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Our copycat Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli Soup is hearty, filling, and packed with beans, pasta, and veggies. Skip the restaurant and make this hearty pasta and bean soup at home.
One of my daughter’s favorite place to go for dinner is Olive Garden.
Probably not cool to admit that, but hey, Olive Garden is a win in my book. Maybe not the most authentic Italian food out there (by any stretch, haha), but it’s consistently good and quick and my whole family loves it.
My homemade Alfredo sauce is super easy and even better than OG’s. Try it alongside this soup sometime!
We’ve also made a keto Zuppa Toscana and the chicken gnocchi soup <— my daughter’s all time favorite soup and one that we make often!
No need to leave your house for your OG fix now that we’ve got the Pasta Fagioli recipe down too. 😉
What is Pasta e Fagioli soup?
It pretty much translates to “pasta and beans” in Italian, and that’s exactly what you’re getting in this rich, hearty soup! A good mix of beans, veggies, and ditalini pasta.
It can be a whole meal on it’s own, or serve it up as a starter before some pasta and go for the whole restaurant experience.
Try it alongside some easy air fryer breadsticks for an even more authentic Olive Garden experience!
Ingredient Notes:
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Ditalini Pasta – This small, tube shaped pasta is also sometimes referred to as tubettini. It’s a bit like macaroni only much smaller. It’s perfect for this Olive Garden pasta fagioli copycat recipe.
Ground Beef – I’m adding plenty of savory ground beef to this soup but you could use other types of ground meat here too such as chicken, pork, or turkey.
Veggies – Some diced veggies including carrots, celery, and onion are a simple way to add flavor. Minced garlic is also a must.
Chicken Stock – For the base of this soup you’ll need some chicken stock. I’d recommend using a good quality brand to get the best flavor! Or make your own with some chicken broth base.
Canned Ingredients – Raid your pantry for the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Great Northern beans, and red kidney beans.
Herbs & Seasoning – I’m using dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt, and black pepper!
What We Love About This OLIVE GARDEN PASTA FAGIOLI Recipe:
- Flavor: This soup has all the great flavor you’d find in the Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli. The ditalini pasta with the savory ground beef, veggies, and beans is the perfect combination.
- Easy: You can have this soup prepared and ready to serve in just 40 minutes! Just brown the beef with some veggies and let it all simmer in a pot with the chicken stock and pasta. So simple!
- Versatile: You can easily make adjustments to this soup recipe. Swap the beef for Italian sausage, use another shape of pasta, add extra veggies or leave out the ones you don’t like.
How to Make Pasta Fagioli Soup:
Ground Beef: Brown the beef in a stock pot. We tend to use a leaner beef and leave the fat in the pot. If you have a fattier meat, you may want to drain a bit off.
Veggies: Add in the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and let those cook until they’ve softened a bit.
Broth: Pour in some chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, canned beans, and spices.
Simmer: Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes and then add the pasta and cook until tender, about 10 more minutes.
So simple, so quick, and so hearty! This soup is perfect!
How do you pronounce pasta fagioli?
You’ll find people pronouncing Pasta Fagioli in a multitude of ways, ranging from “pasta fah-jow-lee” to “pasta fah-zool.”
One of the popular search terms that people use to find this soup on Google is Pasta Visual, if that gives you an idea of how people are hearing it pronounced versus seeing it written down.
Leftover Hack!
Most soups with pasta don’t freeze and reheat great as the pasta turns to mush.
If you’d like to freeze leftovers, I recommend cooking the pasta separate and adding it to individual portions.
FAQ’s:
If you’ve got leftovers you can keep them stored in a covered container in your refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days! The leftover pasta fagioli soup can be reheated on the stove or in the microwave.
Sure! Feel free to switch things up if you don’t have all the ingredients or just want to change things around. Ditalini pasta is the classic choice here but you could use other shaped pastas. You could also use a different mix of beans, or a different type of ground beef!
More italian favorites:
- Garlic Shrimp Pasta
- Bruschetta Chicken
- Spinach Manicotti
- Crockpot Lasagna
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Ravioli Lasagna
Pasta Fagioli
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 medium carrots diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 15 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 15 ounces canned Great Northern beans drained
- 15 ounces canned red kidney beans drained
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
Instructions
- Add the ground beef to a large pot or duct oven over medium heat and crumble.
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and continue cooking, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through.
- Add the chicken stock, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, and spices.
- Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the pasta to the pot and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in September 2020. It was updated with new images in February 2024.
Angela Lovin says
Delicious copy cat recipe! My family decimated the entire pot. Will definitely be making this again.
Brittany says
I’ve made a few different recipes for pasta fagioli, and this is my favorite one!
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks, Brittany!
cristelle wertelka says
I make a very similar soup but without the beans, I will definitely try this one.
Deborah Schmid says
Do you use tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce in this recipe?
Thanks
Karly says
Hi Deborah – we use tomato sauce. The full recipe is towards the bottom of the post with all of the ingredients and amounts.
Joseph says
There is on flaw with the recipe, the carrots are too hard if you follow the directions as listed
Karly says
Hi Joseph! 25 minutes should be more than enough time for the carrots to cook through and soften. We’ve not had an issue with them being hard.
Lora says
What are great northern beans and can you substitute the pasta for a different kind. Not sure what this pasta is
Karly says
You should be able to find the beans in any US grocery store. The pasta is just a small shape, also widely available. You could use whatever shape you prefer.
Shannon says
Thank you Karly- I have been WAITING for this! My favorite at OG 😀
Karly says
Oh yay! I hope you love it!
Verna Gifford says
I haven’t made this yet, but sounds yummy! I would probably put in a crockpot. Any ideas on that method?
Karly says
You could probably pop it all in the crockpot on low for a few hours and then add the pasta on high for 30 minutes to an hour before you’re ready to eat, but I haven’t tried this. 🙂
Santo Trufolo says
Not REAL Italian pasta fazool. It is Americanized.
Karly says
Yes, well, as I said, it’s a copycat of the Olive Garden recipe.
Louie Carlisle says
Is fazool the REAL Italian spelling??