Italian Pasta Fagioli Recipe
Italian Pasta Fagioli Recipe – a cozy vegetable loaded soup that comes together in less than an hour. It’s packed with flavor and so satisfying!
My husband says it’s not possible for a vegetable soup to be a knockout. He thinks they’re too-liquidy/brothy, don’t have enough flavor, and aren’t hearty enough to be a meal.
And to that I say: challenge accepted.
A year later… we finally have a winner!!
What got this vegetable soup a knockout rating?
- Meat, specifically sausage – I tried a classic minestrone when I was first testing vegetable soups. A classic minestrone has just vegetables. No meat. But I realized that was making it not “hearty” enough. So I pivoted and tried many different meats. I tried bacon, ground beef, and Italian sausage. The Italian sausage was the winner because it not only added heartiness, but also so much flavor. Double win.
- Flavor – speaking of flavor… extra flavor was essential for it to be a knockout. So there is a *lot* of seasoning in this recipe. Promise it’s worth all the spice measuring. Trust me.
- Broth thickness – I didn’t really know what to do with the “brothy/liquidy” complaint. Because it’s soup… which is supposed to be liquid?! But then I realized he loves my lasagna soup. And that is thicker thanks to some marinara sauce mix in. Plus I cook the noodles in the soup, which helps thicks up the liquid. So I borrowed some of those techniques for this recipe. I cooked the noodles in the soup. And instead of marinara, I used condensed tomato soup.
How to make this recipe vegetarian?
You can use plant based sausage for a similar flavor. Or just leave out the sausage completely.
How to make it gluten free?
The two gluten ingredients in this recipe are: pasta and condensed tomato soup.
Use gluten free macaroni elbow pasta instead of ditalini pasta. Brown rice and corn based pasta work. Don’t use chickpea pasta.
Use one 24 oz jar of marinara sauce instead of the two cans of condensed tomato soup.
Substitutions:
- Yellow onion – Substitute with white onion, red onion, or shallots.
- Carrots – Substitute with parsnips or bell peppers for a similar texture and flavor profile.
- Sausage – Any type of ground sausage works. Hot Italian sausage would be great if you want a little extra heat. You can also use ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken in place of the sausage.
- Condensed tomato soup – You can use a 24 oz jar of marinara sauce.
- Poultry seasoning + Water – Substitute with chicken or vegetable broth/stock. Adjust the salt accordingly as bouillon cubes tend to be quite salty.
- Light brown sugar – Substitute with granulated sugar, honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup. Just something to cut through the acidity in the tomatoes.
- Diced Tomatoes – You can use crushed tomatoes to make the tomatoes less detectible.
- Green Beans – Substitute with frozen green beans or any other preferred vegetable such as zucchini, peas, or broccoli.
- Cannellini Beans, Kidney Beans – Substitute with any other type of beans you prefer or have on hand, such as white northern beans, navy beans, black beans, or pinto beans.
- Ditalini Pasta – Use any small pasta shape like macaroni or small shells. Don’t use chickpea pasta because it’s too gummy for this soup.
What pairs well with this Italian pasta fagioli recipe?
I like serving it with some homemade artisian bread or a simple arugula salad on the side.
What to do with leftovers?
You can refrigerate this soup in an airtight container for a few days.
Or you can freeze soup in an airtight container.
To reheat from the fridge or freezer, microwave with a little extra broth or water + salt. The noodles will absorb some of the liquid in the soup. So the extra water will help thin it back out.
Italian Pasta Fagioli Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 1 pound sweet Italian Sausage, casings removed
- 4 Tablespoons Poultry Better Than Bouillon (or 8 chicken bouillon cubes)
- 3 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 cups water
- 2 (10.75 oz) cans condensed tomato soup
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5 oz) can green beans, drained
- 1 (15 oz) can sweet yellow corn, drained
- 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained + rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained + rinsed
- 4 oz ditalini pasta (1 cup) (or or any kind of paste, but don’t use chickpea pasta)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
STOVETOP VERSION:
- In a large stock pan, add the olive oil, onion, carrots, and sausage. Saute for 4 minutes, breaking up the sausage with the back of a spoon as it cooks.
- Add the bouillon, Italian seasoning, brown sugar, garlic powder, fennel, and salt.
- Add the water, tomato soup, tomatoes, green beans, corn, and beans. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes uncovered.
- Add the pasta and simmer for 20 more minutes. Stir the soup often to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Taste and season with salt if needed. Stir in an extra cup of water if the soup is too thick.
- Stir in the parmesan. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Serve!
CROCKPOT VERSION:
- Brown sausage in a skillet. Add all soup ingredients except pasta to a crockpot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- When there is 15 minutes remaining, cook pasta in a separate pot for 2 minutes less than package instructions. You want the pasta to be just under cooked so it doesn’t get mushy in the soup.
- Add the cooked pasta to the soup.
- Stir in the parmesan. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Serve!
