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Our Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup copycat recipe tastes just like the soup from the restaurant! The best part? This low-maintenance recipe slow cooks all day, allowing everything to simmer together for hours for maximum flavor!
This Pasta e Fagioli Soup is one of my family’s most favorite cold weather meals. It reminds me of fall leaves, football season, sweaters and cozy fires. It’s my top choice at Olive Garden every time we go there to eat, so I decided to find a way to make it at home. This copycat recipe tastes exactly like what you get at Olive Garden (maybe even better)!
What is Pasta e Fagioli Soup?
This popular Italian soup literally means “pasta and beans” so that’s what you’ll find in this dish, along with ground beef, Italian seasonings in a rich tomato based broth. Pasta E Fagioli is very similar to another hearty favorite, minestrone soup, but they are not the same. The difference between these two soups is minestrone uses several different veggies and Pasta e Fagioli features onion, celery and carrots for flavor, but no other vegetables.
Notable Ingredients
Ground Beef – For this recipe I like to use lean ground beef (93%/7%). If the beef is too fatty, then it makes the soup very oily. You can also sub the beef for Italian sausage, bacon, or pancetta.
Onion, Carrots, and Celery – This combination of savory vegetables is often called a mirepoix. Together, they create a base of flavor for the soup. White onion or yellow onion both work great.
Red and White Kidney Beans – It wouldn’t be Pasta e Fagioli without the fagioli! As you might have guessed, fagioli means beans. I like to use dark red kidney beans and also white kidney beans, great northern beans, or cannellini beans.
Spices – The spice mix for this recipe includes oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper. If you want to expand on the flavor profile, then consider adding garlic powder, garlic cloves, basil, thyme, or a few bay leaves.
Ditalini Pasta – Ditalini pasta is the pasta that Olive Garden uses, but you can use other shapes like small shells, wagon wheels, or elbow macaroni noodles. Cook the pasta to just barely al dente, as it will soften in the soup.
How to Make Pasta Fagioli Soup
I love how easy this recipe is to make. It’s as easy as browning the beef then adding it with all the other ingredients to a Crock Pot and letting it slow cook all day. Here’s what to do:
- Brown the beef – If you want, you can add the chopped onions at this step too. The onions cook long enough to soften completely either way so it doesn’t really matter when you add them.
- Add remaining ingredients (except for the pasta) – Add the beef and all of the rest of the ingredients except for the pasta into the Crock Pot. If you add the pasta at this point it will get way too overcooked. Its best to add it at the end.
- Add the pasta – Cook the pasta only to al dente, drain, and then add it to the soup right before serving. That’s it! Add any toppings you like for garnish and serve.
Tips and Suggestions
This pasta Fagioli recipe makes a LOT of soup (approximately 20, 1 cup servings) so it’s a terrific recipe for feeding a crowd. I almost always have leftovers and they heat up great for lunches later in the week. You can also cut the recipe in half if you are just feeding a small family.
This soup freezes well. Store in freezer safe containers or Ziploc bags in the freezer for up to two months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! You will need a very large pot, or you will need to half the recipe. Brown and drain the beef, and add it, along with all other ingredients besides the pasta, to a large pot. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Cook pasta according to package directions and add to soup before serving.
They are the same! Pasta Fazool is a nickname for pasta e fagioli that comes from New York Italians.
Make it a Meal
When we make Pasta e Fagioli soup we like to pretend that it’s unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks at Olive Garden. Try it with our copycat Olive Garden Salad and some warm bread such as our homemade breadtwists, garlic breadsticks, focaccia, or our delicious Italian Cheesy Bread recipe.
More Slow Cooker Soups to Try
Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Video
Equipment
- Crockpot Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 shredded carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (16-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
- 1 (16-ounce) can white kidney beans, drained
- 4 cups beef stock
- 3 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
- 1 (24-ounce) bottle Prego Traditional pasta sauce
- 8 ounces ditalini pasta
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat.
- Add beef and all ingredients except the pasta and Parmesan cheese into a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
- Before serving, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add to soup.
- Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan cheese and parsley if desired.
One of my favorite soups to get at Olive Garden!! It tastes even better at home!!
Thank you so much for sharing this soup recipe! Really flavorful and really easy to make! Highly recommended!
This is an absolute favorite soup of mine. So hearty and full of delicious flavor!
I went to olive garden a few weeks ago and always get this soup. I was very disappointed. Watered down and no flavor. I am going to Make it tomorrow.
Made this last night. It was amazing. I love the soup at Olive garden and it tastes just like it.. but better bc its homemade!
I agree! Homemade is always better. I also love the soup at Olive Garden, but I think our homemade version has a richer taste. I’m so happy you like it!
Thank you, you did such a great job with this recipe! The spice is spot on. I have tried it a few times now but usually adjust to vegetarian and it still tastes just like (better!) than the restaurant. I use homemade veggie stock and instead of beef smart ground/beyond/etc. Since homemade stock is thick I add water or some of the drained pasta water and voila.
Do you use fresh herbs or can I use dry?
Either will work!
I don’t think it tasted like Olive Garden. The recipe also calls for way too much pepper in my opinion.
I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you. I’ve always had great success with it.
Delish!!
I think any homemade version has to be better and this is definitely one of them! So tasty and hearty! We loved it!
I love copycat recipes just like this! Olive Garden has the best pasta e fagioli soup. Yours tastes just like restaurant recipe. Yum!
Awesome!
I love how hearty, flavorful, and my favorite, done in the slow cooker, this soup is! This is going to be a new family favorite for sure!!
This soup is fabulous! The flavors are incredible! I think it is even better than the original restaurant version.
I can confirm that this recipe tastes bang-on to the Olive Garden version. This is my favorite thing to get at the Olive Garden, so I’m beyond thrilled to be able to make it at home now. One thing I changed from the recipe though was to use navy beans instead of the white kidney beans. I am pretty sure that’s what they use at Olive Garden, but regardless, I really like navy beans, so that’s what I’m using. Thank you for such a great recipe post!
We love, love, love this recipe!! I’ve made it several times using ground chicken instead of beef. DELISH! Serve it with garlic bread sticks. We freeze some and take it with us when camping for those chilly nights. Just cook the pasta, bag it and add it when heating it up. Seriously our favorite! Thank you for sharing.
I used your recipe Turned out amazing .
My neighbor made this recipe and I couldn’t get enough of it. I like to cook and will place this recipe in a principle location in my personal recipe book. Thank you.
This recipe is fantastic! I have been making it for several years now and everyone always loves it. I usually make on the stovetop and simmer for several hours. I always use the Prego ( I like Prego 🤷🏼♀️) , always use crushed San Marzano tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes, always use matchstick carrots instead of shredding my own. Turns out fantastic every time! Thank you so much!
P.s. Don’t omit the parsley! It’s not the same without it! 😉
Best soup ever! Will make again!
What is the nutritional content for one cup of this soup. The content listed seems way high for one cup.Thanks! I love this soup recipe!
The nutrition facts are for 1/12 of the soup, since it makes 12 servings.
The recipe says it makes 20 servings. Is that wrong?
20 servings is correct!
Any suggestions on how to cook this on the stovetop in a Dutch oven instead?
Brown the meat in the dutch oven first, then add the vegetables and cook until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the pasta, and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Cook pasta according to package directions and then add to the soup! Hope this helps!