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Our Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup copycat recipe tastes just like the original. This hearty, Italian-seasoned soup is easily made in a slow cooker.
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Recipe
This Pasta e Fagioli Soup is one of our family’s most favorite cold weather meals. It reminds me of fall leaves, football season, sweaters and cozy fires. It’s my top choice at Olive Garden every time we go there to eat, so I decided to find a way to make it at home. This copycat recipe tastes exactly like the popular restaurant dish!
What is Pasta e Fagioli Soup?
This Italian soup literally means “pasta and beans” so that’s what you’ll find in this dish, along with ground beef, Italian seasonings in a rich tomato based broth. Pasta E Fagioli is very similar to another hearty favorite, minestrone soup. The difference between these two soups is minestrone uses several different veggies and Pasta e Fagioli features onion, celery and carrots for flavor, but no other vegetables.
Ingredients in Fagioli Soup
- Ground Beef – For this recipe I like to use lean ground beef (93%/7%). If the beef is too fatty, then it makes the soup very oily. You can also sub the beef for Italian sausage, bacon, or pancetta.
- Onion, Carrots, and Celery – This combination of savory vegetables is often called a mirepoix. Together, they create a base of flavor for the soup. White onion or yellow onion both work great.
- Diced Tomatoes – Tomatoes help to make up the base of the soup broth. Make sure you don’t drain the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and the juices to the crock pot.
- Red and White Kidney Beans – It wouldn’t be Pasta e Fagioli without the fagioli! As you might have guessed, fagioli means beans. I like to use dark red kidney beans and also white kidney beans, great northern beans, or cannellini beans.
- Beef Stock – You can use beef stock, beef broth, or even chicken broth or vegetable broth in a pinch.
- Spices – The spice mix for this recipe includes oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper. If you want to expand on the flavor profile, then consider adding garlic powder, garlic cloves, basil, thyme, or a few bay leaves.
- Tabasco Sauce – Tabasco sauce adds a little bit of spice and also a depth of flavor to this soup.
- Prego Sauce – Prego Traditional tomato sauce is our favorite for this recipe.
- Ditalini Pasta – Ditalini pasta is the pasta that Olive Garden uses, but you can use other shapes like small shells, wagon wheels, or elbow macaroni noodles. Cook the pasta to just barely al dente, as it will soften in the soup.
- Optional Toppings – This soup is perfect as is, but I like to top my bowl with grated parmesan cheese, parsley flakes, and red pepper flakes.
Tips for Pasta e Fagioli Soup
- This pasta Fagioli recipe makes a LOT of soup (approximately 20, 1 cup servings) so it’s a terrific recipe for feeding a crowd or if you like leftovers for lunches. It’ll stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week.
- This soup also freezes well, so store in freezer safe containers or Ziploc bags in the freezer for up to two months.
- Make sure to use a large crock pot, or feel free to cut the recipe in half.
- Pasta e Fagioli is delicious served with some crusty bread, our delicious Italian Cheesy Bread recipe, or one of my favorites, cornbread. Our Cake Mix Cornbread is goes perfectly with this soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! You will need a very large pot, or you will need to half the recipe. Brown and drain the beef, and add it, along with all other ingredients besides the pasta, to a large pot. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Cook pasta according to package directions and add to soup before serving.
They are the same! Pasta Fazool is a nickname for pasta e fagioli that comes from New York Italians.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to three months.
Yes, you just need to sub out the pasta for a gluten-free pasta.
Yes, this soup is hearty, filling, and loaded with protein and fiber.
What to Serve with Pasta Fagioli Soup
When we make Pasta e Fagioli soup we like to pretend that it’s unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks at Olive Garden. This soup is delicious with our Easy Breadsticks, Garlic Bread, or Breadtwists and Italian Salad or Wedge Salad.
More Slow Cooker Soups to Try
How to make Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup Copycat
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Video
Equipment
- Crockpot Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 shredded carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (16-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
- 1 (16-ounce) can white kidney beans, drained
- 4 cups beef stock
- 3 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
- 1 (24-ounce) bottle Prego Traditional pasta sauce
- 8 ounces ditalini pasta
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat. Â
- Add beef and all ingredients except the pasta and Parmesan cheese into a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
- Before serving, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add to soup. Â
- Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan cheese and parsley if desired.
