Walking into Olive Garden on a snowy December evening, I never expected that first spoonful of Pasta e Fagioli would become my obsession. The rich tomato broth, tender vegetables, and perfectly cooked pasta created a warmth that went beyond just heating up my snow-chilled body. After years of ordering this hearty soup, I finally perfected this copycat recipe that captures every comforting element of the original.
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Why this Homemade pasta e fagioli soup work
This is a wonderful, hearty soup, perfect for a cold day. You could serve it with your favorite salad tossed with Olive Garden Italian Salad Dressing, or a hearty sandwich.
When you go to the Olive Garden, you have a first important choice: Are you a soup or salad kind of person? Olive Garden serves up four delicious types of soup. You can choose from the Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Zuppa Toscana, Minestrone Soup, or Pasta e Fagioli.
All four soups are excellent. This one is hearty and perfect for enjoying with a large crowd.
Equipment needed
- Large Dutch oven or stock pot (at least 8-quart capacity)
- Sharp knife for chopping vegetables
- Wooden spoon for stirring
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Can opener
Ingredients and their purpose
- Ground beef – Provides rich, savory flavor and hearty protein that makes this soup as satisfying as a main course
- Vegetable oil – Used to brown the beef and sauté the vegetables, creating a foundation of flavor
- Onion – Adds aromatic sweetness and depth to the soup base
- Slivered carrots – Contribute natural sweetness, vibrant color, and nutritional value
- Celery – Provides an earthy base flavor and pleasant texture contrast
- Canned diced tomatoes – Adds acidity, umami flavor, and creates part of the soup’s base
- Canned red kidney beans – They offer protein, fiber, and a firm texture that holds up well during cooking
- Canned white kidney beans (cannellini) – Provides a creamy texture and mild flavor that balances the heartier red beans
- Beef broth – Forms the savory liquid base and enhances the meaty flavor profile
- Dried oregano – Contributes classic Italian herbal notes that complement the tomato base
- Black pepper – Adds subtle heat and enhances the other flavors in the soup
- Tabasco sauce – Provides a hint of heat and depth without making the soup spicy
- Marinara sauce – Creates richness, body, and complex tomato flavor in the broth
- Small shell macaroni – Adds satisfying texture and makes the soup more filling
- Fresh parsley – Brightens the flavor and adds a fresh, herbaceous finish
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, chicken, or 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 of 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 tender and cooked through.
- 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 Fagioli
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!
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup (Copycat Recipe)
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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Do you love Olive Garden? Try these copycat 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!
Storage and Reheating Instructions for Leftovers
- Refrigeration: Once cooled, store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- Freezing: This soup freezes beautifully for up to 3 months—but leave out the pasta! Pasta doesn’t freeze well, so either add cooked pasta when reheating or freeze the soup base only.
- Thawing: Thaw frozen soup overnight in the refrigerator.
- Reheating: Warm over medium heat on the stovetop, stirring occasionally until heated through. If the soup thickens too much during storage, add a splash of broth when reheating.
Scaling the Recipe
- Smaller batch: This recipe yields approximately 9 quarts, making it perfect for large families or meal prep. For a smaller amount, cut all ingredients in half.
- For a crowd: The recipe, as written, serves approximately 12 people generously. For larger gatherings, increase the ingredients proportionally and use multiple pots if needed.
i use this and changed to marnara made with hunts zesty this adds to flavor. great soup
I have been thinking of a recipe my husband adores. He has had oral cancer 3 times and is unable to eat many of his favorite foods anymore. But up until I got this recipe I was going out to buy the soup already made. And it gets more expensive than making it myself. Thank you so much for it. I will treasure this recipe and put with my others I keep in a box in my kitchen.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
really awesome recipe, even though i put pasta in to cook 🙁 didnt read below)…….
will make again for church dinner!!!!
Is the measurements in fluid oz or weight oz?
The measurements in in fluid ounces.
In a BIG HURRY? If you have a Braums they carry a “mix”. No meat, you can add if you like, I prefer mine without. If I have the following on hand I throw it in but great without; a small can of tomatoes (i like Italian petite diced but whatever),handful of pasta, and a can of ranch style beans. I don’t measure the water, I like mine thick so i add a couple cups to cook it fast & add more as needed. Couldn’t be easier or faster, & CHEAP too, especially for 1 or 2 or a sudden craving. Perfect to keep on hand for “SOUP and SALAD” or sandwich for unexpected guest.
