Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Pasta e fagioli, or “pasta and beans,” is a delicious Italian style soup that is loaded with creamy beans, tender pasta, and vegetables.
Traditional pasta e fagioli is made with pancetta or bacon, or more heartier versions use ground beef or pork. My version of pasta e fagioli is made with spicy Italian sausages. I love the flavour and heat the sausages add to the soup.
If you prefer to make a completely vegetarian version of the soup, simply double up the amount of Italian spice blend and add in some hot red pepper flakes to replace the spice and heat the sausages provide.
The pasta
Traditionally dried ditalini is used, but any small pasta is fine such as coretti, tubetini, even macaroni or orzo.
The beans
The soup can be made with dried or canned beans.
If using dried beans; soak the beans covered in water overnight. Drain, and rinse the beans then place in a large stockpot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and let cook until slightly al dente, about 20 minutes (they will finish cooking with the vegetables in the soup). Drain and set aside.
Add the beans to the soup along with the tomatoes to finish cooking along with the vegetables.
I’ve used red and white kidney beans, but feel free to substitute with the more traditional cannellini bean, great northern bean, or the bean of your choice.
Leftovers?
As the recipe makes for a large batch of soup you are probably going to have leftovers. Which is great, as this soup is one of those recipes that taste better the next day, after the flavours have had a chance to meld together.
The drawback is the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid from the soup, leaving you with soggy pasta and no liquid.
I don’t mind that, as the pasta also absorbs so much flavour. I just add a little more water when I reheat.
The other option is to cook the pasta separately from the soup and stir into the individual servings.
Equipment
- Large stock pot or Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried ditalini or other small pasta such as coretti tubetini, or orzo)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 3 spicy Italian sausage casing removed
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion diced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 cups water or chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 cups tomato passata
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 -2 teaspoon Italian spice blend or a combination of dried basil, oregano, and thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 18-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 18-ounce can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, breaking the sausage apart into crumbles with the back of a spoon, or spatula.
- Add the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery and sauté for 2-3 minutes,
- Add the, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian spice blend and 4 cups water or stock. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the pasta and the drained and rinsed canned beans and cook until the pasta is al dente, 5-10 minutes.Note: If you don't plan on eating all of the soup right away and want to avoid having the pasta absorb too much of the liquid from the soup you can chose to cook the pasta separately from the soup and add it to individual servings.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper