This Pasta e Fagioli soup is a copycat for one of Olive Gardens classics! Rich tomato broth loaded with ground beef, tender pasta, beans and veggies, all ready in under 35 minutes!
Pair this with my copycat Olive Garden Salad for the ultimate experience.
PASTA E FAGIOLI SOUP
If you love the classic Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli soup, then this copycat version is for you! It’s so easy to make, fresh and so much cheaper in the long run. Rich tomato broth packed with beans, pasta, meat and veggies, the perfect hearty soup. Once you try this copycat fagioli soup recipe you won’t be wasting your money at Olive Garden anymore!
WHAT YOU NEED-
- Onion– You can use either red onion, sweet onion, or cooking onion for this soup. The onions add your classic aromatics to this soup.
- Carrots– Shredded, cubed or sliced carrots can be used. I like slicing my carrots for this Pasta e Fagioli soup.
- Celery– Chopped or sliced celery stalks will work for this soup. Adding celery is totally optional but recommended.
- Garlic– Freshly minced garlic or jarred minced garlic will work for this recipe.
- Beef– Be sure to use ground beef for this soup, at least 80/20% beef, I like to use 75/15%. You can also swap out for ground Italian sausage or a mix of both sausage and beef.
- Canned Tomatoes– You want to use canned diced tomatoes for this recipe. You can also use half diced tomatoes and half tomato sauce.
- Beans– One of the main ingredients in this soup is the beans! You can use a combination of red kidney beans and white great northern beans. I only use red kidney beans, since I’m not the greatest fan of beans.
- Flavor– To season this soup, I just use the classics: salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Broth– Either chicken or vegetable broth can be used for this soup. If you prefer to use bouillon, you can just add the chicken bouillon powder to water and create your own chicken broth. 32 oz of chicken broth would be 4 cups of water and 1 ½ Tbsp of chicken bouillon powder.
- Pasta– This classic pasta that goes into this copycat Pasta e Fagioli is Ditalini pasta. Any other short pasta will work, but I recommend using the ditalini pasta.
- Parmesan– You can’t go wrong with topping this soup with some freshly grated parmesan! Parmesan cheese is optional.
- Greens– Freshly chopped cilantro, parsley, or even basil can be used! I love adding freshly chopped greens to all my soups!
HOW TO MAKE PASTA E FAGIOLI SOUP
This soup comes together in under 35 minutes and all in one pot!
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté the veggies with oil until tender.
- Once tender, add the ground beef and brown, breaking apart as it cooks. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, beans, seasonings, broth and water to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the pasta to the pot and cook until tender, according to package instructions.
- Mix in freshly chopped greens and remove from heat. (Taste and adjust the seasonings to desired taste.)
- Serve right away with the desired side.
SERVING IDEAS-
Pair this Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli soup with the right sides for the perfect & hearty dinner! Serve with:
- Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Garlic Toast
- Homemade Biscuits
- Breadsticks
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
No! You can swap the ground beef for ground Italian sausage, ground turkey or ground chicken. You can also just leave this to be a veggie and bean soup.
Although beans are a main ingredient, if you don’t like beans, you can leave them out or add less.
Yes, you can add spinach or kale to this soup for some added greens!
Yes! It tastes even better the next day as the flavors have more time to blend. Make this up to 3-4 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
This Pasta e Fagioli soup freezes great! Once completely cool, add to a freezer safe container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat before serving.
OTHER SOUP RECIPES-
Chillier weather calls for soup! Check out my collection of delicious soup recipes:
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or butter
- 2/3 cup yellow or red onion finely diced
- 1/2 cup carrots diced or sliced
- 1/2 cup celery diced or sliced
- 1 lb ground beef 75/15%
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 15 oz canned red kidney beans drained
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian season
- 2 bay leaves
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup ditalini pasta uncooked
- 2 Tbsp Freshly chopped herbs optional
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1 Tbsp oil on medium high heat. Once hot, add chopped onions, carrots, and celery and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until tender.
- Add the ground beef to the pot and brown, breaking apart as it cooks, cooking for about 4-5 minutes.
- Once the beef is cooked, add minced garlic and cook for a minute, until fragrant.
- Add the canned crushed tomatoes, drained beans, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, broth and water to the pot and mix. Bring the soup to a boil on medium high heat.
- Once boiling, add the ditalini pasta and cook for 10 minutes, until pasta is tender.
- Mix in freshly chopped herbs and remove from heat. (Taste and adjust the seasonings to desired taste.)
- Serve right away with desired sides.
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