Crock Pot Pasta e Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden Copycat) — 🍲❤️😋 My homemade recipe for this famous soup is even BETTER than the restaurant version and SO EASY thanks to your Crock-Pot! Complete with ground beef (or sausage), vegetables, spices, and pasta. Hearty comfort food that’ll become a family FAVORITE in no time! Stovetop cooking directions are also provided.
Table of Contents
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup Recipe
If you’ve ever wondered how to recreate the Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup recipe, look no further than my copycat version.
Dare I say, it’s even better than the restaurant version — as most homemade recipes usually are!
Complete with hearty ground beef (or ground Italian sausage), onions, carrots, celery, an array of spices, and a rich broth made with a variety of canned tomato ingredients, red kidney beans, and white cannellini beans.
Classic pasta e fagioli soup also uses ditalini pasta which is what I used. It’s the perfect little bite of pasta amidst the other textures and flavors from the beans and vegetables.
Food Trivia: Pasta e fagioli translates to pasta and beans. If you’re a fan of pasta and beans, make sure to also try my Pasta e Fagioli al Forno which is pasta, beans, and sausage. It’s comfort food perfection.
What I love about my rendition of this Olive Garden classic soup is that it’s super easy and comes together with very little active work thanks to the help of your slow cooker.
Everything just simmers away for anywhere from 4 to 6 hours depending if you’re cooking on the high or low heat setting. However, if you’re pressed for time or would just rather make this soup on the stovetop, you can have it ready in 45 minutes from start to finish.
Whichever way you choose to prepare it, this Italian soup recipe is a family favorite that everyone will adore. Hearty, comforting, and definitely a soup that you can make a meal out of. It’ll be on rotation all winter long!
Ingredients in Pasta e Fagioli
Most soups tend to have lots of ingredients which help to provide texture and depth of flavor.
My homemade pasta e fagioli soup recipe is no exception but everything is a common fridge or pantry ingredient and easy to find at your local supermarket.
- Olive oil, if necessary
- Ground beef OR ground Italian sausage – I aim for about 90% fat. If you’re using ground sausage, you may not need to add olive oil since it’s already a bit fattier than ground beef. Make sure to remove the sausage casings if using sausage. You can also use half-and-half with ground beef and sausage if you have a bit of both on hand
- Yellow onion
- Tomato paste
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Basil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Celery
- Carrots
- Kidney beans
- Cannellini beans – You could substitute with Great Northern beans or potentially garbanzo beans in a pinch
- Tomato sauce
- Petite-diced fire-roasted (or regular) canned tomatoes
- Beef or chicken broth (reduced or lower sodium recommended)
- Ditalini pasta – Traditional pasta e fagioli soup is made with ditalini pasta. However, if you can’t find it, feel free to use another small-shaped pasta such as small elbow macaroni. Runners-up also include ziti or penne. They’re not quite the same but will do if that’s all you can find
- Fresh parsley, optional for garnishing
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional for garnishing
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Better-Than-Olive-Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup
This copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli soup is an absolute cinch to make!
Follow my simple directions and everyone will be telling you that yes, this really is better than Olive Garden’s!
Step 1: Brown the ground beef and onion together in a skillet until the beef is no longer pink. Then, transfer the mixture to your slow cooker.
Step 2: Add the tomato paste, garlic, spices, salt, and pepper.
Step 3: Add all remaining ingredients, except the pasta (and garnishes), cover, and slow cooker for 4 hours on high OR 6 hours on low. Tip: Make sure to drain and rinse the beans before adding them to the soup.
Step 4: Thirty minutes before serving, add the pasta, cover, and simmer.
Step 5: Optionally garnish with fresh parsley and/or Parmesan cheese as desired and serve!
What to Serve with Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Storage
Leftover soup tends to keep very well and, like chili, can often taste better the next day after the flavors have melded together.
This Olive Garden pasta e fagioli soup keeps very well airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. It’ll keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you are going to freeze it, I suggest freezing it in smaller sized containers or portions so that it thaws faster.
Reheat in the microwave or in a large soup pot over medium-low heat.
What happened to the broth?
Anytime there are noodles or pasta in soup, they will tend to continue to absorb the broth as the soup sits in the fridge. Some brands of pasta and in some soups more so than in others.
So if you find yourself with very little soup broth after storing the soup, I recommend either of the following:
– Add extra chicken or beef broth as desired before serving. You may need to add additional salt and pepper, too.
– Or you can also boil the pasta noodles separately in a kettle on the stove like you’d normally boil pasta rather than adding them to the slow cooker. And then add only as much cooked pasta to individual bowls of soup as desired.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend a large slow cooker or Crockpot, at least 7 quarts. Or, if it’s an 8-quart Crock-Pot, even better. Food cooks more evenly when it’s not jammed into a too-tight space.
If you have one of the slow cooker or multi-food cookers that has a sauté feature, that’ll save you the step of sautéing the sausage or beef with the onion and then needing to transfer it into your slow cooker.
