Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Beef, beans and little pasta shapes make this tomato soup a generous bowl to sit down with. The broth is savory, with tender vegetables tucked among the beans. Add parsley at the end and enjoy a hot helping with plenty of broth around the ditalini.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 16 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Beef · Beans & lentils
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 31–60 minutes
- Dish type
- Soups · Soups & stews · Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Crumble the beef
Break the ground beef apart with a spatula while browning before the onion and garlic have their turn in the pot.
2. Tender vegetables before pasta
Simmer the vegetable-and-tomato base until the vegetables are tender, keeping the pasta cooking separately during this stage.
3. Taste after adding beans
Stir cooked pasta and prepared beans into the soup, then check salt and pepper again before adding the parsley finish.
Get to know the ingredients
Ditalini
The main directions cook the small pasta separately and add it near the end, helping it keep a better texture in broth.
Two rinsed beans
Drain and rinse both kidney and Great Northern beans before adding them with cooked pasta to the simmered soup.
Undrained tomatoes
Keep the diced tomatoes' liquid for the soup, adding them with tomato sauce, broth and seasoning after onion and garlic soften.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 7 steps completeMake room for Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Parsley before serving
Once the pasta and beans are stirred through and seasoning is adjusted, sprinkle parsley over the soup and serve warm.
A little more help as you go
Garlic's short stage
Add minced garlic after the onion softens, giving it thirty seconds before the carrots, celery and tomato ingredients join the pot.
Keep pasta water separate
For the main approach, boil ditalini in another pot according to its package, then add only the cooked pasta to the finished soup.
A few questions you might have
Can I cook the pasta directly in the soup?
To boil the pasta in the soup, add three additional cups of broth. Simmer the pasta for eight to ten minutes before stirring in the beans.
Why does the main recipe boil pasta separately?
Pasta absorbs plenty of broth, and separate boiling helps it retain a better texture when added at the end.
When does Italian seasoning go in?
Add it with celery, carrot, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and beef broth after the onion-and-garlic stage, then bring to a simmer.
Should I rinse the diced tomatoes?
The tomatoes are specifically undrained. Their juice belongs in the soup, unlike the drained and rinsed beans added later.
Does the parsley simmer with the vegetables?
Keep it for sprinkling over the finished soup after cooked pasta and beans have been stirred in and the seasoning checked.
Any more cooking tips?
If you'd prefer to boil the pasta in the soup, you'll need to add an additional 3 cups of broth. Add the pasta and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through, then stir in the beans. Pasta absorbs a lot of broth which is why I prefer to boil it separately then add it at the end, the pasta maintains a better texture that way.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinneratthezoo.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
