Pasta Fagioli Soup

Pasta Fagioli Soup is an Italian classic meaning "pasta and beans", hearty, filling and so delicious! The perfect winter meal full of rich flavors, lots of veggies and beef in a silky tomato broth. This one-pot dinner is prepped in just 20 minutes!

• Perfect Winter Comfort Food! - This Pasta Fagioli Soup, or as it's often misspelled "Pasta Fazul" recipe is one of our favorites when winter in Minnesota pretty much calls for soup every week! I love that it’s just so "full of stuff.” It's a complete, balanced meal all in one cozy and comforting bowl. Hearty and filling, it’s the perfect combination of veggies, protein and pasta.

• Fast and Easy and all in One Pot! - Soup for dinner really is a wonderful meal, and Pasta Fagioli is one of the easiest soups to make! Pasta e Fagioli means "Pasta and Beans" in Italian, and it's full of pantry and refrigerator staples, so I often have everything I need already on hand. It makes a huge pot, easily serving a family of 4 to 6 with leftovers for lunch. You can make it anytime during the afternoon and let it simmer until dinner. It’s all in one pot, allowing you to clean up the kitchen while it cooks and sits ready for you when everyone gets hungry. As Dean Martin said, “That’s amore!”

• Amazing Flavor! - This is a seriously delicious pot of soup! With the Italian flavors and tiny pasta, I often consider it to be a relative of spaghetti and therefore pretty kid-friendly! I do, however, sometimes find a few chunks of tomato and celery left in their little bowls. Still a win!

• If you Love this Soup, be sure to check out my Tuscan Sausage White Bean Soup, Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup, and my Italian Sausage White Bean Soup with Pasta!

Ingredients & Substitutions

A complete meal, this soup is full of pantry staple plus fresh veggies, for a nourishing bowl everyone will love!

• Ground Beef or Italian Sausage - I have made this soup with either ground beef or bulk ground Italian Sausage, and both are delicious! You can use more or less than 1 pound, depending on how meaty you like it. Italian sausage gives you a bit more zing and seasoning! You'll love this Creamy Sausage Potato Soup too!

• Onion, Celery, Carrots, Garlic - The veggies provide the base layer of flavor and also a great dose of nutrition, one of the reasons this soup is so hearty and satisfying!

• Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning - The simplest of seasonings, these are all you need to amplify all the hearty ingredients in this soup!

• Beans - A classic combination of white and red beans! You can use what you have, navy, great northern, canellini, kidney or any red beans. Just use 1 can red and 1 can white, drained and rinsed! Try this variation of pasta and beans soup, Tomato Tortellini Soup with Ground Beef.

• Canned Tomato - I used whole peeled tomatoes and just chopped them on a cutting board. Diced tomatoes would also be fine or even a can of crushed tomato, although I like to have some tomato chunks in my soup. Add in all the juice from the can as well, it combines with the stock to give you that rich velvety tomato broth.

• Chicken Stock - Store-bought or Homemade Chicken Stock, beef stock or veggie stock are fine in this recipe.

• Ditalini Pasta - I used 1 and ½ cups of ditalini pasta for this recipe, but you could also sub small pasta shells or orzo if you can't find ditalini. If you are trying to eat low carb, you could easily lower the amount of pasta to 1 cup or even ½ cup. This would still give the soup its signature pasta and bean combination, just be lighter on the pasta. You could, of course, leave the pasta out, but you would have quite a different pot of soup.

Instructions

Step 1 - Chop your veggies, drain and rinse your beans, and have all other ingredients ready.

Step 2 - Start by browning the beef. As it's about half way cooked, move it to one side of the pot and add the veggies to saute on the other side. The vegetables will cook in the beef drippings so there is no need to add oil.

When it is fully browned and your veggies have softened, they can be mixed together and seasoned with the garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

If you want to drain some of the fat from the beef, you can during this step. I usually don't, unless it's a lot! 

Step 3 - Then add everything else, beans, tomato, stock and pasta. Let it simmer, covered for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through.

That’s it! In that time, the pasta cooks, and the juice from the tomato combines with the stock to form that delicious silky red broth, and all the flavors marry together.

Enjoy with fresh parsley, shredded Parmesan cheese and crusty bread!

Recipe Notes and Tips

• Storage - Leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

• Make Ahead Instructions - A big pot of soup is a great make ahead meal prep for the week! Just store it in airtight containers, preferably glass, and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. You could also make it ahead but skip simmering it, store it in the fridge in the soup pot, and then simmer the whole thing for 30 minutes to finish cooking on the night you want to eat it.

• Wait to Add the Pasta - If you plan to let the soup simmer on the stove longer than 30 minutes, wait to add the pasta. All the other ingredients would be fine to simmer on low but the pasta will overcook if it sits too long. You can also boil the pasta in a separate pot and add it just as you are going to serve it to ensure you won't overcook it.

• Slow Cooker Instructions - You can make Pasta Fagioli Soup in a slow cooker. Brown your beef and veggies on the stovetop and then add that along with all other ingredients except the pasta. Cook on LOW for 4 to 8 hours. In the final hour, add the pasta and cook on HIGH until the pasta is ready. You could also boil the pasta separately and add it just before serving.

• Stretching the Recipe - You can double the recipe if serving a large crowd! If you just want to stretch it slightly without doubling, add an extra can of beans, an extra small can of tomato and more water or stock to reach the right consistency.

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