Delight in the appetizing flavors of Olive Garden’s famous Pasta e Fagioli soup when you try this easy-to-make recipe. This copycat soup is brimming with ground beef, pasta, beans, carrots, and other wholesome ingredients, making for a nourishing lunch or dinner.
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Homemade pasta e fagioli soup
This is a wonderful hearty soup and perfect for a cold day. You could serve this with your favorite salad tossed with Olive Garden Italian Salad Dressing. A hearty sandwich also goes well with this soup.
When you go to the Olive Garden you have a first important choice to make – are you a soup or salad kind of person? Olive Garden serves up four delicious kinds of soup. You can get the Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Zuppa Toscana, Minestrone Soup, or this Pasta e Fagioli.
All four soups are excellent. This one is hearty and perfect for enjoying with a large crowd.
What makes Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli so good
With ground beef and two types of beans, this protein-packed soup is a delicious and satisfying way to fuel your body. The rich and savory broth is infused with the heavenly flavors of various aromatic vegetables.
The dish is spiced up with a subtle hint of Tabasco sauce, which gives it a delicious undertone. The perfectly cooked veggies and pasta complement each other well and make the dish even more irresistible!
Why you’ll love this recipe
This soup abounds with different types of beans, pasta, fresh onions, fresh celery, and fresh carrots. You will be surprised at how easily you can put this soup together.
This pasta fagioli recipe makes a very large amount of soup, about 9 quarts. It’s perfect for a large crowd. You can cut the recipe in half for a smaller amount.
This is one of those recipes that tastes even better on the second day. Since it holds up well in the refrigerator, you can use it as meal prep for lunches during the week. Or, make a batch and freeze it to have a comforting meal available for a rainy day.
You are bound to fall in love with this version of the Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli when you make it at home.
Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need for this copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli recipe:
- Ground beef
- Vegetable oil
- Onion
- Slivered carrots
- Celery
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Canned or cooked red kidney beans
- Canned or cooked white kidney beans (cannellini beans)
- Beef broth
- Dried oregano
- Pepper
- Tabasco sauce
- Marinara sauce
- Small shell macaroni
- Fresh parsley
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
For this soup, we are using canned beans to help reduce cooking time.
You can easily customize this fagioli soup recipe. Here are some ideas:
- Substitute the ground beef with Italian sausage, ground chicken, or ground turkey.
- Substitute beef broth with chicken broth.
- Substitute the white kidney beans with great northern beans.
- Substitute marinara sauce with tomato sauce.
- Substitute the small shell macaroni with elbow macaroni, ditalini pasta, or other small pasta.
- Substitute dried oregano with Italian seasoning.
- Add a little bacon or pancetta to the meat.
- Add some chopped cloves garlic to the meat after it has browned.
- Add other herbs such as basil and thyme.
How to Make Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli
Making Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli soup is so easy! Here’s how:
- Cook the beef in the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it browns.
- Add onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add white and red beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, and marinara sauce.
- Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes.
- Add the pasta and simmer until it is cooked.
- Stir in the parsley before serving.
- To serve, sprinkle more fresh parsley on top if desired.
CopyKat Tip: Do not add the pasta if you plan on freezing the soup. Pasta does not freeze well. Just cook some pasta to add to the soup when you thaw and reheat it.
What to serve with homemade Pasta Fagiioli
Enjoy this soup with Olive Garden Chicken Marsala or some eggplant parmesan. It also tastes delicious with a simple grilled cheese or panini.
If you want a lighter meal, all you need is a warm dinner roll, breadsticks, Olive Garden Salad, or garlic bread to accompany it!
How to store the leftovers
You can either refrigerate or freeze this soup, depending on how long you want it to last. Either way, wait for it to fully cool before you transfer it to an airtight container.
The refrigerated soup will last 3-5 days, while it lasts up to 3 months when you freeze it! However, do not add the pasta if you plan on freezing the soup. Pasta does not freeze well. Just cook some pasta to add to the soup when you thaw and reheat it. Thaw the soup in the fridge overnight before reheating it.
What is the best way to warm up the soup?
Reheat this soup over medium heat on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring occasionally, until it is thoroughly heated. If microwaving, cover it with a paper towel and cook it in increments.
Do you love Olive Garden? Try these copycat recipes!
Popular Soup Recipes
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Be sure to check out more of my hearty soup recipes and the best Olive Garden copycat recipes here on CopyKat.com!
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 12 ounces chopped onion
- 14 ounces slivered carrots
- 14 ounces diced celery
- 48 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 2 cups cooked, drained red kidney beans
- 2 cups cooked, drained white kidney beans
- 2 3/4 quarts beef broth
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
- 48 ounces marinara sauce
- 8 ounces small shell macaroni (or other small dried pasta shape)
- 5 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Cook the beef in the oil in a large stockpot, breaking it up until it starts to brown. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, and marinara sauce. Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes. Add the pasta and simmer until it’s cooked.
- Stir in the parsley before serving.
AIMEE
I have made this soup many times and I always get rave reviews. It is absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I don’t change anything in the recipe, I follow it exactly as written. It is worth a try. It makes a lot of soup so it would be perfect for a pot luck or when serving a large crowd.