I will be the first to admit that the first time I ever heard of or tasted this soup was at Olive Garden. I know it existed in Italy long before Olive Garden was ever around but it was Olive Garden that introduced me to this seriously yummy and hearty soup.
I’ve made it several different ways over the years. It was all basically the same recipe, with small differences, and all of them were good in their own right. Then I started seeing recipes that were just like the ones I had but there was one big difference…jarred spaghetti sauce. Well, it was that jarred spaghetti sauce that would do it for me. It really helps add another layer of flavor to an already delicious soup. Who knew Prego would be so good for my soup?
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans (or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 (26 oz.) container beef stock (or 3 cups)
1 jar (25 oz.) spaghetti sauce
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup uncooked ditalini pasta (see cook’s notes below)
salt, to taste (about ½ tbsp. kosher salt)
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans (or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 (26 oz.) container beef stock (or 3 cups)
1 jar (25 oz.) spaghetti sauce
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup uncooked ditalini pasta (see cook’s notes below)
salt, to taste (about ½ tbsp. kosher salt)
Directions:
Brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease.
Finely diced onions, celery, carrots…
Don’t forget to drain and rinse your beans.
Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker (except for pasta) and stir.
Set slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. During the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, add in the pasta and stir.
Cook’s Notes: Pasta likes to absorb a lot of the liquid so if you like your soup a bit more soupy, be prepared to have an extra can of beef broth handy. You can add it in towards the end. Also, another way to avoid this is to precook your pasta first and then add it in at the end. Also, you can do this without a slow cooker. Follow the instructions above, but instead of adding to a slow cooker, just put all ingredients in a large pot (except for the pasta). Cook over low heat for about an hour. During the last 15-20 minutes, add in the pasta.
Enjoy!
Crock Pot Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Soup
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
8 hr
Total Time
8 hr 15 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
Calories: 331 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 carrots finely diced
- 2 stalks celery finely diced
- 1 can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 can dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed, or white kidney beans
- 1 26 oz container beef stock or 3 cups
- 1 25 oz jar jar spaghetti sauce
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt to taste (about 1/2 tbsp)
- 1 cup ditalini pasta or your favorite pasta shape
Instructions
- Brown and crumble ground beef.
- Drain excess grease.
- Add all the other ingredients to the slow cooker (except for pasta) and stir.
- Set slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours
- During the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, add in the pasta and stir.
Recipe Notes
Pasta likes to absorb a lot of the liquid so if you like your soup a bit more soupy, be prepared to have an extra can of beef broth handy. You can add it in towards the end.
Nutrition Facts
Crock Pot Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Soup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 331 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 23%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 53mg 18%
Sodium 317mg 13%
Potassium 615mg 18%
Total Carbohydrates 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 3g
Protein 19g 38%
Vitamin A 69.1%
Vitamin C 3.6%
Calcium 5.1%
Iron 13.4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
My family loves Olive Garden and I love slow cooker recipe! This one looks so good!
Do you cook the pasta before adding?
It says right in the directions… ADD COOKED PASTA …
Actually it says to use uncooked pasta…I've made this many times and have never cooked it before adding.
Anonymous – no, don't cook it beforehand. You want to put it in uncooked. It will take about 30 minutes for it to cook in crock pot if you use the smaller ditalini pasta.
This makes for a perfect meal to warm you up and fill you up during the cold months. I have never made it before and it looks like I've been missing out!
At Olive Garden this has a little spicy favor? What can we do to get that from this recipe?
Use italian sausage in place of the hamburger. Works wonderful!
Full yummy comfort! Look so good, Brandy that I wish to have one bowl right now on this rainy and cold day!:)
Anonymous, if you'd like you could always add a few dashes of hot sauce or maybe a touch of cayenne pepper to up the spiciness. We keep things low on the spice-facto here because of the kiddos.
Liz, I would say this serves at least 6 (maybe more, depending on how large your serving bowls are).
What a great slow cooker recipe. I love Pasta E Fagioli!
Sounds so yummy! Can't wait to try it!!
Oh how I love slow cooker meals!
I'm anxious to try this soup recipe…thanks so much for sharing it. I'm always looking for new things to make in my slow cooker.
Jennifer
About how many servings would you say this recipe makes? Sounds delicious! I can't wait to make it!
