Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Recipe
This Pasta e Fagioli Soup is one of our family’s most favorite cold weather meals. It reminds me of fall leaves, football season, sweaters and cozy fires. It’s my top choice at Olive Garden every time we go there to eat, so I decided to find a way to make it at home. This copycat recipe tastes exactly like the popular restaurant dish!
What is Pasta e Fagioli Soup?
This Italian soup literally means “pasta and beans” so that’s what you’ll find in this dish, along with ground beef, Italian seasonings in a rich tomato based broth. Pasta E Fagioli is very similar to another hearty favorite, minestrone. The difference between these two soups is minestrone uses several different veggies and Pasta e Fagioli features onion, celery and carrots for flavor, but no other vegetables.
Ingredients
Ground Beef – For this recipe I like to use lean ground beef (93%/7%). If the beef is too fatty, then it makes the soup very oily. Onion, Carrots, and Celery – This combination of savory vegetables is often called a mirepoix. Together, they create a base of flavor for the soup. Diced Tomatoes – Tomatoes help to make up the base of the soup broth. Make sure you don’t drain the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and the juices to the crock pot. Red and White Kidney Beans – It wouldn’t be Pasta e Fagioli without the fagioli! As you might have guessed, fagioli means beans. I like to use dark red kidney beans and also white kidney beans, or cannellini beans. Beef Stock – You can use beef stock, beef broth, or even chicken broth in a pinch. Spices – The spice mix for this recipe includes oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper. If you want to expand on the flavor profile, then consider adding garlic powder, basil, thyme, or a few bay leaves. Tabasco Sauce – Tabasco sauce adds a little bit of spice and also a depth of flavor to this soup. Prego Sauce – Prego Traditional tomato sauce is our favorite for this recipe. Ditalini Pasta – Ditalini pasta is the pasta that Olive Garden uses, but you can use other shapes like small shells, wagon wheels, or elbow noodles. Cook the pasta to just barely al dente, as it will soften in the soup.Optional Toppings – This soup is perfect as is, but I like to top my bowl with grated parmesan cheese, parsley flakes, and red pepper flakes.
Tips for Pasta e Fagioli Soup
This recipe makes a LOT of soup (approximately 20, 1 cup servings) so it’s a terrific recipe for feeding a crowd or if you like leftovers for lunches. It’ll stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week.This soup also freezes well, so store in freezer safe containers or Ziploc bags in the freezer for up to two months.Make sure to use a large crock pot, or feel free to cut the recipe in half.Pasta e Fagioli is delicious served with some crusty bread, our delicious Italian Cheesy Bread recipe, or one of my favorites, cornbread. Our Cake Mix Cornbread is goes perfectly with this soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
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