This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
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
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!!!
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 1/4 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 Fagioli a 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!
- In the Refrigerator: Place the soup in an airtight container and put it in your fridge. It will last 3-4 days.
- To 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
As I said before, Italy really knows the way to my heart! All of the delicious seasonings, soups and pasta are SOO GOOD. It’s hard to pick a favorite! It you are looking for some more delicious tried and true recipes then you will love these that I have rounded up. Serve them family style and it will feel as if you are in Italy! Enjoy!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Equipment
- Crock-Pot
- Cuisinart Stainless Steel Chopper
- Instant Pot
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 1/4 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.
Video
Notes
Original Post on October 23, 2015
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was in a rush, so I cooked it on the stove. I had to add water, and I doubled the meat. I took your suggestion to leave the beans and pasta for last. It was so delicious! Thanks!
Good but too much like a stew than a soup. Also I think the basil was a bit heavy. Probably cut it down to 1/2 tsp next time.
Could you please give nutritional info for the recipes, please….
I am Italian, I call it delicious!!!. I used corn instead of carrots because my family doesn’t like carrots, used veal, pork, and beef, because that’s all I had, and put a little red wine in it, well, red wine goes well with everything! It was incredible! This and bread, we ate it all weekend long. I had Olive Garden’s soup, this was better.
Okay, i grew up having Pasta Fagiole during Lent, my mother was Italian and we never had meat, only ditalini and beans in a tomato sauce with fresh garlic and Basil, i now make it since my husband and i are both Italian with cannellini beans, &,red beans salt to taste, i add a few red pepper flakes for taste and a bay leaf or two. I cook my pasta separate drain and add just before serving. If making other then during lent i will brown some italian sausage for my husband and add.
I have never had it from the Olive Garden, i like the color the carrots give but they also add a little sweet, which may be good 🙂
I love Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fagoli. It reminds me of chili with the taste and when they serve it with less broth. I will give this a try. Since the beef is put in cooked, why does it take so long to cook?
I make a similar knock-off recipe from Olive Garden on the stove and it’s SO time consuming, so I can’t wait to try this one! Why do you have to brown the ground beef first before adding it to the crock pot? Won’t it cook fully in the crock pot? Or does it compromise the recipe somehow? I know when I make chili in the crock pot, the throw the ground beef in with everything else. Thanks!
Is the nutritional info available for this soup?
is the beef per-browned before add all other ingredients?
Yes it is browned before adding it to the soup.
Sorry I didn’t watch the video or read the instructions. I read through the ingredients ?
I just made this tonight and it was a huge hit. Even my picky 6 year old loved it! I did use extra broth as other comments suggested. I will be adding this to my list of favorites 🙂
I made this today with stew meat and it was PERFECTION!
I made this today with stew meat and it was PERFECTION!
I made this soup last night and it was a hit! Delicious!!! Can’t wait to have it again….and again!!!
Just tried this today and it came out really good. I try to make a different home made soup every Friday for my friends and family and this one is now my go to soup.
Looks yummy! I am going to try it. I as a rule don’t put pasta in the crock pot but cook and keep it separately until serving. This prevents the pasta from getting mushy.
I am vegan. Please let me know what to replace beef
You can always just leave it out. 🙂
To make it vegan, replace: beef stock with vegetable stock and ground beef with ground soy product. Also, make sure you use vegan (no egg/dairy) pasta. All other ingredients looked vegan to me. My daughter-in-law is vegan and this is how I would make it for her.
What do you mean you don’t eat no meat…. that’s ok, You can use lamb. 😉
I think next time I will leave out the pasta (it went mushy anyways), add some chill pepper and have a nice simple child.