Pasta e Fagioli

Literally meaning “pasta & beans”, pasta e fagioli is a classic Italian soup that’s traditionally made with cannellini beans and ditalini — a small cut pasta.

Pasta e fagioli is made in tons of different ways throughout Italy, with some versions being more soupy while others are thick, some include tomato while some do not — it’s truly a dish that wears so many different hats. And I love that.

What Beans Can I Use in Pasta e Fagioli?

Traditionally you’ll use cannellini beans, which basically look like white kidney beans. While you can find these easily in your local supermarket, you can also sub in other beans and legumes (or even mix and match!). I’ve seen recipes include lentils, red kidney beans and great north beans.

What Pasta Can I Use in Pasta e Fagioli?

Traditionally you’d use ditalini pasta, but I’ve seen some people use other small cut pastas, like elbow macaroni, in a pinch.

Other Soups for Soup Season

In a soup mood? Try my other recipes:

Beef & Gnocchi Soup

Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup)

Creamy Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

Pastina

How to Make Pasta e Fagioli

This isn’t a difficult recipe by any means, so have fun with it! Let’s go through your shopping list first.

Cannellini beans: Also known as white kidney beans. Grab two 15.5 oz cans.

Ditalini pasta: You’ll need 8 oz for this recipe, so one box will be perfect.

Carrots, celery and onions: This is to make the soffritto, which is the base of many Italian soups, sauces and stews.

Garlic: I chop the garlic and include it the whole way through, but you can also just slightly crush the cloves and fish them out at the end of the cook time if you aren’t a huge fan of garlic.

Chicken stock: I use chicken bouillon powder dissolved in water. Just makes my life so much easier.

White wine: Can omit if you don’t drink wine.

Crushed tomatoes and tomatoes: You can also just get a can of whole peeled tomatoes if you’d like, it’ll have the same effect.

Fresh herbs: I used basil, parsley and bay leaves, but feel free to toss in some thyme or a bit of rosemary if you’d like.

Red pepper flakes: I like to cook these in the oil at the beginning to help infuse it throughout the dish. Adjust according to your heat tolerance.

Parmesan rind: My secret weapon in all of my Italian soups and sauces. Just keep the rinds from your parmesan cheeses and store in the freezer until the perfect recipe comes up.

And that’s it! Now let’s get in to the actual steps:

Step 1: Prep your ingredients

Start by dicing all of your veggies and setting them aside. Since the soffritto will be cooked together, you can just add that to it’s own bowl. I break it up like this:

One bowl: Carrots, celery and onion

A small bowl: Garlic

A small bowl: Tomatoes

If you struggle with moving fast while cooking, getting everything set up into the order you’ll be tossing it in is a power move!

During this time I’ll also mix my chicken stock together, rinse the beans and add them to their own bowl, and measure out the pasta and set it aside.

Step 2: Start cooking your soffritto

First thing you’ll do is get your soup pot and add some extra virgin olive oil to it. Once warm, add the red pepper flakes and let that infuse for a few minutes.

Then, with the flame on medium high, add the soffritto (aka the carrots, onions and celery) along with a pinch of salt. Let cook until the mixture becomes soft, making sure to stir it so that nothing gets burned. Once softened (about 7 minutes), add the garlic and cook until fragrant, or about 1 minute.

After that, add the white wine to deglaze the pot. It’ll bubble up and then simmer down. Once the wine is reduced by half (just about 3–5 minutes), you’re ready to proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Start cooking the sauce

Next you’ll add the crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, stock stock, fresh herbs and the parmesan rind to the pot, making sure to give it a nice big stir. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes.

Step 4: Add the beans

Now you’ll add the rinsed beans to the pot. Give this another big stir. Bring this to a boil and then lower the flame to medium, or medium low. You want this to be a bit about a simmer but not quite a boil — just a little dancing. Let the beans cook this way for about 45 minutes. Don’t worry if the beans break up a little it — that’s absolutely welcomed in Pasta e Fagioli.

Step 5: Add the pasta

Once the beans have been cooking for around 45 minutes, it’s time to add the pasta. Bring the soup up to a boil and once there, add the dried pasta. Cook for about 1 minute under what the box tells you (this is because the pasta will keep cooking in the hot broth). So if the box recommends 10 minutes for al dente, cook for 9.

Step 6: Remove the herbs and parmesan

Now it’s time to fish out the herbs! Just give a bunch of stirs and grab the parmesan rind and herbs when you find them.

Step 7: Enjoy your pasta e fagioli

Remove the soup from the heat, keeping in mind that it will thicken up a bit while it’s sitting. Laddle some into your soup bowl, top with freshly grated parmesan and chopped parsley and enjoy!

If you try this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment and/or a rating! My favorite part about sharing my recipes and kitchen tips is being able to chat with you. If you ever share a recipe to Instagram, don’t forget to tag me so that I can see it! Happy eating <3