Pasta e Fagioli aka “Pasta Fazool” is an Italian stew made from pasta and beans. It is a complete meal made in just one pot and is so incredibly delicious.
My mom has been making her “pasta fazool” recipe for my family since I was a kid and I just can’t get enough of it. It tastes so good, the ingredients are cheap, and it is so easy to make. You can make everything in one pot so there is minimal cleanup.
For a variation on how to make this recipe using your Instant Pot, check out my Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli recipe. It isn’t necessarily that much faster, but I like to use my Instant Pot any chance I get – I love being able to get everything cooking and get back to doing other things around the house while the Instant Pot does all the work.
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Bacon (or diced pancetta)
- Ditalini Pasta
- Minced Fresh Garlic
- Canned Diced Tomatoes (and their juices)
- Diced Celery
- Diced Onion
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Dried Oregano
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Canned Cannellini or White Kidney beans – I have also used Great White Northern beans in my Pasta e Fagioli and they are great!
- Chicken Broth
- Optional: parmesan cheese rind, Italian sausage
🥣 How to Make It
Pasta e Fagioli is really easy to make and it is so good!
First, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. (Picture 1) While the oil is heating, dice up the bacon, celery, onions, and garlic. Once the oil is hot, add the diced bacon. (Picture 2) Cook until bacon is about 75% cooked. Then add celery and onions. (Picture 3 – 5)
When the onions are translucent and soft, add all of the spices – salt, pepper, oregano, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. (Picture 6 – 7) Cook for a few minutes, until garlic is fragrant, then add diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring this to a boil. (Pictures 8 – 10)
If you are going to add Italian sausage, begin cooking that now in a skillet. Once it is fully cooked, set it off to the side to drain on a towel while you finish cooking your soup.
Once the broth is boiling, add the ditalini pasta. (Pictures 11 – 12) Cook the pasta for 10 – 15 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Make sure to stir this pretty regularly throughout the cooking process to ensure that the pasta does not get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
If you want to add a little more flavor, you can add the rind of a block of parmesan cheese. (I save the parmesan rinds in the freezer when we finish up a block.) (Picture 13)
Once the pasta is tender, add the cannellini beans (and Italian sausage if you are using it.) (Picture 14) Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the beans are nice and soft. (Picture 15)
Remove from heat and serve with grated parmesan cheese on top.
🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses
- Serve with shaved parmesan on top. Yum!
- If you have a large group to serve, this recipe is really easy to double or triple and make into a really big batch.
- We like to add cooked crumbled Italian sausage and spinach to our soup. Just add these at the end when you add your cannellini beans.
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I have a separate recipe for Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli.
Absolutely! Just sub out the chicken broth for vegetable broth and don’t add the bacon. To get a little bit richer of a flavor since you don’t have bacon, you can sub out the olive oil for butter or a vegan substitute.
Some Pasta e Fagioli recipes have red kidney beans in them, so you can add those as well. You can also add spinach or escarole when you add your beans – the hot broth will wilt the spinach really quickly.
🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating
Once cooled, store this soup in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. It will last 5 – 7 days. You can freeze it if you like, but I would recommend cooking the pasta separately and adding it when serving. Once you freeze pasta and then reheat it, the texture gets a little funky.
✏️ Helpful Tips
- Add a parmesan rind to the broth once it comes to a boil. It will give the soup an awesome cheesy flavor.
- Make sure to stir the soup every few minutes while the pasta is cooking – it can very easily get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
🥜 Other Tasty Bean Recipes
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Mom’s Homemade Pasta Fagioli
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 slices bacon diced
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice Use one large can or two 14.5 oz cans.
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 1 14.5 oz can cannellini beans
- 1 parmesan cheese rind optional, but super yummy
Optional
- 1 pound Italian sausage
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. While the oil is heating, dice up the bacon, celery, onions, and garlic.1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Once the oil is hot, add the diced bacon. Cook until the bacon is about 75% cooked. Then add celery and onions.4 slices bacon, 1 onion, 2 stalks celery
- When the onions are translucent and soft, add all of the spices – salt, pepper, oregano, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes.3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Cook for a few minutes, until garlic is fragrant, then add diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring this to a boil.1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice, 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- If you are going to add Italian sausage, begin cooking that now in a skillet. Once it is fully cooked, set it off to the side to drain on a towel while you finish cooking your soup.1 pound Italian sausage
- Once the broth is boiling, add the ditalini pasta. Cook the pasta for 10 – 15 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Make sure to stir this pretty regularly throughout the cooking process to ensure that the pasta does not get stuck to the bottom of the pot. If you want to add a little more flavor, you can add the rind of a block of parmesan cheese. (I save the parmesan rinds in the freezer when we finish up a block.)1 cup ditalini pasta, 1 parmesan cheese rind
- Once the pasta is tender, add the cannellini beans (and Italian sausage if you're using it.) Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the beans are nice and soft.1 14.5 oz can cannellini beans, 1 pound Italian sausage
- Remove from heat and serve with grated parmesan cheese on top.
Notes
Special Equipment Needeed
- a large pot
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
