Pasta e Fagioli is a classic Italian soup that is full of bacon, beans, ground beef, veggies, and pasta. It’s easy to make all in one pot and is a timeless family favorite!
Pasta e Fagioli
This pasta e fagioli soup is my take on the copycat Olive Garden version. Another one I really love is our Chicken Gnocchi Soup! For those wondering, this is very different from minestrone although they do seem similar. This one has meat (I use bacon and beef), beans, pasta, and simple veggies like carrot and onion. Ditalini (the short tube pasta) is the pasta traditionally used here, but any small pasta will work if you can’t find it. We love this cold weather soup so much, especially when I want something hearty but not cream based! It’s super simple to throw together and can be made on the stovetop or in your instant pot!
You can never go wrong with a big pot of soup to bring the family together. Check out this Easy Pumpkin Soup for fall, or flavor packed Sausage Gnocchi Soup for another Italian favorite.
Can this soup be made in advance and frozen?
It sure can! I love making big batches of soup to have on hand that can just be defrosted, reheated, and served. Now the only trick with this soup is that you need to leave the pasta out in order to freeze it properly. Simply make the soup as directed, but don’t add the pasta. Once it’s cooled down, add to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. I let it thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. Reheat the soup on the stove at a simmer, add in your pasta, and cook as directed until the pasta is soft. Then you’re ready to dig in!
How To Make Pasta e Fagioli
For the Stovetop:
- Fry. Cook the chopped bacon in a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of grease from the pot before returning to the stove.
- Cook. Add in the ground beef, diced onion, carrots, minced garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Cook the ground beef (breaking it up as you go) until it is no longer pink. Drain any remaining grease from the pot.
- Add the pasta and beans. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, broth, beans, and pasta to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 12-15 minutes until pasta is cooked through.
- Serve. Serve with the chopped bacon and parmesan cheese as a garnish if desired and enjoy.
For the Instant Pot:
- Serve. Serve with the cooked bacon and parmesan cheese on top!
- Saute. Cook the bacon in the instant pot on saute mode. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon.
- Cook. Add the ground beef, onion, carrots, garlic, and seasonings to the pot. Cook, stirring constantly and breaking up the meat until cooked through. Turn the instant pot off.
- Add. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Place the lid on the pot and set the valve to the sealing position.
- Cook. Cook the soup on the manual, high pressure setting for 4 minutes.
- Release. Once the time is up, carefully do a quick release by opening the valve. Once the pressure has released, remove the lid.
Storing Pasta e Fagioli
Let the soup cool completely, then store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keep in mind that the longer the soup sits, the pasta will continue to absorb some of the liquid, so your soup may get a little bit thicker over time. You can reheat this for a minute or two in the microwave or just gently reheat it on low on the stove top in a saucepan until warm.
Ingredients Notes for Pasta e Fagioli
- Bacon – 6 slices, cooked and chopped. Feel free to use any kind of bacon you prefer, just maybe stay away from maple for this recipe.
- Ground Beef – I like to use a combo of bacon and beef, but you can use one or the other if you don’t want both. You could also sub the beef for Italian sausage, ground turkey, or ground chicken. If you want a meatless soup, just skip the meat step and start with your veggies.
- Onion – A diced yellow onion, medium in size. White onions are tasty in this too.
- Carrots – Also diced, I don’t recommend using the matchstick carrots as they are a little too thin.
- Garlic – I like to use freshly minced garlic, you could use garlic powder in a pinch.
- Seasonings – Dried basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. The flakes are optional but I like the flavor and tiny bit of spice they add.
- Tomato Sauce – Make sure to get tomato SAUCE not PASTE or the soup will be way too thick.
- Diced Tomatoes – I used fire roasted canned diced tomatoes because I love that extra bit of flavor. Any type of diced canned tomatoes are fine, the kind with garlic and basil are really good too!
- Vegetable Broth – You can substitute for chicken broth as well if you’ve already got that on hand.
- Kidney Beans – I used a combination of (drained and rinsed) kidney and great northern beans in this recipe. You can use one or the other, or just only use one can of beans if you like less.
- Pasta – Ditalini pasta is the usual here and it’s what I used. But you can definitely use any short cut pasta shape too! Macaroni, small shells, orzo, or even rotini would work. I’m a big fan of using what you have on hand.
- Parmesan Cheese – This is optional as a garnish, but really, is the cheese ever really optional?
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
- 6 Slices Bacon Chopped
- 1 Pound Ground Beef
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion Diced
- 1 Cup Diced Carrots
- 4 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 2 teaspoons Dried Basil
- 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes OPTIONAL
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 2 15 Ounce Cans Tomato Sauce
- 1 15 Ounce Can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- 5 Cups Vegetable Broth or Chicken Broth
- 2 15 Ounce Cans Kidney or White Beans Drained and rinsed
- 1 Cup Ditalini Pasta or other short cut pasta
- Parmesan Cheese for serving OPTIONAL
Instructions
STOVE TOP:
- Cook the chopped bacon in a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Drain all but 1 Tablespoon of bacon grease from the pot.
- Add the beef, onion, carrots, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Cook, breaking up the beef as you go until no longer pink. Drain any remaining grease from the pot.
- Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, broth, beans, and pasta to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12-15 minutes until pasta is cooked through.
- Serve with the bacon and parmesan cheese if desired.
INSTANT POT:
- Cook the bacon in the instant pot on saute mode. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon.
- Add the ground beef, onion, carrots, garlic, and seasonings to the pot. Cook, stirring constantly and breaking up the meat until cooked through.
- Turn the instant pot off.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Place the lid on the pot and set the valve to sealing position.
- Cook the soup on the manual, high pressure setting for 4 minutes.
- Once the time is up, carefully do a quick release by opening the valve. Once the pressure has released, remove the lid and serve the soup immediately.
- Serve with the cooked bacon and parmesan cheese.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It’s really delicious. Even my pickiest eater loved it! I made some adjustments to reduce the amount of liquid so it had more of a stew consistency, and I added the celery that’s needed for it to be like Olive Garden’s soup. I left out the bacon since I forgot to buy it, but without the bacon it needed salt. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you.