When the weather gets cooler and you’re craving something comforting, there’s nothing like a bowl of homemade Vegan Pasta e Fagioli Soup ( or Pasta Fazool if you are Italian American) to enhance your day! This delicious soup is packed with veggies, beans, and tiny pasta in a flavorful broth.
Pasta e Fagioli translates to Pasta and Beans - a simple name for something decidedly comforting. Basic veggies mixed with tender beans and other pantry staples create this beautiful one pot soup that will warm you up during the colder months. We bet you already have all you need to make this yummy brothy Italian stew.
Why You'll Love Our Pasta e Fagioli Soup
- Easy: What makes this recipe stand out? We've made this recipe vegan just for you. It’s incredibly adaptable, and relies mostly on pantry staples. As a bonus, it tastes even better the next day!
Versatile: You can swap in different beans, pasta shapes, or leafy greens to suit your preferences or what’s in your pantry. - Nutritious: Full of veggies, protein-rich beans,and fiber that will keep you full and satisfied. This recipe comes together relatively quickly so you can have a cozy dinner on the table in no time.
- Meal-Prep Friendly: Make a big batch to enjoy all week, or freeze it for those nights when cooking feels impossible.
Ingredients
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Carrots, Celery, Onion, Cloves of Garlic, Oregano, Dried Thyme, Garlic Powder, Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper: These aromatic veggies and herbs build the foundation of this hearty soup. The onion and garlic add depth, while carrots and celery contribute subtle sweetness. Swap celery for fennel for a flavor twist on this Italian-inspired soup.
- Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Paste: The soul of the broth! Diced tomatoes add texture, while tomato paste provides a rich base. The tomatoes give the soup its tangy sweetness and signature color.
- Aleppo Pepper or Red Pepper Flakes: They add just a hint of heat to balance the sweetness of the vegetables.
- Nutritional Yeast: we used nutritional yeast to replace the more traditional parmesan rind that is added to this soup to deepen its flavor.
- Cannellini Beans: Cannellini beans provide creamy texture and a protein boost, making this soup hearty and filling. In traditional Pasta e Fagioli, Borlotti (or cranberry) beans are used. They are use dried or fresh. Canned cannellini beans are a more accessible alternative. If you’re up for it, try soaking and cooking dried beans for even more flavor. Tip: Use the liquid from your canned beans for extra flavor, especially if they’re organic. If not, rinse them and add a little extra broth to the soup.
- Veggie Broth or Bouillon Powder: This enhances the flavor of the soup and and ties all the flavors together. If you make your own vegetable broth, will make the soup even more delicious.
- Ditalini Pasta or other small pasta: Tiny ditalini noodles are ideal because they’re the perfect size to scoop up with the beans and broth. Don’t have ditalini? Small elbow macaroni or even orzo will work beautifully. Important Note: For the best results, cook your pasta separately and add it to the soup just before serving. This prevents the pasta from becoming overly soft as it absorbs the broth over time.
- Leafy Greens. spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc work great in this soup, even though it's not traditional.
- Pesto. homemade basil pesto or store-bought, is not traditional in Pasta e Fagiloli
How to Make Pasta and Beans Soup
- Step 1: In a large soup pot cook the tomato paste and vegetables over medium heat. stir well. Add the spices and herbs. Add the beans, tomatoes and bay leaves.
- Step 2: Add the broth, bring to a boil, and then simmer. Add the pasta, pesto, and greens. Serve hot.
Substitutions and Variations
Cannellini Beans - The traditional pasta e fagioli is made with Borlotti beans also known as cranberry beans. Fresh cranberry beans are not always easy to find. Alternatively, you can buy dry cranberry beans or Borlotti beans, soak them cook them, and add them to the soup. For more information on fresh cranberry beans check out our Fresh Cranberry Beans Recipe with Garlic and Olive Oil. Use any bean you have in your pantry like pinto beans or dark kidney beans.
Diced Tomatoes: you may also use canned tomato sauce.
