If you are looking for a delicious and hearty Italian soup recipe, try this pasta fagioli soup. Full of ground beef, white beans, veggies and macaroni pasta all a rich and savory broth. It’s a very family friendly meal in a bowl and you can make this bean and pasta soup in just 40 minutes!
You might also like this chili macaroni skillet dish!
My son came to me the other day and asked me to make pasta fagioli or sometimes referred to as pasta fazool or just pasta fagioli. Whatever my son asks for he gets foodwise. That’s mostly because he rarely asks for something specific so I aim to please.
Anyway I made this Italian bean and pasta soup for dinner the other night was a big hit in our house. I made a huge pot and it went quickly. I loved it because it was a like a meal in a bowl with the tender pasta, creamy beans, and ground beef. Yet it was made lighter with the flavorful tomato based broth.
If you are looking for new dishes for your family give this pasta e fagioli recipe a try. It reminds me of chili macaroni in soup form but with Italian flavors.
I tried to keep it simple by using canned beans and not spending hours soaking dried beans. The result was that you can make this Italian soup in about 30 minutes!
What is Pasta Fagioli or is it Pasta Fazool?
Pasta e fagioli means “pasta and beans” and is a traditional Italian soup. Some Americans refer to it as pasta fasul or pasta fazool which is from the Sicilian or Neopolitan name for beans. (source)
Many people know it from the old Dean Martin song “That’s Amore”. The line from that song being “When the stars make you drool, just like pasta fazool, that’s amore”.
Different regions vary the recipe with some making it more soupy while others make it thicker but they all use beans and pasta. My version is fairly thick and very hearty.
Recipe ingredients I used.
I tried to keep it simple by using canned beans and not spending hours soaking dried beans. The result was that you can get this soup recipe done in about 30 minutes.
I just used basic ingredients for this soup but there were quite a few. I used olive oil, ground beef, yellow onion, carrots, celery, crushed and diced tomatoes, tomato paste, fresh garlic cloves, parmesan cheese, Better than Bouillon base, salt, black pepper, Italian spice, ditalini pasta, red kidney beans and cannellini beans.
For the beans you can try other types like great northern beans, borlotti or navy beans. I found ditalini pasta at my grocery store but you could use just your basic elbow macaroni or any pasta shape you want but it should be smaller in size.
Also I used canned not fresh tomatoes. It’s much more convenient and I tend to use diced canned tomatoes often in my soup recipes.
Lastly I used Better than Bouillon chicken base instead of chicken broth or chicken stock. I just love the taste of it but you can substitute 4 cups chicken broth or stock for the cups of water and BTB if you wish. Maybe season with salt and pepper a little more. Beef broth or vegetable broth would also work.
You can find most of these ingredients in my Amazon storefront.
How to make Pasta Fagioli (or Pasta Fazool).
- Get a medium pot of water boiling to cook pasta.
- While that is heating up, get out a large soup pot or dutch oven and heat to medium high heat. Add the olive and then add the ground beef. Turn the heat down to medium and brown the beef.
- Next add the chopped onion, mix and cook for a few minutes until they start soften. Then add the chopped carrots and celery stalks and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes more.
- If your water is boiling now, add in the dry pasta and cook according to the package directions.
- Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and dice tomatoes to the soup pot. Also add the water, Better than Bouillon chicken base, and dried spices. Mix well, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Take off the cover and pour in the drained beans, crushed garlic and Parmesan Cheese. Mix well, cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Once the pasta is done, strain off the water and add to the soup and cook for 5 minutes more and it’s done! Let cool a bit then ladle soup into bowls and enjoy.
You can garnish with fresh parsley or more grated cheese if you want but it doesn’t need it. If you want a little heat, sprinkle on some hot pepper flakes.
Store leftover soup in an airtight container or use freezer friendly storage containers and freeze for a comforting meal some other day. Please scroll down to view print the recipe card.
Please scroll down to view print the recipe card. Below you can that this pasta e fagioli soup has a thick consistency but it’s still has quite a bit of broth.
