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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
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!
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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 made this last night and it tasted like nothing. 1 tbsp of seasoning for the whole recipe was not enough. I can’t imagine anyone liking this. I highly recommend updating it to include way more seasoning and different kinds. Unfortunately I’m hesitant to try any of your other recipes now.
Hi Rachael, I am sorry you took time, money and effort to make this recipe and it didn’t turn out how you expected. A tablespoon is typically a lot of seasoning for a recipe. Did you maybe use a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon? Also, did you add any salt or pepper? A lot of times we need to add salt to bring out the flavor. Again, I am sorry it didn’t meet your expectations.
Does it freeze well?
Hi Cynthia, thank you for your question. It can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and then serve within 2 days.
The pasta may end up on the softer side after being frozen, which can be avoided by leaving the pasta out before freezing. Thaw the soup overnight in the refrigerator, heat the soup on the stovetop until simmering and then add the pasta and cook as directed on the package.
I’m making this today but they didn’t have Ditalini so I picked up Orzo. Would it still be a cup? Thank you!
Yes you can use orzo and yes I would say still use 1 cup. Let me know how it turns out!
Delicious. I have made many of your recipes and I have not been disappointed once. Keep up the great work.
I couldn’t wait to try this recipe so I made it yesterday. I was surprised there was no garlic in the recipe so I added some. My house smelled amazing all day, but I was disappointed with the taste..it was very bland and tasteless despite my adding the garlic. Also, it became more like goulash than soup even though I followed the recipe exactly. I usually really enjoy your recipes, but this one was not right for me.
Did you try and add more salt? Sometimes all a recipe needs is more salt and pepper to your liking.
Delicious! I love coming home to the smell of dinner cooking.
Love the recipe
Cann this soup be frozen?
Yes it can!
I made this tonight. I used half ground beef, half Italian sausage, lots of fresh garlic minced, I had diced tomatoes instead of crushed, and I cooked the beans in the crockpot with everything else (except the noodles). It was absolutely delicious! I served it with a fresh loaf of French bread and fresh grated Parm cheese. I will definitely make again. Thank you for sharing!
How many will the 1X recipe feed?
10 people!
In the crockpot now. Smells delicious!
Made tonight for first time. Loved it!
I’ve been home cooking for 40 years – Your recipes are great easy and yummy. Thanks P. S. I think I’m going to be busy.
My Neapolitan father was absolutely parochial about how his pasta e fagioli, also known as pasta fazool, should look and taste. It was the simplest of meals anyone could ask for. And basically it was a little bit of onion and garlic sauteed in a little bit of olive oil and then a can of cannellini beans was added along with several soup cans of water and about two tablespoons of prepared tomato sauce. When all was bubbling gently, my Northern Italian mom would add about a cup of ditalini pasta and cook it until it was tender. This served two or three people comfortably without leftovers because my father would not eat leftovers. He always seasoned his bowl of soup with several shakes of hot sauce.. In any event, for me this was the mother recipe for making this soup but when I see recipes like yours, I am thrilled to try something new that’s a variation on a theme. Thank you for this recipe which I am going to try later today. I am sure to love it.
Your parents’ version sounds absolutely divine!
Made this a couple days ago, added garlic, more seasonings, actually cooked up the meat and some garlic in a little bit of Malbec. For reheating, I made some beef broth and reheated it like that so it’s not so thick .. next time I will make pasta fresh for each bowl instead of putting it all in at once. Other than that, it was delicious! Some fresh sourdough bread on the side.. yum
Do you cook the pasta or add it in uncooked ?
You add in the pasta uncooked!
This soup is delicious and easy. I left out the kidney beans because I don’t care for them and only used a half cup of ditalini because that’s all I had in the house, and it was still really great. I’m now going to try other soup recipes from this site. Highly recommend.