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Slow cooker Pasta e Fagioli soup is a rich and hearty Italian soup loaded with pasta, vegetables, beans, and lean ground beef. It’s hearty, comforting, and oh so delicious!
Italy knows just the way to my heart! If you love a good Italian soup, try this creamy Zuppa Toscana, this chicken gnocchi, or this classic Italian wedding soup.
A Reader’s Review
Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli
Today I am sharing one of my favorite soups: Pasta e Fagioli. This is comfort food at its finest! It’s a super hearty, meaty, thick Italian soup loaded with veggies, meat, and beans. But that’s not even the best part! The best of all is that this soup is made in a slow cooker. That means little to no prep time and lots of flavors. This soup simmers low and slow for 8 hours! Let the slow cooker do all the work while you relax and enjoy the aroma in your home.
While your soup is cooking all day, then you have some time to make a few sides to go with it. I love adding a side salad and some breadsticks to dip into this soup. You can also make those recipes ahead of time! Then, when the soup is finished, all you have to do is get it all out, set the table, and dig in! It’s a great meal that your entire family will enjoy.
Ingredients You Need to Make Pasta e Fagioli
This is a thick, rich and hearty soup that is loved by all. So many ingredients but so much flavor in all of them! You will love the combination of vegetables, beans, and pasta. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
- Extra virgin olive oil: This adds a hint of seasoning and liquid in the mix.
- Ground beef: When I buy ground beef I try and get it as lean as possible.
- Carrots: The should be freshly peeled and sliced. Canned carrots are little too mushy when simmering them for a long period of time.
- Celery stalks: Slice and dice them to your preference.
- Onion: I like to dice these up a little smaller for kids.
- Crushed tomatoes: Canned tomatoes are best. Some cans are flavored which adds more flavor so get the kind that you prefer.
- Beef broth: This liquid base adds in a delicious flavor.
- Bay leaves: This brings in a strong taste that is so familiar in soups.
- Oregano: The oregano brings more aromatic seasoning to the soup.
- Dried basil: Dried basil has a slight pepper taste but is perfectly strong and sweet.
- Dried thyme: Thyme is a subtle flavor but it is enough for this soup.
- Salt and pepper: Add this to taste (I added 1 tsp salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper)
- Cannelloni beans and red kidney beans: Make sure that these have been drained and rinsed before adding
- Ditalini pasta: This uncooked pasta will be added in at the end.
How to Make Pasta e Fagioli
This soup takes just a bit of prep time and is super easy to throw together. Serve it with a hot, fresh perfect soft, buttery roll for a great dinner meal!
- Brown the ground beef: Add olive oil to a large skillet and add in ground beef. Cook until browned and no longer pink.
- Combine all ingredients: Place the beef in a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients except for the beans and pasta.
- Cook on low: Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 30 minutes before serving stir in beans and pasta.
- Season: Season with salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaves before serving.
- Serve: Serve immediately while hot.
Is Pasta e Fagiolia Main Dish or a Side Dish?
This is a common question, and there is no correct answer! This dish is filling enough and has your meats and veggies all in one so you can definitely serve it as a main dish! Add in a Caprese salad and some breadsticks and it can be a meal. Or, you can serve it as an appetizer to the main course! Either way, it’s going to fill you up!
What’s the Difference Between Minestrone Soup and Pasta e Fagioli?
These two soups are often confused with one another! They are both delicious but here are the differences between the two:
- Consistency: The main difference between minestrone soup and pasta e fagioli soup is the meat and the thickness. Minestrone leaves our ground beef and has a thinner consistency.
- Vegetables: They each have vegetables but pasta e fagioli has a few more and a different variety.
How to Store Leftovers
This soup makes fantastic leftovers! It tastes just as good, if not better, the next day!
- Refrigerate: Place the soup in an airtight container and put it in your fridge. It will last 3-4 days.
- Reheat: When you are ready to eat it again then put the soup in a medium sized pot and cook it on medium-high heat on your stove. It will take 5-10 minutes until it’s heated through.
More Italian Recipes to Try
Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 whole carrots diced
- 4 celery stalks diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 (28 ounce can) crushed tomatoes
- 2 (14.5 ounce can) beef broth
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 whole bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste I added 1 tsp salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 (15 ounce can) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 ounce can) red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup ditalini pasta uncooked
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a large skillet and add in ground beef. Cook until browned and no longer pink.
- Place the beef in a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients except for the beans and pasta.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 30 minutes before serving stir in beans and pasta.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaves before serving.
- Serve immediately while hot.
Notes
Original Post on October 23, 2015
Nutrition
Serves: 10
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
I have not made this, but why add the beans in the last half hour? Don’t you want them simmering with the veggies and beef?
Since the beans just need to be warmed up, you don’t want to cook them for too long or they will become mushy.
this is now one of our favorite recipes, thank you so much Alyssa! it’s very filling/satisfying as a main meal but can be wonderful alongside grilled cheese sandwiches. one day I realized I had no carrots so I diced chunks of Kabocha squash–still came out most excellent. Love your website, always have.
Ooh that sounds like a delicious combo! Thanks for following along!
Hi Christina,
I’ve made this several times and find that the pasta tends to suck up the liquid. I usually cook the pasta separately and add it as I serve it. I know, it adds another stop and pot to the recipe, but usually takes care of the absorbed liquid. Just a suggestion!
Can I use Italian sausage in place of beef and still get the same flavor
It will change the flavor a bit since Italian sausage is typically seasoned. But I bet it would taste delicious!
With arctic freeze coming I made this with two substitutions. Ground turkey for the beef and pinto beans for the cannelloni beans. It taste just great. Use what you have.
Great flavor. We made this over the weekend. We let it cook for the 7 hours on low and loved it.
The only thing was the liquid got all absorbed. We needed to add more both at the end. Did this happen to anyone else?
Absolutely delicious food! It is simple and I like to try it. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hey! Making this tonight and I just realized I don’t have crushed tomatoes, but I do have tomato sauce…I realize it will change the consistency, but can I substitute it for the crushed tomatoes?
Yes, that will work as well.
What a delicious soup! I love a crockpot soup that I can make early in the day and be done with thinking about dinner. It’s just two of us and I always take some to my neighbor who loves soup like we do. I made it with no changes, it was so good and plenty to freeze for another time. I will be looking for more soup recipes on your blog, thanks Alyssa!
I made this on Sunday and it was delicious!! My husband loved it!
Has anyone used small cuts of stew meat in place of ground beef?
Would this still taste good using vegetable broth rather than beef broth?
Yes, it may alter the flavoring but it will be great!
I have made this several times. Tonight is the first time making on the stove top. We love this soup. We live in the south, so we don’t wait for cold weather to make it. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.
Family loved it. I made it last minute so had to substitute ground turkey for ground beef and I didn’t have any bay leaves. It was so easy to make, large quantity, and I think it would only have been better with ground beef. It is now in my go-to home recipe book.
This is a great, simple recipe for a tasty, filling meal. My husband also really enjoyed it…Going to be a regular at our house. Thanks for this winner🏆!!!
SO GOOD !!!!
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! Just made a crock pot full. Now I can freeze some for later. Lots of flavor and a very hearty soup. Love it!
I made the Instant Pot version and it was delicious. I had to make a couple of substitutions based on the ingredients I had on hand, but was still very pleased with the result. I will definitely make this again! Thank you!!!
Easy to make and absolutely delicious. I topped the soup off with some freshly grated parmesan.
Loved this dish so much! It was a big hit for my picky family. I subbed ground turkey for the ground beef, but other than that, I kept everything the same. Delicious!