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Best Pasta Fagioli Recipe

4.4 from 147 reviews

This Best Pasta Fagioli Recipe is a hearty and comforting Italian-inspired soup made with tender cannellini beans, diced vegetables, flavorful herbs, and ditalini pasta simmered in a savory tomato broth. Perfect for a satisfying lunch or dinner, this recipe offers versatile stovetop, Instant Pot, and crockpot methods to suit your cooking preference.

Ingredients

Scale

Vegetables and Aromatics

  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 cup quartered carrots

Beans and Pasta

  • 2 (15 oz) cans cooked cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup dry ditalini pasta

Liquids

  • 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
  • 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Seasonings

  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon dried parsley
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Aromatics: In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onions, minced garlic, and quartered carrots, sautéing for about 5 minutes until the onions become translucent and the carrots soften.
  2. Add Beans, Tomato Sauce, and Seasonings: To the pot, stir in rinsed cannellini beans, tomato sauce, dried bay leaf, dried basil, dried parsley, dried oregano, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix well to combine the flavors.
  3. Add Liquids and Boil: Pour in the vegetable broth and water. Cover the pot and increase the heat to high. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. This should take about 10 minutes.
  4. Cook the Pasta: Once boiling, remove the lid and reduce heat to medium. Add the dry ditalini pasta to the soup and stir. Cook for half the recommended time on the pasta package instructions, ensuring the pasta is slightly undercooked as it will continue cooking later in the soup.
  5. Finish and Serve: Remove and discard the bay leaf before serving. Stir the soup and enjoy hot.

Notes

  • Undercook the pasta slightly in the soup to avoid it becoming mushy as it continues to absorb broth.
  • When making in an Instant Pot, sauté the vegetables first, add the ingredients carefully without stirring the tomato sauce in, and cook on high pressure for 2 minutes with a quick release.
  • For the crockpot, sauté vegetables first on stovetop, add all ingredients except pasta and cook on low for 4–6 hours, then add pasta in the last hour to prevent overcooking.
  • You can cook pasta separately to avoid overcooking if preferred.
  • Feel free to add more broth or water to adjust soup thickness as needed.

Keywords: Pasta Fagioli, Italian soup, cannellini beans, ditalini pasta, vegetarian soup, easy soup recipe, hearty soup