Gluten Free Pasta e Fagioli is hearty, filling, easy, and inexpensive to make. This soul-satisfying soup recipe is pure comfort food!
“Pasta Fagioli is one of my absolute favorite soups, and I’ve made many iterations over the years … but THIS — Wow! — this has got to be the best one yet. It’s a keeper and I know I’ll be making it for years to come.”
If you have someone in your life who thinks soup isn’t a complete meal, I urge you to serve them a bowl of Gluten-Free Pasta e Fagioli then see what they have to say after licking their bowl clean.
This hearty, absolutely delicious soup is packed with protein, vegetables, and plenty of other good-for-you ingredients, and will keep you full for hours!
What is Pasta e Fagioli?
Pasta e Fagioli is a traditional Italian soup made with pasta and beans, and is a cinch to make gluten-free.
It’s inexpensive, made with everyday ingredients, and perfect for whipping up on the weekend and enjoying for lunch or dinner all week long.
Main Ingredients Needed
The ingredients for Pasta e Fagioli are inexpensive fridge and pantry staples I almost always have on hand. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Ground beef: I like using 85/15 or 80/20 in soups and stews because it stays super tender. You can scoop away any excess fat that rises to the top of the soup as it simmers.
- Fresh vegetables: Carrots, celery, onions, and garlic both flavor the Pasta e Fagioli, and make it wholesome and nutritious.
- Canned tomatoes: Both crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce give the soup gorgeous color and flavor.
- Beef broth: I like gluten-free beef broth from Pacific, HyVee, or Progresso brands.
- Canned beans: Both kidney beans and Great Northern beans add fiber and protein (aka staying power) to each bowl. Feel free to swap either bean for your favorite variety, such as chickpeas. I like Bush’s brand beans.
- Gluten-free elbow pasta: The pasta is cooked separately from the soup to maintain a good texture and ensure it doesn’t overcook. I like corn-rice blend gluten-free pasta for soup, such as Rummo or Barilla GF pasta.
- Seasonings and herbs: dried oregano, basil, parsley, and thyme add depth of flavor to each bite.
- Parmesan cheese: Both grated Parmesan cheese and Parmesan cheese rind add a ton of flavor to the soup!
How to Store and Freeze
Leftover Pasta e Fagioli can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Keep the pasta separate from the soup until you’re ready to reheat it.
This recipe also freezes very well. Cool and chill the soup completely, then scoop into gallon-size freezer bags and freeze flat for up to 6 months. Cook the noodles fresh when reheating the soup.
How to Make Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Start by browning ground beef in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, seasoning with homemade seasoned salt and pepper.
Drain any excess grease, then return the beef to the pot and add sliced carrots, celery, shallot or onion, and garlic. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Use Freezer Mirepoix
Use 2 cups of freezer mirepoix instead of chopping the carrots, celery, and onion separately!
Next, add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, light red kidney beans, Great Northern beans, dried herbs and seasonings, plus a Parmesan cheese rind, which will give the soup depth of flavor like you wouldn’t believe!
Bring the soup to a bubble, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 50-60 minutes, or until your desired consistency is reached, stirring occasionally.
I like my Pasta e Fagioli to be almost ragu-like, so I simmer it for a full hour.
Just before serving, cook your favorite short gluten-free pasta (again, I use elbows), then divide it among bowls and ladle the hot Pasta e Fagioli on top.
Finish with a flourish of freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus Gluten-Free Focaccia or Biscuits, then dig in!
I hope you love every bite of this hearty, satisfying dish. Enjoy!
More Cozy Soups and Chilis To Try
- One-Pot Chicken and Rice
- Kickin Green Chili
- CrockPot White Chicken Chili
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Hamburger Soup
- Smoked Sausage, White Bean and Spinach Soup
- Sweet Corn, Kielbasa and Potato Soup
- Signature Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup baby carrots or 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
- 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion or large shallot, chopped
- homemade seasoned salt and pepper, see notes
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 15 oz can beef broth, plus more for reheating
- 15 oz can light red kidney beans, undrained
- 15 oz can great northern beans, undrained
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 3/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2×2" parmesan rind
- 8 oz gluten-free elbow pasta, or other short-grain pasta
- freshly grated parmesan cheese for topping
Directions
- Heat a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat then add the ground beef, season with seasoned salt and pepper, and brown. Drain any excess grease then return the beef to the pot.
