Pasta e Fagioli (Olive Garden Copycat)
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Aug. 17, 2022
Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fagioli is famous for good reason. It is a hearty and healthy soup that hits the spot without sabotaging the waistline. Teeming with great ingredients, this robust soup is perfect for a weeknight dinner. Leftovers are wonderful!
Just recently, I jumped back on the soup-salad-breadsticks lunch bandwagon at Olive Garden. It had been years since I had set foot into at O.G. restaurant. It didn’t take much arm pulling to fall back in love with their famous soups. Those little bowls of soup always hit the spot.
After making my own homemade Zuppa Toscana, which was seriously scrumptious, I knew I’d be making this Pasta e Fagioli next…
This homemade version of Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fagioli was an absolute home run. Dare I declare it to be better than the restaurant? Nothing beats homemade…
How can fresh, great quality ingredients go wrong, right? This soup is everything I hoped for and more. It is full of perfectly cooked pasta, lean beef, fresh veggies, and flavorful herbs ‘n spices.
The biggest selling point is how easy this Pasta e Fagioli comes together. It’s not a 5-ingredient soup, but there are no fancy schmancy steps to creating one big fabulous pot of this Italian goodness.
Hubby and I love how healthy a heaping bowl of this soup is. Not one iota of guilt for downing a second or third bowl. The fact that our kids have proven themselves to be Pasta e Fagioli fans means this soup has secured its place in our dinner files.
Leftovers are absolutely deee-lish. So go ahead — break out the big soup pot.
Enjoy!
Did you make this?
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Pasta e Fagioli (Olive Garden Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 4 TB olive oil, divided
- 2 cups diced carrots, about 4 medium ones
- 2 cups diced celery, about 6 stalks
- 1 whole yellow onion, chopped
- 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 24 oz tomato sauce
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 TB sugar
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp dried marjoram
- 15 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- salt and pepper
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- In a large heavy pot, cook pasta in salted boiling water, just until barely al dente. Do not overcook; about 1 minute under al dente is good. Drain, rinse with cold water, and toss with a sprinkle of olive oil. Set aside.
- In same large pot, heat 2 TB olive oil over medium high heat. Add beef, garlic powder, onion powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Cook and break up into small pieces. Transfer cooked beef into a bowl and set aside.
- Heat remaining 2 TB olive oil in same pot. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic, cooking until tender, 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, canned tomatoes with juices, sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, fennel seeds, and marjoram. Add cooked beef back in. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add back cooked pasta into the pot, along with all beans. Simmer 5 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with fresh parmesan.
- * For leftovers: If pasta absorbs too much liquid in the soup, simply add chicken broth until desired consistency is reached, during reheating.
Nutrition (per serving)
Source: Chew Out Loud, adapted from Cooking Classy
Here’s my O.G. favorite: Zuppa Toscana, in all its soupy glory.
If you’re super duper low on time, but want soup for dinner, there’s hardly anything easier than this Tortellini Soup:
And the quintessential homemade Chicken (or turkey) Noodle Soup. Nothing, nothing is more comforting than a bowl of well-made chicken noodle soup. My family’s favorite!
