Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli - Top Recipes (2025)

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Are you looking for a quick recipe that can be made in about 30 minutes and is perfect for a cold wintery evening? If you answered yes, try this copycat Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli soup recipe. No more waiting in line to get into your favorite restaurant for this delicious soup. It can be made in 30 minutes at home!

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Homemade Pasta Fagioli Soup Recipe

Perfect for those nights when you want a home-cooked meal, but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.

Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli is also a perfect meal to make ahead and freeze so you can have it ready and done on those days when you don’t have time to make a full meal.

Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients, it is simple to make, and did I mention it only takes about 30 minutes ?!

What to eat with Pasta e Fagioli soup?

The best things to eat with this pasta Fagioli recipe would include but are not limited to, French bread or bread of any type to absorb the extra soup in the bowl, ( or crackers) and /or a bowl of salad. Make it a simple night with salad, soup, and bread.

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How to make Pasta Fagioli Soup

  1. Brown the ground beef over medium heat in a large pot.
  2. Once the ground beef is almost cooked all the way through, add the onions, carrots, and celery until they are soft. This should take about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain any excess fat.
  3. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
  4. Pour in the tomato sauce, beef broth, water, and canned tomatoes, and add the sugar, basil, and oregano to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and lower heat to medium-low.
  5. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Stir, in dry pasta and continue cooking until the pasta is al dente, about 10 more minutes.
  6. Mix in the dark red kidney beans and cannellini beans (both drained and rinsed), salt, and pepper to your preference, and add more water if a thinner soup is desired. Note: the soup will thicken as it cools.
  7. Top pasta e Fagioli soup with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley and enjoy!

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How to store Olive garden Pasta Fagioli?

Place the leftover Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli soup in an airtight container and into the fridge for up to 4 days or into the freezer for up to 3 months.

Can I freeze Pasta Fagioli Soup?

Yes, place the leftover soup in an airtight container making sure not to fill the container all the way to the top since the pasta Fagioli recipe will expand in the freezer.

You can freeze it for up to 3 months. It is recommended that the pasta be cooked al dente before freezing so it doesn’t end up mushy once it thaws out.

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How to reheat Pasta e Fagioli:

Frozen soup can either be thawed out before reheating, or it can be placed into a pot while still frozen and cooked until hot. You will need to add some water to the pot as well.

The soup will thicken when it cools down, so the extra water will thin it out. Add as much water as you prefer based on your preference for soup thickness.

I would start with ¼ to ½ cup of water and adjust accordingly. Again, this is completely based on your preference.

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Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef – lean
  • 1 yellow onion – finely chopped
  • 2 medium carrots – diced
  • 2 celery stalks – diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 (8 ounce) cans of tomato sauce
  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans of beef broth
  • ½ cup of water
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can of petite diced tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 8 ounces of dry ditalini pasta
  • 1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • Grated or shredded Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley for serving
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Brown the ground beef over medium heat in a large pot.
  2. Once the ground beef is just about cooked all the way, add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until soft. This should take about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute.
  4. Pour in the tomato sauce, beef broth, water, and canned tomatoes, and add the sugar, basil, and oregano to the meat and vegetable mixture in the pot, stir and bring to a boil, cover, and lower heat to medium-low.
  5. Let it simmer for 10 minutes and then, stir in dry pasta. Continue cooking until the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes longer. Time may differ depending on the type of pasta used.
  6. Mix in the beans (dark red kidney beans and cannellini beans - both drained and rinsed), salt, and pepper to your taste and add more water if a thinner soup is desired, and stir. Cook until everything is heated through.
  7. Top pasta Fagioli soup with grated or shredded parmesan cheese and freshly chopped parsley enjoy!
Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 454Total Fat: 10gSodium: 1500mgCarbohydrates: 59.11gSugar: 11.4gProtein: 30g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli - Top Recipes (2025)

FAQs

What is the difference between pasta fagioli and pasta fazool? ›

The main difference appears to be in the vegetables. While minestrone features a wide variety of vegetables, pasta e fagioli emphasizes the pasta and beans. Plus, Pasta Fazool is often thicker and more stew-like than a minestrone soup.