I’m making half the recipe right now in a stock pot. I simmer on low for a couple hours before adding the beans. I’m going to serve it with the Olive Garden salad and breadsticks for the Super Bowl tomorrow. We can’t wait!!!
Made it once exactly to the recipe. LOVE LOVE’d it! Tonight making it with Italian sausage/ground beef. Can’t wait to try it.
OOPS! I halfed the recipe because i am only cooking for three, but forgot to half the spices (full amount of parsley, oregano, pepper)- i just started cooking it- anyway to fix? Will it taste terrible now?
Hope i didn’t mess it up too bad!! ANY THOUGHTS?
It might have a strong flavor but will definitely still be edible. You could try diluting it with a little “plain” tomato sauce. Good luck!
Thanks so much!! Just took a pre bite & it tastes great!! Might even make the same way next time 🙂 Thank you!!
oh my goodness, i just did the same thing! i will try diluting with tomato sauce…fingers crossed!
I have this in the Crock pot cooking now. Sure smells good, I’ll let you know how it taste later.
I am wondering if anyone has tried this with turkey rather than beef and if it makes a huge difference? I made it once according to the original recipe and it was great but I have a daughter who does not eat beef and, since it makes so much, I can’t share it with her. Thanks!
I always make it with ground turkey and it is so good. Definitely recommend with turkey.
Do you use beef broth or different broth if making it with turkey?
Made this up this weekend and there was definately a lot of it. If I try it again will use a 1 can of crushed tomatoes and 1 can diced instead of two diced. Also I would cut way back on the oregano and parsley. Was definately too strong for my and my husbands taste. Always good to try something new!
I am making this tonight! I didn’t thaw out the hamburger meat in time to use the crock pot this morning so I’m thawing it out now and will be making it in a big pot on the stove. My husband is working nights right now so I think this will be a good family friendly meal, especially with this crazy cool weather we’re having in Texas. Need something to warm us up! I don’t have a few of the things on hand…and I despise the grocery store, I go as little as possible. 🙂 So, I’ll be using marge butter beans or great northern beans instead of white kidney beans also Italian seasoning to sub for some of the others.
Hoping for a successful meal! Thanks for sharing!
I have looked at a lot of Pasta Fagoli soups online and all are very similiar and I was curious has anyone every tired adding cumin to it. I thought I always detected a bit of that when I at this soup at olive garden or was it chili powder?
I am looking so forward to making this because of all the post. All your post are so helpful too. I will cut the recipe in half. THANKS
Anyone know how long it will take to heat in a 6 quart crockpot after it has been refrigerated? Want to make it a day early. Thanks
I made halfed the recipe. Does that mean I should half the cooking time in the crock pot? Thank you! 🙂
No, don’t cut the time in half, but maybe check it an hour to half hour earlier.
I dont care for celery so I omitted that and added zuccini! yum!
LOVED this recipe! It made a ton of soup that tasted fantastic! This recipe will be made in this house over and over
Making this now! I’m excited for the final product. Didn’t realize how much it would make so will have to keep the posts separate. Should have enough to freeze for another night too. Serving with garlic bread yum!
I made this today & OMGosh….it is excellent! It does fill the crock pot to the top & makes a lot.
Made this tonight and loved it! I did cut it in half because I’m
Only cooking for 2 people, my husband was concerned though that it wasn’t soupy enough.
What should I add to make less chili and more soup?
I thought the same thing. It’s cooking now and it’s not very soupy. I’ve made it before (it’s DELICIOUS) and can’t remember if it creates more broth as it’s cooking or if I added something. I guess we’ll wait and see…
This is my husbands favorite soup to eat at Olive Garden.. Thank you so very much for sharing this recipe, I will definitely surprise him making it for dinner ! Also this will be a great hit with the large amount of company coming in for the holidays.
I made this recipe tonight and it was perfect, tasted exactly like the real thing!! Just be prepared by how large a portion it really makes, it wouldn’t all fit in my crockpot (guess I have an excuse to get a new, bigger one ;).
Made this soup a couple of weeks ago and loved it! Making it again tomorrow. Instead of 2 cans of diced tomatoes, I used a can of diced and a can of pureed (what I had in the pantry). The flavor was fabulous. Thanks for posting!
I made this soup last night for dinner. It turned out great. It’s been so long since Olive Gardens left Canada, I can’t remember how their Pasta e Fagoli soup tasted. But I do know that this was a really nice meal to leave cooking and come home to dinner ready. Thank you for sharing.