Description
Hearty Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli Soup brings Italian comfort straight to your kitchen with robust flavors and classic ingredients. Warm bowls of this rich soup invite comfort and satisfaction, promising a delicious journey through traditional Italian comfort cuisine you’ll crave again and again.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Protein and Base:
- 1 pound ground beef or 0.5 pound ground beef + 0.5 pound Italian sausage
- 4 cups beef broth or chicken broth (or 1 teaspoon bouillon per cup of water)
- 1 cup additional water (if needed)
Vegetables and Aromatics:
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 3 stalks celery (sliced)
- 1–2 cups carrots (sliced or diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Seasonings and Additional Ingredients:
- 1.5 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 can (15 ounces / 425 grams) diced tomatoes
- 3 cans (8 ounces / 227 grams each) tomato sauce
- 1 can (15 ounces / 425 grams) kidney beans, drained (light or dark)
- 1 can (15 ounces / 425 grams) Great Northern or cannellini beans, drained
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- Parsley (dried or fresh, optional for garnish)
- Parmesan cheese (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Warm olive oil in a generously sized soup pot over medium-high heat.
- Introduce ground beef and sauté until thoroughly browned, fragmenting the meat while cooking.
- Incorporate diced onion, celery, and carrots, allowing them to soften for approximately 5 minutes. Introduce crushed garlic and continue cooking for an additional minute.
- Sprinkle in dried basil, Italian seasoning, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes, distributing evenly throughout the mixture.
- Pour in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and broth. Blend ingredients thoroughly and elevate to a rolling boil. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold in drained beans and maintain a vigorous boil.
- When boiling consistently, gently stir in ditalini pasta. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until pasta reaches perfect al dente texture.
- Monitor soup consistency, supplementing with up to 1 cup of water if mixture becomes overly dense.
- Ladle into warm bowls, garnishing with fresh parsley and a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese for enhanced flavor profile.
Notes
- Customize the meat by mixing ground beef with Italian sausage for deeper, richer flavor complexity.
- Use low-sodium broth to control salt levels and adjust seasoning gradually for perfect taste balance.
- Swap ditalini pasta with gluten-free alternatives like quinoa or rice pasta for celiac-friendly version.
- Let soup simmer longer to develop deeper flavors, allowing ingredients to meld and intensify taste profile.
- Prep Time: 6 minutes
- Cook Time: 16-18 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 680 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg