Pasta e Fagioli Soup {Olive Garden Copycat}
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A hearty veggie and protein loaded Pasta e Fagioli soup, loaded with kidney and cannellini beans, fresh herbs, and lots of carrots and celery. This soup is a copycat version of Olive Gardens and it is to die for! I made mine with simple ingredients and it takes just 30 minutes from start to finish to make this soup!
You guys! I’m back with another one of my favorite soups.
A hearty and healthy pasta e fagioli soup that’s loaded with good for your veggies like carrots, and tomatoes, and celery, and my personal favorite – garlic. But then there’s also teeny tiny, itty bitty wittle ditalini pasta along with protein packed kidney and cannellini beans.
It’s not really a secret that a) I absolutely adore soup, b) I’ve only posted a million other soup recipes on the blog. Psst, this one here is a serious winner!
So today we’re making an Italian soup that takes just 30 minutes from start to finish including prep time and cooking time. Don’t you just love meals that are weeknight friendly like that?
So something really really great happened yesterday. The hubby and I are moving into a 2 bedroom! Yippee! Which means now I get to have a whole fancy office dedicated to just the blog. But i’m jumping ahead of myself. It almost didn’t happen.
That’s right, the apartment that we had our eyes set on literally got rented out 24 hours before we turned in our paperwork. Can you believe it? Oy vey! Coincidentally our neighbors, who also happen to be our closest friends, were looking into moving into a 2 bedroom around the same time. We were in the leasing office turning in our paperwork together and when she found out that the apartment I had my hopes set on was gone, she immediately offered up her apartment. Oh.my.God. Who does that? Seriously, who does that? I wanted to have an east facing window so that the natural light flowed freely in the early hours so that I could get that early morning light in my pictures and the only other east facing apartment was the one that Fariha and her husband were renting out. Naturally I said no about a million times, I know how similar we are and if I really wanted it, she did too. I can’t say enough about this girl. She’s one of a kind! She took a courtyard view on the second floor and so we’ll still be the upstairs neighbors. I owe her big time.
So she and I are both sick. And guess what’s been nursing us back to health? This thick and hearty pasta e fagioli soup. Oh and of course mugs of lemon ginger tea with honey.
Let’s jump right into this recipe. First thing first, the meat. You have 2 options here 1.) lean ground meat, i’d recommend a 90/10 and 2.) Italian sausage with the casing removed. Either option will be fine. Use what you’ve got on hand.
Start by browning the meat, Let it cook up with just a tablespoon of olive oil. You’re going to add in the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic next. Let it sweat for a few minutes. Then, add in the rest of your ingredients, except the basil, ditalini pasta, and the beans. Let it all simmer and make the house smell delicious for 15 minutes before you add in the remaining ingredients. Serve it immediately if you’d added in the ditalini, otherwise the pasta tends to get greedy and soaks up all the soup liquid.
You can make this soup vegan by using ‘ground crumbles’ in place of the ground beef and the chicken broth can easily be replaced with vegetable broth.
Warm, thick and hearty pasta e fagioli soup with chunks of fire roasted tomatoes, parmesan cheese, pasta, and power packed beans. This is the kind of soup I crave when i’m sick. Because, I can’t really taste anything that’s not exploding with flavor. That’s why a pasta e fagioli soup is where it’s at, yo. It’s loaded with lots of italian flavors like oregano and basil and a hint of spice from the red pepper flakes which really help because it’s about the only taste I can make out when I have a cold.
This soup really does nurse you back to health and it’s only the perfect meal to enjoy under a warm blankey with a good movie or just a Gilmore Girls marathon.
Pasta e Fagioli Soup {Olive Garden Copycat}
A hearty veggie and protein loaded Pasta e Fagioli soup, loaded with kidney and cannellini beans, fresh herbs, and lots of carrots and celery. This soup is a copycat version of Olive Gardens and it is to die for! I made mine with simple ingredients and it takes just 30 minutes from start to finish to make this soup!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup packed ditalini pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef or italian sausage, casing removed (see note)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and slices into 1/4 inch thick circles
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 (15-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained + rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or great northern beans, drained + rinsed
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the ditalini pasta according to the package directions. Keep the pasta al-dente for this recipe. Drain and set aside.
- In a large dutch oven, heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery, continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir while adding in the chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the stockpot to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer covered for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the pasta, beans and basil, let heat through. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Vegan 'crumbles' can be used in place of the meat if you'd like to make this recipe vegan friendly. Also, replace the chicken broth with vegetable stock.
- If you don't plan on serving the soup immediately, don't add the basil and the pasta. Reheat or warm the soup, add basil and pasta just before serving.
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If you like this recipe, you’ll also like:
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8 Comments on “Pasta e Fagioli Soup {Olive Garden Copycat}”
Pingback: 20 Ways to Prepare an Olive Garden Soup at Home - Ritely.com
Love pasta e fagioli soup olive garden ! This soup definitely has me craving soups and chili.
Banquets la mesa
This soup is so yummy! I’m a vegetarian so I subbed out Trader Joes soy Chorizio for the sausage which added a little bite to it. I’m so happy to have found your blog, everything I have made has turned out delicious. My kids love the orzo soup and they request it. Hope your New Year is wonderful! Keep the recipes coming!
Shawn K.
Hi Shawn,
I am humbled by your praises! Thank you so much for following the blog. It’s always puts a smile on my face when people make the food and take the time to come back and comment. Really appreciate it! Happy New Year to you and yours. I’ll definitely try my best to bring great recipes again this year! 🙂
This dish looks delicious food is home.Greetings from Uruguay
Hi Mirta, Thank you! 🙂
Oh my goodness Marzia that was too sweet! Anything for you guys. Just keep the food coming, lolol.
And the pictures turned out great! Seriously, this soup was ah-mazing. My poor sore throat was really happy last night
I’ll keep it coming! Whether good or bad, you’re getting some 😀