10g (40%)Sugar 11g (12%)Vitamin A 3343mg (67%)Vitamin C 21mg (25%)Calcium 142mg (14%)Iron 7mg (39%)
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