Yes, you sure can! I am the type of person who prefers to make soup on my stovetop because it’s always much faster than using a slow cooker.
I suggest using a large pot or large Dutch oven. Brown the sausage or beef with the onions over high heat. Then, add all the remaining ingredients except the pasta, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the pasta and simmer for about 10 minutes more, or until done, and serve.
No, pasta e fagioli translates to pasta and beans so the beans are important! And there’s usually one red and one white type of bean included.
If you have one of those “I don’t like beans” people in your family, this Crock-Pot pasta e fagioli may not be the soup for you because you can’t omit the beans.
As written, the copycat Olive Garden pasta e fagioli soup is not spicy. There’s nothing in it to make it spicy other than perhaps the fire-roasted tomatoes, but in combination with everything else, any potential heat they have is really diluted and minimized.
If you want to make your soup spicier, I suggest either a few liberal shakes of red pepper flakes (pizza flakes), dried ground chili powder, or cayenne pepper.
You’d have to add at least 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in my opinion to a pot of soup this size in order for it to even register on the “spicy” scale. Of course, everyone is different so start slowly and carefully if you try this!
These two Italian soups are very similar. I have a recipe for 30-Minute Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup, too, in case you want to make them both and compare.
Minestrone tends to have more veggies, including zucchini and green beans in addition to carrots and celery, and is brothier. It’s also usually vegetarian.
Pasta e fagioli soup on the other hand has fewer veggies, tends to be a bit thicker, and also has either ground sausage or ground beef.
Yes! If you want to use fresh, double the amount to 2 teaspoons of each since fresh herbs aren’t actually quite as potent as their dried-out counterparts.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
Crock Pot Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Equipment
- 1 (6-8 Quart) Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, if necessary
- 1 pound lean ground beef OR 1 pound ground Italian sausage*
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, or 2 teaspoons fresh
- 1 teaspoon dried basil, or 2 teaspoons fresh
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 3 stalks celery, diced small
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced small
- one 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (regular red or dark red)
- one 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (Great Northern beans may be substituted)
- one 14.5-ounce can tomato sauce
- one 14.5-ounce can petite-diced fire-roasted, or regular canned tomatoes, do not drain
- 4 cups 32 ounces beef or chicken broth (reduced or lower sodium recommended)
- 8 ounces dry ditalini pasta, or another small shaped pasta such as small elbow macaroni
- Fresh parsley, optional for garnishing
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional for garnishing
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the olive oil if you're using a lower fat ground beef (unlikely you will need the oil if using sausage), the ground beef or ground sausage, onions, and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until the protein is no longer pink and the onions have softened. Crumble the protein and stir the onions frequently as they saute to ensure even cooking.** (See Notes for Stovetop Instructions)
- Transfer the mixture to a large slow cooker, I recommend at least a 6 to 8-quart slow cooker. If you have a mutli-cooker that allows you to saute the protein and onions in it and you don't have to transfer anything, even better.
- Add the tomato paste, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and stir to combine.
- Add the celery, carrots, kidney and cannellini beans (both drained and rinsed), tomato sauce, petite-diced tomatoes (not drained), and pour the broth evenly over the top. Stir to combine.
- Cover and slow cook on HIGH for about 4 hours OR on LOW for about 6 hours.
- About 30 minutes before serving, add the ditalini pasta, stir to combine, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Taste the soup and make any necessary flavor adjustments including more salt, pepper, a dash of chili flakes or cayenne pepper for extra spiciness, etc.
- Optionally (but recommended), garnish with fresh parsley and/or freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Leftover soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.*** If you are going to freeze it, I suggest freezing it in smaller sized containers or portions so that it thaws faster.
Notes
- Add extra chicken or beef broth as desired before serving. You may need to add additional salt and pepper, too.
- Or you can also boil the pasta noodles separately in a kettle on the stove like you’d normally boil pasta rather than adding them to the slow cooker. And then add only as much cooked pasta to individual bowls of soup as desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Easy Soup Recipes:
Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup — This minestrone soup recipe takes just 30 minutes to make and it’s way better than what you get at Olive Garden! Homemade always wins in my book!
Loaded Zuppa Toscana Soup — This COPYCAT version of the Olive Garden classic can be made either on the STOVETOP, INSTANT POT, or SLOW COOKER! A comforting classic Tuscan kale soup that’s loaded with bacon, sausage, potatoes, Parmesan, cream, and more!
The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup (Better-Than-Panera Copycat) – Make the best soup of your life at home in 1 hour! Beyond words amazing!
Creamy Sweet Potato Chicken Soup – An EASY comfort food chicken soup recipe with sweet potatoes and more to keep you full and satisfied for hours! Ready in 30 minutes with a flexible ingredients list based on what you have on hand!
Loaded Cheesy Chicken Potato Chowder — Potatoes, chicken, carrots, corn and more! Thick, creamy, rich, and wonderfully cheesy! Fast and easy comfort food that everyone loves!
Excelent