Authentic Pasta e Fagioli

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!

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword authentic pasta e fagioli, pasta e fagioli

Freezer Friendly Yes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Total Time 55

Servings cups

Calories 452kcal

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 oz diced pancetta, you can also swap for pork bacon
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
1 large celery stalk, diced small
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large fresh rosemary sprig See notes if you only have dried rosemary
5 cups chicken stock
2 14 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup canned whole plum tomatoes with the juices, hand-crushed into really small pieces
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning the aromatics
1 cup dried pasta, I like to use ditalini or small shells
1 Parmigiano Reggiano rind

Instructions

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).
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 now browned (about 3-4 minutes).
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.
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. Partially cover the pot, and let everything cook on a gentle simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Blend a part of the soup. Once everything has cooked together, either use a hand immersion blend to pulse in the soup a few times to blend only half of it. Or transfer about 2 1/2 of the soup (avoiding the rosemary sprig and cheese rind) into a blender. Blend for 10 seconds until everything is creamy, then add the blended soup back to the pot.
Add the pasta. In the same pot as the soup, add 1 cup of dried ditalini pasta and stir frequently while it cooks. This should take about 10-15 minutes for the pasta to soften, and the soup will gradually thicken and reduce during this time. Note: the pasta tends to stick on the bottom of the pot while it cooks, so stir it often to prevent it from sticking.
Final touches. Once the pasta has fully cooked and the soup has reached a thicker consistency, stir in 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano to the soup. Taste and season with salt if needed, then serve with more freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano! Cheers.
Discard the Parmigiano rind and rosemary sprig once you're ready to serve.

Video

Notes

Dried herbs tip: if you only have dried rosemary and not a fresh spring, you can still use dried herbs but with a small adjustment. I tested this recipe with dried rosemary, and it works great. But the trick is to add it to a tea bag or vessel you can pour the dried rosemary into to sit it in the soup and infuse the dried rosemary flavor into the whole dish. I like to do this rather than adding the dried herbs directly into the soup.

Reheating tips: When reheating this soup, a lot of the liquid is absorbed once it's chilled, so you'll need to add more chicken stock or broth to get the consistency right.

Nutrition