- To the pot add the carrots, celery, and onion or shallot, season with more seasoned salt and pepper, then saute for 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic then continue to saute for 1 more minute.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot except the pasta then turn the heat up to high to bring the liquid to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat down to medium-low / low then simmer uncovered for 50-60 minutes, or until the soup has thickened, stirring occasionally.
- When the soup has 15 minutes left to simmer, cook the pasta in a separate pot then drain and scoop into bowls. Remove the parmesan cheese rind from the soup pot then ladle over the pasta and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Use 2 cups freezer mirepoix instead of individually chopping the carrots, celery, and onion.
- Slightly adapted from Todd Wilbur.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
this recipe says its for a serving of 4??? Seems like a lot of ingredients for a small serving?? Also has anyone froze this soup??
Yummo! Made this for dinner tonight and will definitely be making again. Thanks for sharing
I made this last night and it was so good! Perfect cold weather food. LOVE your blog and recipes!!!
It’s 20 degrees outside, so I thought this a perfect time to try this. I’ve actually never tried Olive Garden’s version; I always eat Zuppa Toscana when I visit the restaurant. This was an easy to follow recipe and the result was SCRUMPTIOUS with lots of leftovers. Great with homemade bread and blueberry cobbler. We are rubbing our bellies and smiling; thank you!
Delicious! Made this today & my family loved it. The only thing I would do differently next time is add the cooked pasta to the serving bowl & add the soup on top instead of mixing the cooked pasta into the soup. It absorbs so much liquid so quickly!
The OG out here serves this quite spicy- runny nose after 3 bites spicy. It’s a bit like chili. Does this recipe turn out spicy? (I was searching for the cayenne in the ingredients-lol)
Nope, definitely not spicy!
I made this tonight and we all loved it!! So delicious and hearty. Thank you for the recipe! :)
This is excellent! So yummy and seriously restaurant quality. I made this exactly as stated (minus the Parmesan rinds)and it was incredibly delicious. This will be my Pasta Fagioli recipe from now on.
I would like to say that I made this recipe before I commented on it. I really wish people would actually make the recipes before they comment on them. These bloggers spend a lot of their free-time posting recipes and it doesn’t help them in any way if you comment without actually making the recipe. No one cares if you think they “look good”. They want to know how they actually taste.
Love it ! I substituted half italian sausage with ground beef its yummy . I am selling bowls of soup at work to support our breast cancer awareness 5k Im positive this will sell out
I made this last night using 1.5 lbs ground beef and 12 ounces pasta. I felt it was missing something so seasoned it more but nothing. So I added another 15 ounces beef broth brought to boil and simmered for hours. It tasted just like olive gardens!!! Thanks for sharing your version.
Can this recipe be frozen?
Hey Alex! I’ve never tried but I’m sure it’d be just fine!
Usually use a recipe that doesn’t have meat because the hubby loves OG´s version which doesn’t have meat. I had some ground beef though that needed to be used so I found this on pinterest and decided to try it The family liked it just as well. I added some extra garlic and an additional 4 cups of broth so I could just add the ditalini at the end and it still was soupy like we prefer it. I used chicken broth because I had some to use up and that’s what our original recipe called for.
The OG soup I’ve had in restaurants on the west coast has more spice (heat) than is indicated in this recipe. It’s not exactly a spicy soup at OG, but it has a little something in it. The OG in the Midwest, on the other hand, is a little more like your recipe, probably. I live in the Midwest now and found the pasta fagioli to have less heat, as does most Midwestern food, it seems. Wish I knew what the difference in recipes is. What was in that soup I loved so much in California?