Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Beans)
Pasta e fagioli means "pasta and beans" in Italian—this recipe is much more than that! This hearty vegetarian stew is full of irresistible fresh flavor.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 9, 2024
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The Italians have graced us with countless delicious recipes. I’ve loved pizza and spaghetti for as long as I can remember, of course, but I’ve only recently discovered pasta e fagioli.
Pasta e fagioli translates to “pasta and beans.” Pasta and beans may not sound terribly enticing (unless you’re me), but I assure you that this Italian stew is truly irresistible.
Lots of aromatics, crushed tomatoes, fresh parsley and Tuscan kale turn pasta and beans into a hearty meal-in-a-bowl situation. I can’t claim that this recipe is 100 percent authentic, but it’s the best I can do.
If you appreciate homemade minestrone soup, marinara, lasagna or baked ziti, I think you’ll love this stew. It’ll warm you right up on cold days, and tastes even better the next day.
I designed this pasta e fagioli recipe to make use of canned beans, so this stew is ready in about an hour! I bet you have most of the ingredients in your kitchen already. It’s an excellent candidate for a relaxed weeknight.
How to Make the Best Pasta e Fagioli
How do we turn basic ingredients into something magical? The trick is in the method. You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s a rundown with some extra reasoning behind it:
- First, we’ll cook chopped onion, celery and carrot in olive oil until tender. We won’t cook them long enough to form a true soffritto, but they form the backbone of flavor in this dish nonetheless.
- Then, we’ll add garlic and cook just long enough to take the edge off (there’s nothing worse than burnt garlic flavor, and it’ll have plenty of time to continue cooking as we simmer the soup). Next, add crushed tomatoes and let them come to a healthy simmer—I’m convinced cooking canned tomatoes turns them from tinny to vibrant.
- We’ll pour in one quart of vegetable broth and a few cups water. The water adds volume without additional sodium. We’re cooking the pasta in the liquid, so we need plenty of it, but I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ll season the soup with bay leaves, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes, and cook for ten minutes to bring it all together.
- I want to say that the blending step is optional (and if you don’t have a blender, you can certainly skip it), but—this step is what produces the luscious, creamy-yet-cream-less texture you see here. All we do is scoop out some of the hot liquid and blend it with a portion of the beans. Pour it back in, and your soup has been transformed.
- Almost done! We’ll add the remaining beans, plus the pasta, kale and parsley. We’ll cook until the pasta and kale are tender.
- The final step, once we’ve removed the soup from the heat, is to add even more flavor with a tablespoon each of fresh lemon juice and olive oil. Taste it before and after (carefully!) and you’ll understand what a difference this makes.
Watch How to Make Pasta e Fagioli
Pasta e Ceci Variation
Pasta e ceci means “pasta and chickpeas.” This dish is just the same as pasta e fagioli, but uses chickpeas specifically for the bean component. Give it a try by making this recipe with chickpeas!
Craving more soups?
If you love this recipe, you’ll also enjoy:
- Classic Minestrone Soup
- The Best Lentil Soup
- Seriously Good Vegetable Soup
- Homemade Vegetarian Chili
- Quinoa Vegetable Soup with Kale
Please let me know how your pasta e fagioli turns out in the comments. I’m always so happy to hear from you.
Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Beans)
Pasta e fagioli means “pasta and beans” in Italian—this recipe is much more than that! This hearty vegetarian stew is full of irresistible fresh flavor. It’s vegan, too, as long as you don’t top it with cheese. Recipe yields 6 bowls or 8 cups of soup.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 medium-to-large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, scrubbed clean, finely chopped
- 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes*
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, omit if sensitive to spice
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans, Great Northern beans, or chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or 3 cups cooked beans)
- 1 cup (about 4 ounces) cavatelli, ditalini, elbow or small shell pasta of choice
- 2 cups chopped Tuscan kale (tough ribs removed first), or chard or collard greens
- ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about ½ medium lemon)
- Optional garnishes: Additional chopped parsley, black pepper, grated Parmesan cheese or light drizzle of olive oil
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and about 10 twists of black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened and the onions are turning translucent, about 6 to 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, stir, and cook until the tomatoes are bubbling all over. Add the broth, water, bay leaves, oregano, and red pepper flakes.
- Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and reducing the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
- Use a heat-safe measuring cup to transfer about 1 ½ cups of the soup (avoiding the bay leaves) to a blender. Add about ¾ cup of the drained beans. Securely fasten the lid and blend until completely smooth, being careful to avoid hot steam escaping from the lid. Pour the blended mixture back into the soup.
- Add the remaining beans, pasta, kale and parsley to the simmering soup. Continue cooking, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot, for about 20 minutes, or until the pasta and greens are pleasantly tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat, then remove and discard the bay leaves. Stir in the lemon juice, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Taste and season with more salt (I usually add another ¼ teaspoon) and pepper until the flavors really sing. Garnish bowls of soup as desired, and serve.
- Leftovers taste even better the next day. Allow leftover soup to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Or, freeze leftover soup in individual portions and defrost as necessary.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my minestrone recipe, with reference to Bon Appétit (and their comments section!).
*Tomato recommendation: I always use Muir Glen tomatoes, and used their fire-roasted crushed tomatoes since they don’t offer plain.
Make it gluten free: Use a small, sturdy, gluten-free noodle, such as a corn and quinoa blend.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Don’t add cheese. Simple as that.
If you don’t have a stand blender: You can use an immersion blender to blend (carefully) a portion of the liquid with the beans in a separate (heat-safe) container. Or, skip this step altogether. Your soup will be a little more chunky and less creamy, but still very good.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This is such a delicious recipe! I agree that the lemon juice and olive oil at the end really make a flavor difference. I made the X2 version of the recipe tonight (12 bowls) for Christmas Eve dinner (there is a typo with the amount of olive oil to saute the veggies, but I caught that).
I made this soup for Christmas dinner with my 2 vegan children. We all loved it! Thanks for this recipe, Kate!
That’s great to hear, Irene!
This is delicious! I’ve tried several of your recipes and am always pleased with the outcome. I’m curious why you suggest crushed tomatoes instead of diced in several of your recipes. I’ve always used diced when canned tomatoes are called for. Thanks so much for sharing your passion for food!
You’re welcome, Rebecca!
I absolutely love this soup and agree that it tastes even better the next day. Interestingly, I accidentally grabbed nutmeg instead of oregano the first time. When I realized my mistake, I had already added 1/2 t of nutmeg. The second time I left out the nutmeg, and it wasn’t as good! I added the nutmeg at the end, and it was so yummy. The nutmeg cuts the acidity gives it a rich flavor similar to meat. Just thought I’d share my “mistake”. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks for sharing! I’m delighted it still turned out for you.
Made it,was delicious the first time!Did add half a package of Jimmy Dean sausage which I sauted in one tablespoon olive oil in the beginning,in the same pot,removed sausage and followed recipe.Also used spinach at the end,didn’t have kale.Either way,spinach or kale—-
sausage or not this recipe is a winner.You got me with the blending of the beans with the soup.That’s how I thicken my bean soup.Thank you,this one is a winner!Even my husband who has been making soups in diners for many moons said”huh,not bad”That I took as a compliment.
Thank you Kate for such an amazing recipe! I know I’ll be making it for many years to come! So flavorful, healthy, and a joy to make. My new years “goal” was to find ways to add more fiber/beans to my diet. This fit the bill!
Great to hear, Stacey!
I recently found out I have many food allergies. Found this recipe that has foods I can have. Made it first with gnocchi then lentil pasta. Delicious!! So easy and filling! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
I’m glad you found this recipe and were able to enjoy it, Pamela!
This was great. I came upon the recipe because I had some pantry items that needed to be used up. Used 1 can each of cannellini and chickpeas—the chickpeas for the purée. Used a fistful of frozen spinach instead of kale, and macaroni. Added a small chopped potato because that too needed to be put to use. Used Muir Glen diced tomatoes. All good!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I made the stew tonight, and it was absolutely delicious; my family loved it. I did not add any greens. This will become a staple for sure. I paired it with chicken cutlets to make a fantastic meal.
One of my favorite recipes that I’ve tried so far on this site! My family likes it with a few tablespoons of tomato paste added.
Thank you for sharing, Emma!
