Italian Pasta Fagioli Soup

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This Pasta Fagioli Soup is hearty, filling, and full of delicious Italian flavors! With creamy beans, tender pasta, hearty turkey sausage, fresh veggies, and herbs, in a rich tomato-based sauce - it's the tastiest Pasta e Fagioli Recipe ever! {Plus, there's a low-carb and vegetarian option as well.}

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Why You'll Love This Traditional Italian Pasta Fagioli Recipe
Ingredients for this Italian Soup
How to Make Traditional Pasta Fagioli
Variations and Tips
FAQ's
Here are Some Other Delicious Soup Recipes to Try:
Italian Pasta Fagioli Soup

Why You'll Love This Traditional Italian Pasta Fagioli Recipe

You may have tried this before since it’s one of the very popular Olive Garden soups. And although this soup recipe is similar to Olive Garden's, my take on pasta e fagioli is a little bit different.

It’s a known thing that recipes for pasta e fagioli soup vary, the only true requirement is that beans and pasta are included.

This traditional Italian soup is often called pasta fasul (or fazool) in the US. I’m sure some of the credit goes to the song “That’s Amore” written by Warren and Brooks and made popular by heartthrob actor & singer Mr. Dean Martin.

More Italian Soup Recipes

But there are other fantastic Italian Soup Recipes I feel I should mention... like my Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup, Easy Zuppa Toscana Soup (Low Carb + Gluten Free), and my personal favorite Spicy Italian White Bean and Sausage Soup!

A Dutch oven of Italian soup with Pasta and Beans.

Ingredients for this Italian Soup

Olive oil
Mild or spicy ground turkey or chicken sausage (casings removed)
Yellow onion, large, finely diced
Carrots, medium, finely diced
Celery ribs, finely diced
Garlic, minced
Low-sodium chicken broth
Canned cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
Canned red kidney beans rinsed and drained
Canned diced tomatoes, with their juices
Tomato sauce
Salt & pepper
Bay leaves
Fresh rosemary, minced
Fresh thyme, minced
Dried pasta, such as ditalini or elbow macaroni
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Crushed red pepper (optional)

How to Make Traditional Pasta Fagioli

Step 1: Cook meat. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the turkey sausage and cook for 4-5 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks.

Step 2: Add veggies. Add the onion, carrot, celery, rosemary, thyme, and parsley and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Step 3: Cook garlic. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

adding chicken stock to a large pot of Italian soup.

Step 4: Make broth. Add the broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.

Adding Ditalini pasta to the Italian soup.

Step 5: Cook pasta. Next, stir in the pasta. Simmer for 9-10 minutes until the pasta is al dente. (Tender but still firm to the bite. This cooking time will vary depending on the pasta you use.) The soup will thicken a bit while the pasta is cooking.

How to make Pasta Fagioli - Recipe & Image.

Step 6: Cheese! Once the pasta is al dente, remove and discard the bay leaves. Take the soup off the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan cheese. If the soup seems too thick, stir in some water or chicken stock until it reaches the desired consistency.

NOTE: The longer it sits in the pot, the thicker it will get.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese and parsley (if desired) and devour!

Variations and Tips

Here's everything you need to know about this Italian pasta soup recipe to make sure it turns out perfectly every time. Whether you want to sub out different beans or meats, make it fit a specific diet your following, or you're just looking for some extra pointers, I've got you covered!

What Beans can I use in Pasta e Fagioli?

Traditional Italian soup recipes call for cannellini beans (either pre-boiled dry beans or canned beans). The very popular version served at Olive Garden is reportedly made with white and red kidney beans but that is definitely a more Americanized version. All to say, it’s a matter of personal preference, plus a matter of what you can find in your grocery store or your pantry!😊

Other beans you could substitute in this Pasta e Fagioli soup include:

Great Northern Beans
White Kidney Beans
Borlotti beans
Chickpeas
Navy Beans
Baby Lima Beans (aka “Butterbeans”)

What meats can I use in Pasta e Fagioli Soup?

The “traditional” version calls for pancetta, but I’ve swapped out for ground turkey to keep the soup a little more heart-healthy. Depending on your preference and availability, any of the following meats will work:

Ground Beef (I would use 95% Lean or higher)
Ground Chicken
Spicy Ground Turkey (using spicy instead of mild will definitely step up the heat factor in the finished product)
Smoked Ham Hock (If you want to go this route, you’ll need a lower-slower cooking method like this recipe).

How to make low-carb pasta fagioli soup?

Fear not my Low Carb friends, I’ve got you covered. (Yes, technically when we remove the pasta and the beans it is no longer a "pasta e fagioli" soup, but these are the trade-offs we make with a low-carb lifestyle!)

Use these modifications to make low-carb "Pasta Fazool":

Follow the full recipe directions below, using the original cook times for each step (the meat, veggies, stock, etc.). However, make the following modifications:
Omit the beans and the pasta
Add a second pound of ground turkey.
Reduce the total liquid (chicken stock) by 1 cup.
Slice two medium-sized zucchini into ½-inch slices, then quarter each slice. Add them at the very end, instead of pasta in step #5 of the recipe below). Cook for 7 minutes for "al-dente" zukes, or longer if you'd like them softer. Then remove from heat.
If you make these modifications, the total carbs per serving will drop from 40g to 10g, and net carbs will drop from 32g to 8g.

How to make gluten-free Pasta e Fagioli?

Make the soup gluten-free by using your favorite brand of gluten-free pasta. All the other ingredients are naturally gluten-free.

Can you make vegetarian pasta e fagioli?

Of course! You’ll need to make the following modifications:

For starters, omit the meat.
Consider adding another 14.5-ounce can of beans, drained (either kidney or cannellini).
Also, instead of chicken stock, use vegetable stock.
To make it completely Vegan, you would also need to skip the cheese.

Storing, Freezing, and Reheating Pasta Fagioli

Store pasta e fagioli soup for up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
You can freeze the soup. But it's best to freeze the soup before adding the pasta because pasta can become too soft and disintegrate when it's frozen and then thawed.
Freeze the pasta fagioli for up to 3 months in an airtight container (allow ¾-inch for the liquid to expand at the top of the container). Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat until simmering, add the pasta, and cook until the pasta is tender. Add more broth to thin out the soup, if necessary.

Close up Pasta Fagioli with recipe & image.

I hope you enjoy this tasty, versatile Italian soup! It’s hearty and full of the most delicious and rich savory, comforting flavors…

Buon Appetito!

FAQ's

What does pasta fagioli soup mean in Italian?

This literally translates to pasta and bean soup, because those are two of the main ingredients that make this traditional Italian dish so hearty and delicious!

What's the difference between minestrone and pasta e fagioli soup?

The main difference is in the variety of vegetables. Minestrone typically has a larger selection of healthy veggies, though my take on this traditional Italian pasta fagioli recipe has plenty of produce as well!

Here are Some Other Delicious Soup Recipes to Try:

Yield: 12 servings