DATILINI-Small size bag available at WalMart in Mexican food section (50 cents)
3-4 other sm size pastas in small size bags – all 50 cents-available, ie; tiny alphabet pasta, tiny shells, tiny macaroni
Thank you for that great tip. I really like Braum’s even if they aren’t too close to me.
I used V8 juice rather than the pasta sauce. Still a knockout. I made 1/2 recipe and used one 12-0z. can of the juice. Also, I would suggested using the juice (or sauce) for thinning the soup to use for leftover. We prefer serving the noodles (pasta) and pouring an appropriate amount of soup over. Over to mix in at end, though.
Love this recipe!! It really does taste just like Olive Gardens, and its super simple. Yum yum!!
It was great but……I would cut recipe in half next time
This recipe makes enough to feed an army! Wow…..this will be a great dinner. Thanks! I weighed everything precisely. The celery is more than a full stock, the onion is actually one and a half onions chopped finely, and the carrots were in a ten ounce bag already slivered. Plenty of vegetables.
I hope you enjoy the soup for a long time. Thank you for the approximations.
Excellent soup. I made the full recipe and it’s more like for a serving of 20…. Way too much! Half the recipe for sure!
I hate to ask dumb questions but how many onions, carrots, and celery stalks do you use to make those ounces? Or do you just guess at it? I love Olive Garden’s Pasta E. Fagioli but I don’t remember white kidney beans in it. This version has good reviews and I can’t wait to try it.
Not even close.Add a tbsp of chili powder and one tbsp of cumin along with changing the oregano to italion seasoning and then you start to get closer… Everybody, the original has Cumin in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am usually good about picking out cumin, I never tasted it in here.
I’ve been using this recipe for a few years now, although I can’t find the exact oz measurements you use on tomatoes and beef stock, I’ve figured it out close enough and I think it’s very close to OG……no, no cumin…….
It does NOT have cumin. My daughter works there.
http://restaurant.food.com/recipe/olive-garden-pasta-e-fagioli-soup-in-a-crock-pot-copycat-31717 this is the link to a crock pot recipe! ^_^
I know for a fact that the Olive garden version has red chili pepper flakes ground up (Not Tabasco) and cumin in the recipe. Having experimented myself to duplicate the recipe, this one is a far cry from the real thing
Although this was good, I don’t think this tasted anything like the real deal.
i love the recipe but i added some kale and collards
I think that sounds like a nice addition.
My soup turned out excellent. I added 2 teaspoons of sugar, really made a difference. This is a really good recipe for when the weather is cold.
This recipe has become one of my all time favorites, not many recipes make it to my all-time favorite list. I love trying new recipes, but this recipe comes out every year. Make it with Olive Garden’s Salad and it’s a perfect meal to take to a family gathering or just enjoy with friends. I have mixed up the pasta by using macaroni and mini shells in regular and wheat varieties. So long as you don’t throw the smaller pasta in too soon, it’s a nice change. I have not been brave enough to try the tri-colored pasta, but soon I’ll run out of the pasta and try it. If you haven’t tried this recipe, try it!
You can half the recipe, but I love tossing the soup into the freezer in smaller quantities. Thaw the soup before microwaving, the pasta will become mush if you don’t.
This recipe has become one of my all time favorites, not many recipes make it to my all-time favorite list. I love trying new recipes, but this recipe comes out every year. Make it with Olive Garden’s Salad and it’s a perfect meal to take to a family gathering or just enjoy with friends. I have mixed up the pasta by using macaroni and mini shells in regular and wheat varieties. So long as you don’t throw the smaller pasta in too soon, it’s a nice change. I have not been brave enough to try the tri-colored pasta, but soon I’ll run out of the pasta and try it. If you haven’t tried this recipe, try it!
You can half the recipe, but I love tossing the soup into the freezer in smaller quantities. Thaw the soup before microwaving, the pasta will become mush if you don’t.
I have made this soup many, many times and I found that if you use just plain diced tomatoes that doesn’t already have seasoning, the soup turns out pretty bland. I also use spaghetti instead of marinara sauce. Spaghetti sauce also needs to have spices in it. Personally, I think this recipe is better then the real Olive Garden soup. But that’s just my opinion. 😉
I used spaghetti sauce as well (Prego) and always use Delmonte Original Stewed Tomatoes, so much more flavor and ingredients……
Just made a batch today!!!! Best soup ever. Sometimes I put a little browned ground pork in it and a just a tad more hot sauce its perfect 🙂
I’m having trouble finding Marinara sauce in my area can I substitute Primavara?
I use any kind of spaghetti sauce and it is always good.
I found some with Paul Newman on the label it was wonderful