If you’re looking for a super cozy and hearty soup to get you through ’til spring, you’ve got to try this Pasta e Fagioli for dinner tonight. I was lucky enough to eat Pasta e Fagioli for the first time in Italy, and it was so good—I wanted to lick the bowl clean after finishing the last spoonful! I’ve tweaked my own version over the years, combining techniques from both traditional Italian versions and Americanized ones, finally arriving at a soup that is easy to prepare, insanely nostalgic, and ridiculously comforting.
What is Pasta e Fagioli?
Pasta e Fagioli (pronounced “paa·stuh ee faa·jow·lee”), simply means, “pasta and beans” in Italian. More often, though, the dish is referred to as, “Pasta Fagioli” (without the e), or “Pasta Fazool” in Italian-American slang. This lesser-known Italian staple is a hearty soup that feels indulgent thanks to a whisper of bacon and a handful of pasta — but since the soup is mostly vegetables and beans, it’s a dinner worthy of a second helping without a second thought.
Pasta e Fagioli Ingredients
Pasta e Fagioli is usually made with these ingredients:
- Cannellini beans (But any white bean will work!)
- Small-shaped pasta (most often ditalini or acini di pepe)
- Tomato broth enhanced with smoky pork
- Fresh herbs (typically rosemary or thyme)
- Aromatic vegetables (onions, carrots, and celery)
- Parmesan cheese and fresh Italian parsley
budget tips
I made some modifications to traditional versions of Pasta e Fagioli over the years in order to suit my tastes—and now, to make it more budget-friendly.
- Most recipes use pancetta as the pork element. Since it’s harder to find in most U.S. grocery stores and tends to be more pricey, we opted for bacon.
- We used grated parmesan, the most cost-conscious option, but reaching for shredded parmesan—or the real thing! —will take this soup to the next level.
- While rosemary is the most common herb used in this type of soup, I think it’s a really overwhelming flavor even in small amounts. I prefer to use oregano since I always have it on hand.
Weeknight shortcuts
Pasta e Fagioli is a pretty straightforward recipe as it is, but here are a few shortcuts you can take to make it come together in 30 minutes :
- Skip the herbs, spices, oil, and crushed tomatoes, and grab a jar of pre-made marinara or another tomato-based pasta sauce. (Since most store-bought sauces are sold in 24-25 oz. jars, you can make up the remaining 3-4oz of liquid called for in the recipe with an equal amount of water or broth.)
- Use a Mirepoix-Style frozen vegetable blend to cut down on prep time.
How to store pasta e Fagioli leftovers
If you plan to meal-prep or freeze this recipe, cook the pasta separately. Nevertheless, we found the ditalini we used did not soak up too much liquid or turn to mush—even after 4 days in the fridge! The broth will thicken over time, so if you want the leftovers to be more “soupy,” add a ¼ cup of water and a pinch of salt when reheating.
How to serve pasta e fagioli
Pasta e Fagioli is best topped with lots of chopped parsley, fresh-cracked black pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Round out the meal with a Simple Side Salad and, most importantly, some bread to help soak up every drop! It doesn’t matter what kind — anything from some super-simple Homemade Garlic Bread, a from-scratch bread recipe like our No-Knead Focaccia, Ciabatta, or Easy Soda Bread to a store-bought loaf — just make sure to serve it with bread!
Pasta e Fagioli
Servings 6 1.5 cupsIngredients
- 4 oz. bacon, sliced ($1.20)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 onion, finely diced ($0.37)
- 2 carrots, finely diced ($0.29)
- 3 stalks celery, finely diced ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ($0.04)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp pepper ($0.02)
- 1 15oz. can cannelinni beans ($0.89)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($1.69)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 cups vegetable broth* ($0.24)
- 1 cup ditalini (uncooked)** ($0.39)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese ($0.36)
- 1/4 cup Flat-leaf Italian parsley, roughly chopped ($0.35)
Instructions
- Chop the bacon into smaller pieces and place them in a large pot with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Fry on medium heat until the bacon is brown and crispy (around 10 minutes).
- While the bacon is frying, finely dice the onion, carrots, and celery; and mince the garlic.
- Remove half of the cooked bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving behind the rest of the meat and any rendered fat in the pot.
- Add the finely diced onions, carrots, celery, minced garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Saute the vegetables on medium-high heat until they are softened (around 6 minutes).
- Add the white beans, canned tomatoes (with juices), water, and vegetable broth to the pot. Stir everything to combine, then bring the soup up to a boil. Once boiling, let it cook for another 5 minutes or until the vegetables have softened.
- Add the pasta to the soup and cook, uncovered, according to the package directions, stirring frequently to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. If the broth has reduced too much (the pasta will absorb a lot of the flavorful broth as it cooks), add another ½ cup of water, taste it, and adjust the seasonings again if needed.
- Serve Pasta e Fagioli in bowls topped with the reserved bacon, chopped parsley, grated parmesa cheese, fresh-cracked black pepper, , and a side of warm, crusty bread.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Pasta E Fagioli – Step by Step Photos
Slice 4 ounces of bacon (1/4 of a regular-size package) into smaller pieces and place in a large pot or dutch oven along with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Fry the bacon on medium heat until it is brown and crispy (around 10 minutes). While the bacon is frying, finely diced 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 3 celery stalks; and mince 4 cloves of garlic.
Remove half of the cooked bacon from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside for serving. Leave behind the rest of the meat and any extra fat in the pot. Add the diced onions, carrots, celery, minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pot. Saute the vegetables on medium-high heat until they are softened (around 6 minutes).
Add a 15 oz. can of white beans (drained and rinsed), a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes (with juices), 1 1/2 cups of water, and 2 cups of vegetable broth to the pot. Stir everything to combine, increasing the heat (if needed) to bring the soup up to a boil.
