Name: Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup for Supper
Yield: 6

Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup delivers tons of flavor with beans, beef, and pasta in a warm, satisfying soup.

Try my other Olive Garden copycat recipes like Olive Garden Salad or Zuppa Toscana Soup.

Pasta e Fagioli Olive Garden Copycat recipe is ready to serve and enjoy.

Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup

Pasta e Fagioli means “pasta and beans” in Italian, but in the U.S., it’s often called “pasta fasul.” To say it, try “pah-sta eh fazh-e-ohl-eh.”

This version isn’t fully traditional, but it’s hearty and full of flavor. It’s made with pasta, beans, ground beef, Italian spices, and a rich tomato base, and topped with Parmesan for a warm, comforting meal.

Quick Tip

The main difference between Minestrone and Pasta e Fagioli is that Minestrone has lots of veggies and sometimes beans, while Pasta e Fagioli usually has just onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes, beans, and often meat.

All the ingredients for this recipe are prepped and ready for straightforward assembly—veggies, beans, tomatoes, pasta, seasonings, oil, broth, beef, and marinara sauce.

Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup Ingredients

Carrots, Celery, Onion, Garlic: Dice small so they cook evenly
Olive Oil and Ground Beef: Use good olive oil for flavor; lean beef works well.
Dried Herbs: Adjust spices to your taste.
Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Marinara Sauce: Fire-roasted tomatoes add depth; paste thickens, and marinara boosts flavor.
Beans: Kidney and cannellini beans are my favorites, but use any kind you like.
Beef Broth, Bouillon Cube, Bay Leaf: Add broth to your preferred thickness, crumble cube well, and take out the bay leaf before eating.
Red Wine Vinegar: mix in at the end to brighten the flavor.
Ditalini Pasta: Cook on the side to keep it from getting soggy.

Quick Tip

Want to know my secret ingredient for this soup? I use Rao’s marinara (not sponsored!). It adds such a rich, satisfying flavor!

The veggies are sautéed, then the beef, garlic, and seasonings are added to the pot, and the beef is browned for this Pasta e Fagioli.

How To Make Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup

Prep veggies: Dice carrots, celery, onion, and mince garlic.
Cook veggies and beef: Cook veggies in olive oil until soft, then brown the beef.
Add seasonings and liquids: mix in herbs, tomatoes, beans, marinara, paste, stock, and bouillon.
Simmer: Add bay leaf and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cook pasta: Boil pasta, drain, and toss with vinegar.
Serve: Stir pasta into soup or add to bowls; finish as desired.

Beans, additional seasonings, and pasta are added to the pot and mixed together.

Variations

Try These Changes

Meat: Swap ground beef for Italian sausage.
Vegetarian: Use extra beans instead of beef and switch to vegetable broth.
Pasta: Use a small pasta like orzo or elbow macaroni instead of ditalini.
Greens: Add spinach, kale, or Swiss chard at the end and cook until soft.

Storage

Let the Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup cool before storing. Keep separate from pasta in sealed containers in the fridge for 4–5 days. If freezing, leave out the pasta; it can be frozen for up to 3 months. When reheating, warm it on the stove and add broth if it’s too thick. Cook pasta fresh and stir it in when reheating frozen soup.