Pasta e fagioli is one of the most iconic Italian soups, and this recipe is filled with the simplest of ingredients while still delivering the flavors it’s known for. Each bite is filled with pasta and beans (fagioli), while the base of the soup is made of pancetta and aromatics with Parmigiano Reggiano infused into every spoonful!

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved pasta fagioli. It’s a humble Italian soup, filled with pantry staples but out of all the ingredients, there are only two that really matter – pasta and beans (fagioli). Even though the ingredients are simple, this recipe uses each of them intentionally to create deep flavor! Making the results something to remember.

This specific recipe was inspired by a pasta fagioli I had at an Italian restaurant in New Jersey. I was inspired by how simple it was, yet the flavor was delicious and rich. I realized while I was eating it that I had overcomplicated pasta fagioli for so much of my life, and this was my inspiration to make a simplified version and let the pasta and beans shine – while still having impressive flavor. It’s just like our pasta e ceci recipe, but with a few simple changes!

I’m excited to share this one. It will always go down as one of my favorite Italian soups!

One reader, Rick, made this: “My first time making Pasta e Fagioli. What a hit! Had my father in law over for dinner and his socks were blown off.” ★★★★★

Ingredients Needed

ingredients for pasta e fagioli arranged on a wooden background.

Pancetta – this cured meat is salty and quite fatty, but it brings a lot of richness and flavor to this soup. You’ll find it’s a common ingredient in most authentic pasta e fagioli recipes.
Pasta – is one of the main ingredients in this soup. I recommend using bite-sized pasta shapes such as ditalini or small shells!
Beans – For the “fagioli,” I like to use cannellini beans because they are creamy and tender. Barlotti is most common in Italian pasta e fagioli, but you can also use any other white bean.
Onion – this is used to flavor the base of the soup.
Celery – just one large stalk is used to add flavor to the soup.
Garlic – fresh garlic cloves are minced small to help build flavor into each bite.
Red pepper flakes – for a touch of heat to the soup, don’t worry it’s’ not spicy!
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and rind – you’ll need freshly grated Parmigiano that gets stirred into the soup and served once the soup is finished, as well as the rind which will infuse lots of flavor into the soup.
Rosemary – a fresh rosemary sprig is used to infuse flavor into the whole soup. You can substitute for 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried rosemary but I recommend fresh rosemary as it provides pungent flavor that I think this soup needs!
Plum tomatoes – only 1 cup of whole plum tomatoes are needed in this soup. And be sure to crush them nice and small, so there are no big chunks of tomatoes in the soup!
Chicken broth is used to cook all the soup ingredients.

How to Make it

A collage of three images showing steps one through three on how to make pasta e fagioli. The first image shows pancetta being browned in a black pot with a wooden spoon. The second image shows diced celery and onions being sautéed with the pancetta. The third image shows everything cooked in the pot with a sprig of rosemary.

1

Brown the pancetta. In a large pot or Dutch Oven, add the olive oil and cook the diced pancetta until browned (about 3-4 minutes).
2

Saute the onion and celery. Then add the diced onion and celery with a healthy pinch of salt to the pot, and cook it with the pancetta until the veggies are softened but not browned (about 3-4 minutes).
3

Add the garlic, then rosemary. Then add the minced garlic cloves, and cook for about 60 seconds. Then add the red pepper flakes and rosemary sprig and stir with everything for 30-60 seconds – this helps the rosemary and red pepper flakes bloom in flavor.

A collage of three images showing step four through six for how to make pasta e fagioli. The first image, step four, shows beans, tomatoes, a cheese rind, and broth being added to a pot. The second image, step five, shows the ingredients after being cooked and some in a measuring cup being scooped out of the pot. The third image, step six, is part of the soup blended in a blender container.

4

Add the tomatoes, broth, and beans. Add the chicken stock/broth, crushed tomatoes, cannellini beans, Parmigiano rind, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
5

Simmer, then transfer half of the soup to blend. Partially cover the pot, and let everything cook on a gentle simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once it’s finished cooking, transfer 2 1/2 cups of the soup to a blender (avoid the rind and rosemary sprig).
6

Blend part of the soup. Then blend the 2 1/2 cups of soup on high for 10 seconds, until everything is creamy.

A collage of three photos showing steps seven through nine on how to make pasta e fagioli. The first image, step seven, is the blended part of the soup being added back to the pot of the remaining soup. The second image, step eight, is dried pasta being poured into the pot of soup. The third image, step nine, is finely shredded Parmigiano Reggiano being stirred into the pot of soup.

7

Transfer the blended soup back to the pot. Add the blended part of the soup back to the pot with everything else.
8

Add the pasta. Then add 1 cup of dried pasta, and cook for about 15 minutes stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom. In this time the pasta will fully cook while also absorbing a lot of the liquid, which will nicely thicken the soup.
9

Add Parmigiano Reggiano, and serve. Once the pasta is fully cooked, remove the rosemary sprig and cheese rind. Stir in 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano into the soup, taste, add a pinch of salt if needed then serve!

Recipe Variations

Although pasta e fagioli is mainly just pasta and beans, you’ll find not one recipe is the same in how to make this classic Italian soup. There are several recipe variations you can make if you’d like to change out your ingredients!

Use bacon instead of pancetta. The only difference between pancetta and bacon is that bacon is smoked, so you can of course swap bacon for pancetta. A thick-cut bacon would be best, and make sure you dice it small.

Types of beans you can use. Cannellini is a popular choice, but you can also use northern beans or navy, or in Italy you’ll find borlotti beans are a popular choice.

Make it vegetarian. Although pancetta is used in a lot of Italian pasta e fagioli’s, you can get away with this soup being vegetarian. Simply leave it out, and add extra Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to make up for the flavor!

Use any bite-sized pasta. I think ditalini is a great pasta for any soup because of it’s perfect size, but you can use any shape you like!

Tips for Success

Use a hand-immersion blender or regular blender. Blending a portion of the soup can be possible with a separate blender, as I used, or you can use a hand immersion blender and pulse it just a few times until about half the soup is somewhat pureed.
Keep the ingredients diced small. It’s important to make sure everything is chopped small when it comes to the celery, onion, and pancetta. That way, there are no chunks of ingredients, and the pasta and beans can remain the focal point.
Hand-crush the tomatoes, avoid pre-crushed. In my experience with pre-crushed store-bought tomatoes, they have a very unpleasant consistency in recipes I’ve used them in. I recommend hand-crushing whole plum tomatoes yourself and doing your best to crush them really well so there aren’t any big chunks of tomatoes in the soup.