This looks really good! I need to try making it one day soon. Enjoy!
The soup sounds delicious! I will try it this month since I'm making soup once each week through winter. See if you can copy-cat Mamma's chicken soup from Carraba's.
I have made this soup for my husband, it truly is his favorite. I love your recipe for the slow cooker.
This looks awesome! and slow cooker? sounds like a keeper 🙂
I love this slow cooker recipe for the soup. It is hearty and will be warming in this cold weather, plus, it is easy to make:)
Looks like a perfect slow cooker meal. I could eat a large bowl of this. Yum!
LOVE This!! Am always on the look out for some good crockpot recipes & this is PERFECT!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Until Olive Garden, I thought Pasta Fagiole was a pasta dish. My mother used pasta, lima beans and spaghetti sauce….nothing else. I was well into adulthood before I learned that it was actually a soup. But, some places make theirs more like Navy bean soup than like this. This is my favorite!
Soup weather has definitely arrived! This looks great, Brandie!
Do you have a favorite Prego sauce?
Hi Anonymous, I think my favorite Prego Sauce is the Tomato, Onion and Garlic one. It's part of the "Garden Chunky" line. Hope that helps 🙂
This looks fabulous! I would love to have you link this to my blog this week!
http://cookingwithkaryn.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-makes-you-say-mmmmm-4-and-bread.html
YUM YUM YUM! That looks, and sounds so good! 🙂
This is SERIOUSLY my favorite soup in the whole wide world! I am putting this on my menu for next week as I've been craving it SO bad! Yummy!!!
I am a very busy Oma with 2 grands, a working daughter and a working husband who all want dinner at different times. I made this soup today and the whole family voted this one their favorite of the month. Thanks so much. Everything is perfect about this dish. Full flavor, good mix of ingredients and ease of preparation. Two thumbs up from Casa de Cuckoo. Oma Linda
Linda, thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how it turned out for you! So glad your whole family enjoyed it! Makes my day to hear that!!
Brandie,
I made the Pasta Fagioli and Meatball Tortellini soups and the Butterfinger Cake for a church supper last night. They were all a huge hit. Thanks so much for the great tasting and easy to prepare recipes.
Hi Melanie! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know how all the recipes turned out for ya. It is always great to get feedback – thank you!
Isn't it awesome? I've been using a very similar recipe for about 15 years, and it gets rave reviews every time I make it. I do cook my ditalini separate, and occasionally make it up a day in advance and refrigerate it overnight for even better flavor. Just add the pasta right before serving.
Terry
This soup was great. I used pork and ground beef and it was amazing!
I'm so happy to hear you liked this recipe. Love that you used a combination of beef and pork..yum!
I've made this twice now. Delicious!! The first time I made it, my husband said you should make another batch for next weeks' lunches! 🙂
Thank you so very much Jan!! Love your husband's comment..lol. So thrilled y'all were happy with this recipe!
Thank you for this recipe! It has become a staple meal following spaghetti night – PERFECT for the leftover sauce! Thanks, too, for having the easy-to-print option!
Lisa, thank you so much for coming back & letting me know how it turned out for you. SO happy you enjoyed this one!!
I have this cooking in the crockpot right now and the smell is amazing!! I doubled the amount of beef stock just because I love it soupy… & of course I just had to do a taste test and WOW it is exactly like Olive Garden's…Thank you so much for sharing my boys are going to love this 🙂
Thank you Michelle!! Hope your boys love it too!
Just wanted to let you know I cooked this for dinner last night, and it was super yummy. (I'm actually eating leftovers for lunch today at work. hehe) Husband and I both went back for seconds. Only alterations: I accidentally grabbed chicken stock instead of beef; I used S&P when browning the ground beef, added a Bay leaf; added chopped garlic (b/c in my house it isn't dinner without garlic) and used a small shell pasta instead (b/c that was all I had). I must say it was so incredible. I served it with your short cut bread sticks-which were as big of a hit (if not bigger cause my daughter would eat only bread if allowed) as the soup. Thanks again!
I have made this three times already since finding this on Pinterest. We love it. I don't do the crock-pot method, just stove top. After all ingredients are combined, I simmer for 45-60 minutes. I also make the pasta separate and add later as to not make the soup to thick as the juice is absorbed in the pasta. This is yummy. I'm making it again today except doubling this time. Thanks for a hearty soup that is also safe for my son with severe food allergies.