Something that you’re overlooking in your evaluation of this recipe: it’s very heart-healthy. I’m a heart attack survivor and need to eat a zero cholesterol, low sodium diet. By removing the salt you mention and using no-salt-added crushed tomatoes, I can eat this item(in fact, I’m going to make it today using collard greens). There are over 8 million of us nationwide, and we appreciate recipes like this. Beans are also an excellent substitute for beef; you don’t have to apologize for using beans in a recipe.
Just made this tonight for dinner and it’s a winner! I even added some leftover ham. Did not purée either. We like it chunkier. Checks all the nutrient boxes for a great one dish meal. Ate some and froze the rest. It’s now on our family menu. Thanks so much for a great recipe❤️
You’re welcome, Sarah! Thank you for your review.
Best damn soup I’ve ever made!
Vegan approved!
Saved and will make often!
WOW!!! I am a cook at a Shrine in Detroit who serves two HUGE kettles of soup to the public weekly and I regularly use soups from this website. This specific recipe got tons of compliments and coming from a quite a few picky Italians, that meant a lot! We sell quarts of left over and this soup sold quite a few.
The one thing I did wrong was soak the beans overnight in the fridge, because we can’t leave food out because of health code. They barely got soft! I didn’t have an extra pot to use to cook the huge amount of beans because I had already stated the two big kettles so I had to cook in soup thus cooking down veggies which I try not to do as I like to have the veggies just right and not translucent. Still turned out great and I did not blend. Thanks Kate for alll you do. Your recipes are LOVED at The Shrine of Jesus the Divine Mercy in Detroit!!
I love to hear that! Thank you for sharing.
This is one of those recipes that ended up being way tastier than I expected as I was cooking it. It has almost a cheesy taste / quality even though of course there is no cheese in it. Delicious! I used a bit less water and a bit more crushed tomato than the recipe.
Love this! Easy, healthy, and comforting. I love how the beans and pasta become kind of creamy together in the soup. Definitely a keeper.
That’s great to hear, Alice! I appreciate your review.
I followed the recipe except, I didnt have a can of crushed tomtoes. I found a can of tomato juice, however, and added a bit of tomato paste to the mix. It turned out wonderfully! Thanks for another terrific recipe.
You’re welcome, Penny!
Hi! Is it possible to freeze this recipe? I’m more concerned about the pasta becoming mushy in the freezing process
Sure, but I wouldn’t add the pasta until you plan to thaw and serve.
I’m such a picky eater and I usually modify every recipe, but I decided to trust the process and add modifications after if needed. I encourage you to make this exactly as the recipe instructs. No modifications needed. I’m from NJ although I live in Florida now so I was hoping for it to taste just like back home, and it didn’t disappoint. Delicious! Thank you for the recipe, this will be saved and made again!
Loved the recipe, easy to make and delicious, definitely a keeper.
Thank you
A 5 star.
You’re welcome, S!
Tried this for the first time tonight and my neighbour was asking what I was making because it smelt so good. So I fed him and his wife also. It was truly amazing and it is going in our rotation of dishes to make. I added hot sauce as well before serving *drool*. Need I say more?
This pasta e fagioli is the tastiest I have ever made, it even surpassed the recipe in my Italian cookbook. Only change since we don’t like kale used baby spinach instead, delicious. Thank you for sharing…..
Excellent.
Thank you for your review, Barbara!
I grew up eating my Grandma’s classic pasta fagioli which was always one of my favorite meals and this soup gives that a run for its money. Its hearty, creamy, flavorful, and just soothes the soul. Its everything a pasta fagioli should be. I double the recipe and freeze in portions as an easy go-to meal throughout the fall and winter. Its my absolute favorite soup/stew, and I love not feeling guilty after gobbling up a bowl.
So amazing!!!!I grew up eating my Grandma’s classic pasta fagioli which was always one of my favorite meals and this soup gives that a run for its money. Its hearty, creamy, flavorful, and just soothes the soul. Its everything a pasta fagioli should be. I double the recipe and freeze in portions as an easy go-to meal throughout the fall and winter. Its my absolute favorite soup/stew, and I love not feeling guilty after gobbling up a bowl.
Thank you for your review, Kristina!
Great recipe. My family loved it. The only change I made was creating a roux to thicken it (I didn’t have any tomato paste). It worked wonderfully and makes it feel more like a stew than a soup. Definitely making this one again.
Thank you for sharing, James!