Note that the pasta will slowly soak up the broth so if you have leftovers it might have thicker consistency because of this. You can always add additional broth to leftovers to thin it a bit.
As I have mentioned this is a very thick and hearty soup so you can just serve this with a green salad and crusty bread to make it the perfect meal. Garlic bread would also be great with this dish. It’s the ultimate comfort food in the colder weather.
More deliciously easy Italian recipes to try!
My family love Italian food as I’m sure many people do. Below are some of my favorite recipes that you might also like.
- my Mom’s lasagna recipe
- homemade Italian sausage without casing or air fryer recipe
- Italian wedding soup, creamy tortellini soup or meatball and tortellini soup
- sausage stuffed banana pepper pasta
- slow cooker sausage, peppers and onions
- slow cooker braciole
- slow cooker large batch meat spaghetti sauce
- chicken romano with lemon butter
Well I hope you give this pasta fazool or pasta e fagioli soup recipe a try because it was really good. The consistency is thick and full of healthy ingredients as well as a good dose of protein!
But most of all this classic soup makes for a tasty dinner, especially on a cold night. Enjoy!
Pasta Fagioli Soup Recipe (Pasta Fazool)
For a hearty and delicious bowl of comfort try this pasta e fagioli soup recipe (or pasta fazool soup). It's full of beef, veggies, beans and pasta all swimming in a savory broth. Add some garlic or Italian bread and a fresh salad for an easy dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 cup ditalini pasta or elbow macaroni noodles (dry)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 4 cups water *
- 1 tablespoons Better than Bouillon chicken base*
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (28oz)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5oz)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
Instructions
- Get out a medium pot of water for the cooking the pasta. When it starts to boil follow the package directions and cook the pasta.
- Meanwhile get out a large soup pot and heat to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and let get hot then add the ground beef and turn down to medium heat. Brown the meat a little then add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
- Add the carrots and celery, mix and cook for 2 minutes more. Then add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, crushed tomaotes, salt, black pepper and Italian seasonings. Also add the water, Better than Bouillon chicken base*, and dried spices. Mix well, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Once the pasta is just about cooked, drain it and set aside. It will continue to cook a bit in the soup so take it out when it still has a minute or two leftt to cook.
- Add the beans, crushed garlic and parmesan cheese to the soup, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add in the cooked pasta, mix and cook for 5 minutes more and you are done. Let cool a bit before serving.
- Garnish with fresh parsley or grated cheese if you want. To add a little bit of heat you can add some hot pepper flakes as well. Store leftover soup in an airtight container.
Notes
* You can substitute 4 cups of chicken stock or chicken broth for the Better than Bouillon chicken base and water. If you have it use it though because it adds lots of flavor to soups.
* You can use other types of beans like navy, great northern or even chick peasn if you want instead of the kidney and cannellini.
• Note that the pasta will slowly soak up the broth so if you have leftovers it might have thicker consistency because of this. You can always add additional broth to leftovers to thin it a bit.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 353Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 861mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 8gSugar: 6gProtein: 28g
JoAnn Liefer says
I love this recipe, the question I have is, have you ever tried this with turkey, chicken or not beef burger ( Dil doesn’t eat meat), I wanted her to try this, but….
Do you think it would taste good ?
Thank you
Denise says
Hi JoAnn, I think turkey or chicken could definitely work. There is so much going in this dish that even though the meat might be a bit drier I don’t think it would matter. I’ve never tried it but I can’t see why not. Hope that helps!
Chad says
Just a heads up, the written directions do not say to add the broth/water. Without it, it just tastes like eating a (delicious) bowl of pasta sauce.
Denise says
Hi Chad, thank you for bringing that to my attention!!! I mention the broth in the body of the post but forgot it in the recipe card which is most important. I’ve fixed it though. Thanks again for pointing that out.
Foodluv says
The soup is really awesome, It tastes good and easy to prepare
Denise says
so glad you liked it!