“Authentic Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Classic Done Right)”

This hearty homemade Pasta e Fagioli brings you all the rich, rustic flavor of traditional Italian soup — without spending hours in the kitchen. Made with canned beans for convenience, spicy Italian sausage, pancetta, and a Parmesan rind for deep, savory flavor, this version is perfect for weeknights but tastes like Sunday at Nonna’s.

Ready in about 1 hour, this is real Italian comfort food — meaty, brothy, and loaded with pasta, beans, and bold flavor.

👉 Here’s what you’ll get:

•How to build layers with pancetta, sausage, and aromatics
•Why a Parmesan rind makes all the difference
•The best pasta shape for this soup
•Pro-tips for preventing the pasta from getting mushy

🍽️ Makes a big pot — perfect for meal prep or freezing.
🖥️ Go To The Printable Recipe 👉🏻 https://www.garlicandzest.com/traditional-italian-pasta-fagioli-recipe/
📌 Full recipe + ingredient list below 👇
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Pasta e Fagioli Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
½ pound small pasta such as ditalini, orzo, macaroni or pastina
1 medium onion, peeled, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled, diced
2 medium stalks celery, diced
5 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces of pancetta, finely diced
1 pound Italian sausage. I used a hot and spicy variety
14 ounces diced tomatoes in their juice
30 ounces of cannellini beans
3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
parmesan cheese rind optional
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

Garnish:
Parmesan cheese grated
Italian parsley chopped

DIRECTIONS:
In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and add the 5 large cloves of garlic. Sweat the garlic until fragrant and translucent, but don’t brown it.
Increase the heat to medium-high and add 4 ounces of pancetta. Cook for one minute, stirring occasionally, then add 1 pound Italian sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage has browned.
Add 1 medium onion, 2 medium carrots, 2 medium stalks of celery and sauté until the vegetables are tender.
Add 14 ounces of diced tomatoes in their juice, 30 ounces of cannellini beans (including the liquid) and 3 cups of chicken stock. Stir to combine. Add 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 2 bay leaves, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper and parmesan cheese rind (if using). Stir, then cover with a tight-fitting lid, bring the pot to a low simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, cook ½ pound of small pasta to al dente, according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.
Taste the soup and adjust seasonings as needed according to your tastes.
TO SERVE:
Remove the bay leaves and parmesan rind and discard. Stir in 2 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of Italian parsley.
Spoon about ½ cup of cooked pasta into a bowl. Spoon 2-3 ladles of soup over the pasta. Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese and Italian parsley. Enjoy!

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Today, we’re making pasta fagiol, a traditional Italian soup. It translates to pasta and beans, but there’s way more going on in this soup. We start with a little olive oil in a Dutch oven and add about five cloves of minced garlic. And you just want to sweat it until it’s fragrant. And then comes four ounces of pancetta. And I diced this really finely. And then some hot Italian sausage. This is about a pound, pound and a quarter of meat. You just want to break it up with the back of a wooden spoon and cook it until it’s browned. Stir in some diced onion, carrots and celery. And just cook them for a few minutes until they soften slightly. And then comes a can of diced tomatoes and two cans of cannellini beans. You could also use navy beans. Stir the pot well to combine. And then we add the chicken stock. I recommend using low sodium stock so that it doesn’t over salt the soup. Now for the seasonings. We’ll start with some dried oregano and crushed red pepper flakes plus two bay leaves. Stir them in well and bring the pot to a simmer. Once the soup starts bubbling, we’re going to add a little rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano. This is the chef’s trick to add more flavor to the soup. And it’s not something that you’ll eat, you’ll fish it out later. But it does add body. Cook the pasta while the soup simmers. I never recommend using dry pasta in a hot soup because it soaks up all of the broth. And then you have to add extra. So once the pasta is cooked, you’re going to rinse it with cold water and that stops the cooking. Incidentally, I used farphalene for this, but you could use any small pasta. Once the soup is done simmering, remove the Parmesan rind from the pot as well as the bay leaves. Nobody wants to eat those. To finish, add some chopped Italian parsley to the soup and stir it in well. For serving, add some pasta to the bowl and then a few ladles of the soup over top. You’ll want to make sure you have enough broth. And then just garnish with a little bit more parsley and Parmesan cheese. This recipe makes a big pot of pasta visual and it comes together in less than an hour. Bon appetito.