What does the E stand for in Pasta e Fagioli? ›

In modern Italian the word for beans is "fagioli" (fah-jo-lee). In Italy today you would order "pasta e fagioli" which means “pasta and beans.”

What is Pasta e Fagioli soup made of? ›

Pasta e fagioli, sometimes shortened to pasta fagioli (or pasta fazool if you're a Sopranos fan), is a classic Italian soup. Its name literally translates to “pasta and beans,” and it consists of tiny pasta, creamy beans, and tender vegetables in a fragrant tomato broth.

What does fazool mean in Italian slang? ›

1. Italian for bean. 2. Term used for money or a bill.

What is number 7 pasta? ›

Linguine are the most well-known type of long pasta from Liguria: they resemble a small, flat, narrow tagliatella-type pasta and were created to be eaten with traditional pesto.

What part of Italy is pasta fagioli from? ›

One pasta dish that the Veneto is famous for, however, is pasta e fagioli (or pasta e fasioi in Venetian dialect.) This is a soup with white beans and pasta, but the lead role is played by the beans, rather than the pasta.

What is shocking pasta? ›

It's true that rinsing noodles or pasta after cooking halts the cooking process. “This is also known as shocking,” Tiess says. But rinsing also removes the starch water after the noodles are strained, which is what helps adhere sauce to noodles.

What is the most popular soup at Olive Garden? ›

Zuppa Toscana is Olive Garden's most popular soup. This one-pot, homemade Zuppa Toscana recipe is hearty and loaded with Italian sausage, kale, bacon and potatoes. Some of our most popular recipes are restaurant copycat recipes like Creamy Shrimp Pasta and of course Chicken Madeira!

Which Olive Garden soup is the healthiest? ›

You can choose from options like Zuppa Toscana, Chicken and Gnocchi, and Pasta Fagioli, but Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN suggests the Minestrone if you want something on the healthier side. "This soup is higher on the sodium side, but it is low in fat, contains fiber, and is chock-full of vegetables," says Manaker.

Does Olive Garden freeze their soup? ›

Some of the food is frozen

The soups are made in-house daily—but all the desserts are frozen. The pasta, however, is made to order. The restaurant only uses microwaves for heating dipping sauces and warming desserts. Otherwise, everything is pan fried, deep fried, or grilled.

What is the difference between pasta fagioli and minestrone? ›

The answer is that traditionally, yes, there's a difference, even if you can't spot it right away. While Pasta e Fagioli tends to be a thick and hearty bowl of beans and pasta, the thing it lacks is chunks of veggies. That's where Minestrone comes in…to fill the veggie void left by its country cousin.

How long can pasta fagioli stay in the fridge? ›

Leftover pasta fagioli will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months when stored in an airtight container. To reheat, just put the soup in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power or in a saucepan over medium heat on the stovetop.

What are the ingredients in Progresso pasta fagioli? ›

Water, Tomato Puree (water, tomato paste), Great Northern Beans, Kidney Beans, Mezzanini Rigati Pasta (semolina wheat, egg whites).

Why do Italian Americans say pasta fazool? ›

Ennamorati explains this semantic quirk like so: "The term 'fazool' is an Italian-American dialect version of 'fagioli', much in the same way as some Italian-American families call mozzarella 'mootzarel' or capicola 'gabagool. '"

Why do people say fazool? ›

This is a soup with white beans and pasta, but the lead role is played by the beans, rather than the pasta. Here in the US, this soup is often referred to as pasta fazool, where fazool is derived from the Sicilian or Neapolitan dialect for beans.

What does fagioli mean in English? ›

The word fagioli (pronounced "fa-JOLE-ee") is the Italian word for beans.

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