Pasta Fagioli Recipe – If you love the Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli, I think you’ll love this homemade version as much or more! Ready in 30 minutes!
Do I have a scrumptious recipe for you all today! I’ve mentioned before how my college friends and I would make our routine trek into Atlanta many, many moons ago and would always somehow wind up in Olive Garden. It was like our cars had automatic steering locked in on that place!
Since then, I’ve visited a time or two, but I’m not as frequent of a visitor as I was all those years ago. But one of my favorite things to order during the cooler months has always been their Pasta Fagioli. And over the years, I’ve worked to get the recipe as close to the original as possible. Since I’ve now made the recipe so that it is homemade and ready in 30 minutes, I think I should invite my college friends over for a bowl.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick and easy recipe. This dish comes together quickly and is ready to serve in 30 minutes.
Amazing Flavor. Simple, yet flavorful. The seasonings are just perfect in this easy recipe.
Favorite recipe. A must-make recipe in my house, even though it is ready in 30 minutes, it is also great for meal prep throughout the week.
How to Make Pasta Fagioli Recipe
- Meat: ground beef
- Vegetables: onion, carrots, celery, and garlic
- Broth: vegetable broth
- Tomatoes: diced tomatoes and tomato sauce
- Pasta: Ditalini pasta
- Beans: red kidney beans and great northern beans
- Seasonings: basil, oregano, thyme, salt, and black pepper
- Garnish (optional): Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley
Meat – you are looking for added flavor here. You can use ground beef as I do in this recipe or substitute it with diced bacon or pancetta, or even Italian sausage. To lighten the soup, you can also use ground chicken or ground turkey. If you are vegan or vegetarian or prefer a meatless soup, you can omit the meat altogether.
Broth – you can use vegetable broth, beef broth, or chicken broth in this recipe based on your preference.
Beans – I use red kidney beans and great northern beans as these are the closest to the Olive Garden recipe I love. You can also use cannellini beans or another favorite bean.
Pasta – I use Ditalini pasta (again, it is used in the Olive Garden version). You can also use any other small cut of pasta you have on hand or that your family enjoys. Elbow noodles work great, too!
Seasonings – In addition to the seasonings that I use in my recipe, you can also make your soup a little spicier by using a few dashes of hot sauce or adding red pepper flakes if you like.
1. Cook meat and vegetables. You’ll brown your ground beef in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Drain away the drippings from the beef and stir in your vegetables. Cook until the vegetables are just tender. You’ll notice that I’ve grated my carrots with a box grater. This reduces the cooking time for the carrots considerably.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Once the vegetables are fork-tender, I stir in my stock. For the stock, you can use vegetable stock, chicken stock, or even chicken broth based on what you have on hand or your personal preference. Along with the stock, stir in your tomatoes and tomato sauce, and spices. Bring the liquid to a boil, and then stir in your pasta and beans (including the liquid from the beans). If there is not enough liquid to cover the pasta, you can add water or additional stock to thin out the ingredients.
3. Simmer and serve. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer until the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.
Pasta e Fagioli | Gennaro Contaldo |AD
Does pasta fagioli have meat?
Yes, the best pasta fagioli recipes contain meat, usually pancetta for the base of the soup and ground beef or sausage to augment it. However, eliminating the meat (or substituting it with vegan sausage crumbles can make this a vegetarian pasta e fagioli.
What is authentic pasta fagioli?
Authentic pasta fagioli is a traditional Italian pasta dish featuring, as the name suggests, pasta and beans. It’s a timeless dish that is a cornerstone of “la cucina povera”. With a few simple ingredients, this dish will provide a humble, but hearty and delicious meal. In a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil.
Does Olive Garden make Fagioli?
Log in here. You probably know pasta fagioli (pronounced “pasta fah-jolie”) from Olive Garden, or get it confused with Minestrone Soup. Minestrone is also made with pasta, beans, and vegetables, but it is typically vegetarian and is generally more brothy than pasta fagioli, which gets extra thickening by blending the beans.
Is pasta fagioli a soup?
Minestrone and pasta fagioli can both be considered soups, however with a minestrone, it will contain more vegetables (and might not even include beans), is much thinner, with more more broth (for a more “soupy” feel). Does pasta fagioli contain meat? It can contain meat such as pancetta, guanciale or prosciutto in the first step of cooking.