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From Nonna’s kitchen to yours, pasta e fagioli soup is the heart of Italian home cooking. This classic Italian soup which is made famous by the Olive Garden and lovingly dubbed “pasta fazool,” has been a staple in my family for generations. With its hearty blend of tender ditalini pasta, creamy beans, and savory vegetables swimming in a rich tomato broth, it’s the ultimate comfort food. Enjoy a cozy bowl of this with some crusty bread or a side salad, and you’ll think you’re at a table in Olive Garden – this copycat soup recipe is just like theirs!
Pasta e fagioli soup is a popular dish at Olive Garden restaurants. It’s a hearty meat and bean based soup with vegetables and lots of wonderful Italian flavors.
Enjoy homemade soup? You might also like minestrone soup, sausage and barley soup or, my current favorite, this slow cooker butternut squash soup.
Why You’ll Love It
An easy recipe: Once you’ve prepped your ingredients, you just need to brown the beef, sauté the veggies and then cook everything together until done.
Minimal cleanup afterwards: This is a one pot recipe so you won’t be left with piles of pots and pans to wash up.
Authentic flavors: If you’ve already tried Olive Garden pasta e fagioli soup, you know exactly how delicious this soup is going to be. Those Italian flavors are just so good!
Pasta e Fagioli Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Ground beef: A hearty, meaty protein.
Avocado oil: Use olive oil if you prefer or vegetable oil.
Vegetables: Onion, carrots and celery add flavor and color, as well as nutrients.
Beans: Red kidney beans and great northern beans are really good in the soup and are also a nice source of protein.
Chicken broth: The main liquid in the pasta e fagioli soup.
Ditalini pasta noodles: Just the right size for soup.
Tomatoes: A jar of tomato pasta sauce and a can of diced tomatoes adds that tomato-ey sweetness and richness to the soup.
Seasonings: Keep it simple with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
Garlic: I sometimes add extra!
How to Make Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Brown the ground beef: Brown the beef in a large pot and then remove it to a bowl.
Sauté the vegetables: In a little more oil, cook the carrots, onions and celery. Add the garlic and cook a little more.
Add more ingredients: Next you can add the ground beef back into the pot, along with the pasta sauce, broth, canned beans, canned tomatoes, and seasonings. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
Cook the pasta: Add the ditalini pasta noodles and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are done.
The finishing touches: Add more broth if the soup is too thick and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve immediately, with parmesan, fresh basil and/or red pepper flakes if desired.
Substitutions and Variations
Gluten-free option: If you want a gluten-free version, use gluten-free pasta. (This one is my fave!)
Vegetarian version: Swap the ground beef for extra vegetables (sliced portabella mushrooms are good) or a vegetarian protein such as tofu. Use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.
Another type of meat: Try ground Italian sausage or ground chuck beef. Another idea is sausage links – just remove the casings and break it up with a wooden spoon while browning it.
Dairy-free: Don’t add grated parmesan to serve. Omit it or use a dairy-free cheese substitute instead.
Pasta sauce: Sub a large can of plain tomato sauce for the tomato pasta sauce.
Beans: Feel free to use your favorites – chickpeas (garbanzo beans), kidney beans, cannellini beans, or any other kind of canned beans will work. You could also use dried beans, so long as you soak/cook them first.
Ditalini noodles: Use elbow pasta, macaroni or something similar in size.
Serving Suggestions
With some bread: Enjoy this pasta fagioli recipe with homemade focaccia bread or garlic bread.
With a salad: Pair it with this delicious lemon parmesan chopped salad.
As an appetizer: The recipe will serve 8 to 10 as an appetizer if served in small bowls. It would be tasty before a main dish of riso al forno or perhaps pasta amatriciana.
How to Store Italian Pasta and Beans Soup
Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within 4 days.
Freeze: You can freeze the soup in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight.
Reheat: You can warm it back up in a pan on the stove or in the microwave.
Top Tips
Choose lean beef: If you use fatty beef you’ll end up discarding most of the grease anyway, so I recommend you use lean beef here. I used 85/15 ground beef in my soup and it came out really good.
Thinning the soup: If the soup is too thick, you can add extra broth near the end of the cooking time to thin it out. Don’t add too much, just a little at a time.
Cool it before storing: Let the soup cool completely before you store it.
Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli FAQs
Follow the recipe ingredient amounts, beginning with less broth if you know you prefer a thicker soup. You can add more broth later if it needs to be thinned a little. Bear in mind the soup with thicken up later as it sits, because the noodles will absorb some of the liquid.
If you know you’re going to have leftovers, it’s best to only cook as many noodles as you need in a second pot and then drain and add them to the soup to serve. If you cook the soup with all the noodles in it and then store it overnight, the noodles will soften and they might be mushy after reheating.
It’s Italian for “pasta and beans” – the main ingredients in this hearty, delicious soup recipe.
Olive Garden Copycat Pasta e Fagioli Soup Recipe
Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Equipment
- Pot 5½ Quarts or Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil, or olive oil
- 1 Pound ground beef, lean
- 14½ Ounces diced tomatoes, canned
- 32 Ounces chicken broth
- 24 Ounces tomato sauce
- 4 Cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sweet onion, large, diced
- 2 carrots, large, peeled and diced
- 3 Stalks celery, diced
- 1½ Cups ditalini pasta, dried
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 15½ Ounces great northern beans, canned, rinsed and drained
- 15½ Ounces dark red kidney beans, canned, rinsed and drained
- ½ Teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
Optional Toppings:
- fresh basil
- parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat half the oil in a large pot over a medium to high heat.
- Add the meat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Cook until browned and then drain off the excess grease and transfer the ground beef to a bowl. Set it aside.
- In the same pot, add a little more oil if needed and then sauté the carrots, onions and celery for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute or 2.
- Next, add the ground beef back into the pot and pour in the pasta sauce, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, both cans of beans, and the seasonings. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover the pot with the lid and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Now add the dried ditalini noodles and cook for another 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked to al dente or however you prefer it. Stir the soup occasionally so the noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- You can add some more broth or a splash of water at this pot to thin the soup if it needs it and also taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- Serve the pasta e fagioli soup immediately, garnished with parmesan cheese, fresh basil and/or red pepper flakes if liked.
Notes
Thinning the soup: If the soup is too thick, you can add extra broth near the end of the cooking time to thin it out. Don’t add too much, just a little at a time.
Cool it before storing: Let the soup cool completely before you store it.
Nutrition
Pasta e fagioli soup is a delicious Italian soup recipe. This Olive Garden copycat version is really flavorful, packed with flavor and sure to be satisfying. Whether you enjoy it for lunch or dinner, you will find this copycat Olive Garden pasta soup will make your taste buds and your belly very happy.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Great soup! My mother used to make this all the time. The recipe here seems to be more than six servings though. Unless you are feeding giants! I did not add the pasta to the soup so I could freeze the extra soup.
Thank you for a delicious memory.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Pasta e fagioli soup was just what I needed for a cozy night—so warm and satisfying!