This is sssoooo good. I made this twice already…but I have to cut the recipe in half …it's too much for two people. The first time I forgot to decrease the amount of pasta so it was a mess. The second time it was perfection. I separated some in three bowls to try to find the right spicy kick. The Cayenne pepper was too hot and I didn't care for the hot sauce flavor…surprisingly a little chili pepper seasoning was perfect! Thank you!
Bella
Hey, I made the soup again, we love it but I wanted you to know I tagged you on my facebook and blog both. Thanks for a great recipe.
I would add some parmesan cheese before serving…I believe they do that at Olive Garden…and I think I see some floating on top of the finished soup in your picture! Sounds great can't wait to try it! Thanks~
I am making this today! It smells so good in my kitchen right now. We LOVE it! I usually double it and either freeze some or share with others. Thanks again for the great recipes! Hope you have a great week-end!
Making for dinner tonight and done, the last step is in process. I can't wait it smells wonderful and taste soooo good.
I just found your blog. I love you.
That is all.
I just made this tonight and my family loooooved it!!! Woo hoo!
Hey Brandie,just wanted to let you know that i absolutely love your blog! I have this soup in my slow cooker right now 🙂
I'm am so happy to hear you like this recipe!! I truly appreciate y'all for taking the time to let me know how a recipe turned out. It makes my day!! I hope you find lots more recipes on here that you love! ~Brandie
Just made this! Absolutely delish!! Remember to add the grated parm before serving!! Can't wait to make more of your recipies!
I made this for dinner tonight. Very yummy and so easy too! Even my very picky son ate it AND liked it. Thanks for sharing your recipes with us!
I made this. The house smells WONDERFUL. It's done. No one has eaten yet but it is delicious!!!
Just made this soup for my daughter's Christmas party! It tasted just like olive garden! Love it! Thank you so much. Your blog is wonderful. I especially appreciate your pictures of the products you use for the recipe. It makes things so much easier. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.
Hi try making the pasta on the side and add it when you dish up . Works great and you don't have to worry about the pasta absorb up the liquid.
Delicious! I made it using Italian seasoned ground turkey. A new family favorite!
I love that recipe with the jarred sauce too 😉 You have beautiful photos.
I wanted to let you know that I tried this recipe a few weeks ago, and it has been requested 2 more times since. It was a big hit at our Christmas Eve party, too. I made it again last night for a New Year's Eve Party by request. I had been on the lookout for a good recipe that was simple because my husband loves this stuff at Olive Garden. This one will be on our regular menu now. Thank you.
Lisa
Just a note, OG also uses italian ground sausage and they do not add the cooked pasta until ready to serve.
I made this last night. It was very good. I had to add two more containers beef broth, because after I added the noodles they just sucked up the juice. I also used diced tomatoes that had Basil, garlic, and oregano. I also cooked it on the stove top. I will be making this again!!!
1) Always add pasta after cooking it – and right before serving. I am never adding it until we are getting ready to eat – it may do ok to add before going off to work. It makes mush if you cook it in or leave it in. Lesson learned on that.
2) V8 juice adds an amazing layer. I didn't have any more broth and needed liquid with flavor. Really made it even better and added a beautiful layer.
Made this soup tonight….It was wonderful…had to add a little more beef broth probably because I coooked it longer than the hour listed….wonderful for this cold night.
OUTSTANDING!! I will make this often..thanks
Skip the beef and beef stock. Use vegetable stock and if you must have a "meat" use soy sausage. This is a perfect soup for vegans.
I made this for dinner tonight. Followed the recipe except used ground turkey. It was delicious and makes a crock pot full. Will be making this often!
This was AMAZING!!!!! I definitely agree with everyone who says to cook & store the pasta separately – I cooked it separately, but mixed it before storing and the pasta, even though it was cooked, continued to soak up the broth. My only other suggestion would be to decrease the black pepper a bit because it was a lot more pepper-y than the Olive Garden's version. Aside from that, this was absolutely perfect – and I generally don't think knockoff recipes taste much like the original. This was definitely one that did!
My sweetie said, "This looks good. Wanna' make it?" I did. It is excellent. Much better than I expected. Now we're going to try the salad dressing!
What size are the cans of beans and tomatoes?