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A bowl of Copycat Pasta Fagioli Soup with ground beef, ditalini, kidney beans and cannellini beans.

Copycat Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli

A tomato-rich beef and bean soup with tender vegetables, kidney beans, cannellini beans and ditalini. Simmer the base first, then add the pasta so it keeps a little bite.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dinner, Soup
Cuisine Italian-American
Servings 8 small servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 yellow onion diced small
  • 2 carrots diced small
  • 2 celery ribs diced small
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 can kidney beans 15 to 15.5 ounces, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can cannellini beans 15 to 15.5 ounces, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can diced tomatoes 14.5 to 15 ounces, undrained
  • 2 cans tomato sauce 8 ounces each
  • 3 cups chicken or beef broth plus a little more if needed to adjust consistency
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 cup ditalini pasta uncooked
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Heat a large heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned, about 7 to 9 minutes. Drain excess grease, leaving a light coating in the pot.
    Ground beef browned in a soup pot for pasta fagioli.
  • Add the diced onion, carrots and celery. Cook over medium heat, stirring, for about 6 to 8 minutes, until the onion softens and the carrots begin to soften.
    Diced onion, carrots and celery softened with browned ground beef.
  • Stir in the minced garlic, dried oregano and dried thyme. Cook for 30 to 60 seconds, just until fragrant, stirring so the garlic does not scorch.
    Minced garlic and dried herbs stirred into beef and diced vegetables.
  • Add the undrained diced tomatoes and both 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce. Stir, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
    Beef and diced vegetables stirred with diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.
  • Add the drained and rinsed kidney beans and cannellini beans, then pour in 3 cups of chicken or beef broth. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the carrots are tender.
    Kidney beans and cannellini beans simmering in the tomato and beef soup base.
  • Stir in 1 cup of uncooked ditalini. Keep the soup at a steady, gentle simmer and stir frequently, especially along the bottom.
    Uncooked ditalini added to the simmering beef and bean soup.
  • Start checking the pasta around 10 minutes, using the package time as a guide. Cook until al dente, or tender with a little firmness in the center. If the soup becomes too thick, add a small splash of broth or water.
    Tender ditalini in the finished beef, bean and tomato soup.
  • Taste the finished soup and adjust the salt and black pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve promptly while the pasta still has some bite.
    Pasta fagioli soup served in a shallow ceramic bowl.

Notes

Makes about 6 to 8 servings, depending on portion size. Times are estimates; use tender carrots and al dente pasta as the final guide. Use 15- to 15.5-ounce cans of beans, a 14.5- to 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes and two 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce. Start with 3 cups of broth and add only a small splash if the soup needs loosening. For separate pasta, cook the measured 1 cup of dry ditalini according to the package, drain, divide among bowls and ladle the finished soup over it.
Keyword copycat pasta fagioli soup, Olive Garden pasta fagioli, pasta and bean soup