Once boiling, let the soup cook for another 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened and the broth has cooked enough to lose the “canned” taste from the tomatoes.
Add 1 cup of small-shaped pasta (ditalini) to the soup and cook, uncovered, according to the package directions (approx. 7 minutes), stirring frequently to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Skip this step if you plan to keep leftovers or freeze this soup for later. Instead, cook the pasta in a separate pot according to package directions.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. If the broth has reduced too much (the pasta will absorb a lot of the flavorful broth as it cooks), add another ½ cup of water, taste it, and adjust the seasonings again if needed.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
If the broth has reduced too much (the pasta will absorb a lot of the flavorful broth as it cooks), add another ½ cup of water, taste it, and adjust the seasonings again if needed.
Serve the soup in bowls topped with more chopped parsley, grated parmesan, fresh-cracked black pepper, reserved bacon pieces, and a side of warm, crusty bread. Buon appetito!
Delicious! I made this exactly according to the instructions with the plan to meal prep. I did cook the pasta in the soup and after about 4-5 days the pasta was not noticeably softer/mushy. Tasty, reheats well, AND cost efficient – I made two batches in quick succession since I had leftover celery, carrots, bacon, etc. I’m definitely adding this one into my pantry-meals rotation!
ANOTHER WINNER!!!! Super easy, perfectly smoky, a little spicy, great seasoning. I did not change a thing, and all three of us loved it. We don’t each much bacon, so I usually freeze it in 4-slice packages, to be used in soups or other dishes where the bacon is not the main event (though I’m sure my husband would love to have bacon for every meal).
Could this be made without the tomatoes? I cannot eat n ightshades but love this dish.
The tomatoes are a pretty important component of the broth…but I guess they aren’t necessary! I have no idea what the final outcome will be like, but I doubt it would be bad. To compensate for the loss of volume, I’d potentially substitute that big can of tomatoes with 2-3 cups of broth/water, slightly increase the other veggies, and/or add another can of beans. Let me know how it goes! ~ marion :)
Beth (& team) this soup is SOOO good! I love simple recipes with big flavor and you’ve done it again. I did add a couple teaspoons of Italian seasoning to round out the flavor the next day. This will definitely be in regular rotation at our house!
This looks so tasty! I’d love to make this soon, but my husband is trying to avoid eating meat right now. Any ideas on how to adjust the spice blend to make up some of the flavor from leaving out the bacon? Thanks!
I think you could totally leave out the bacon and it would be just as good! I would say a great way to take this soup to the next level is to use fresh herbs instead of dried ones (or a combination of different dried herbs like the ones listed in the post), add a pinch more red pepper flake, and splurge on a block of parmesan cheese.
I usually grab the “roasting/poultry herb blend” of fresh herbs because it’s a great deal…you get a mix of different herbs (like rosemary, thyme, sage, and bay) instead of just one kind, and you can spread them out between a couple of different recipes. Just check to make sure it doesn’t include parsley…because that happened to me once and I was PEEVED! If you see some fresh oregano — it is wonderful. (My very favorite). Otherwise, I’d suggest thyme because the leaves are so small you can just pluck them directly into the soup. https://www.kroger.com/p/simple-truth-organic-roasting-herb-blend/0001111018154
To make things easier (because picking and mincing herbs take time & effort!), I’d make this thing called a “bouquet garni,” which is a silly French way to say, “herbs tightly tied together with kitchen twine.” It doesn’t have to be particularly large — I would include a couple of springs of each herb, a bay leaf, and a parmesan rind. Add the little bundle of flavor after you pour in the broth & remove before serving. Since it’s all tied together, it makes it super easy to pluck out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouquet_garni
I hope that helps! ~Marion :)
That’s great, thank you Marion!
I’m vegan and husband is not. One of our tricks if a recipe calls for bacon is to add a few drops of liquid smoke. He will often put a few bacon bits on top of his meal. Hope this helps.
I’ve made this 3 times in the last 3 weeks!! It’s an easy soup that tastes like it takes all day to make. I used acini di Pepe since I couldn’t find ditalini in a store nearby. I would recommend using 3/4-2/3 of a cup if you do, the first time I added a cup and it wasn’t very soupy! Still delicious though!! I can’t get enough of this tasty veggie soup!
So yummy! Even our toddler loved it. It’s a great base to throw in extra veggies too – I had a single potato to use up so I chopped it and put it in with the carrots, etc. The bacon adds delicious salty smokiness.
There used to be a Pasta E Fagioli on this website with green beans in it. My family loved it and it was different then this? I am wondering if you remained it? Is it still here somewhere? Looking for it:)
Hi, Laurie! You’re right, this is a different recipe. We have been slowly going through and updating some of the older recipes on the site with new versions. However, we still keep PDF versions of the old recipes that we can send out. You can either email support@budgetbytes.com and ask for the recipe or reply to this comment with your email, and I will send it to you directly. ~Marion :)
I’m interested in the green bean version of this soup, too. May I have a copy of the recipe?
Thanks!
Sure thing! Should I send it to the email linked to your account? ~ Marion
Your pasta e fagioli 😋 recipe looks great!
I’ve been on the hunt for a veggie and bean soup that doesn’t taste like canned tomatoes and this is it! (A little bacon and cheese definitely doesn’t hurt either…) The one tip I’d give others is to FINELY dice the carrots and celery or you’ll be boiling the soup for a good while to get the veggies soft.
I have never felt compelled to leave a comment on a soup recipe before, but I made this tonight and it was phenomenal! I used orzo instead of ditalini and added a leftover Parmesan rind while it simmered. Adding it to my regular soup rotation!