Leafy Greens - Add some greens to this soup, they are optional, but a great way to add more greens into your diet. If you are using baby spinach or baby kale add the greens once the soup is cooked. They will wilt with the heat of the soup. If you are using fresh spinach, kale, Swiss Chard, etc add the green when you add the crushed and diced tomatoes.
Nutritional Yeast - Use nutritional yeast to emulate the flavor of a parmesan cheese rind that is often added to this soup. You can skip the nutritional yeast and parmesan rind, if you don't have them handy, you may need to slightly adjust the seasoning of the soup.
Aleppo Pepper - Replace with Red Pepper Flakes or even a splash or two of hot sauce.
Make it Pasta e Ceci - Another classic Italian dish that is basically pasta e fagioli with chickpeas instead of beans.
Recipe Tips
Organic Beans: We used organic cannellini beans for this recipe and feel comfortable using their cooking liquid. If you are using non-organic beans we recommend you drain and rinse the beans.
Add Pasta in Two Different Ways: Cook the pasta separately and add it to the soup when you are ready to eat it OR cook it into the soup. If you cook the pasta in the soup, it will swell and become very soft. We don't mind it and we prefer to make the whole soup in one bowl. However, if you are bothered by slightly mushy pasta, cook the pasta separately and add it to the soup, when you heat a bowl for yourself.
How to Serve
- Serve this soup piping hot in a big bowl with crusty bread, baguette, garlic bread or focaccia to sop up all the broth.
- If you don't need to keep this soup vegan, sprinkle grated parmesan on top.
- To add more heat to the dish, add a few splashes of hot sauce or chili crisp into your bowl.
- Serve alongside a crisp side salad, homemade crackers or chia and flax seed crackers.
Storage and Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as long as it sits in the soup. So if you plan to have leftovers or freeze the soup, we recommend cooking the pasta separately and add to the soup when ready to serve.
Reheat on the stove over medium heat or in the microwave until warmed through.
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
Pasta e Fagioli Soup Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
When the weather gets cooler and you’re craving something comforting, there’s nothing like a bowl of homemade Vegan Pasta e Fagioli Soup to make your day better. This delicious soup is packed with veggies, beans, and tiny pasta in a flavorful broth.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 large carrots, diced small
- 4 celery stalks, diced small
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tsp dry oregano
- 2 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1-1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast (you may use a parmesan cheese rind instead) See note 4
- 2 cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed, fresh cranberry beans(Borlotti beans) pink beans, dark kidney beans, red kidney beans or pinto beans ( see notes 1&2)
- 1-28 ounce can of diced tomatoes with their juice
- 6 cups of water with bouillon powder or veggie broth
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup dry ditalini pasta or other small pasta See note 5
- 2 cups of green leafy greens, spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc. See note 3
- 2 tbsp pesto, homemade or store-bought
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil add tomato paste, and cook it on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes until it turns a darker red.
- Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook on medium-low for 8-10 minutes stirring frequently, until the veggies start to soften.
- Add oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, Aleppo pepper, and nutritional yeast. Cook for 3 minutes on medium -low heat.
- Add beans, diced tomatoes, water or broth and bay leaves. See note 3, if you are adding greens to the soup. Bring the heat to high, and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the temperature to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
- Add the ditalini pasta and cook covered for an additional 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Turn off the heat add the pesto and let the pot sit covered for another 10 minutes. Add
- If you are using baby greens, add them when the soup is cooked and off the heat. Cover the pot and let them wilt.
Notes
- We used organic cannellini beans for this recipe and feel comfortable using their cooking liquid. If you are using non-organic beans we would recommend that you drain and rinse the beans.
- The traditional pasta e fagioli is made with Borlotti beans also known as cranberry beans. Where we live, canned cranberry beans are hard to find. When in season we can find fresh cranberry beans. Cannellini beans are a good substitute. For more information on fresh cranberry beans check out our Fresh Cranberry Beans Recipe with Garlic and Olive Oil. Alternatively, you can buy dry cranberry beans or Borlotti beans, soak them cook them, and add them to the soup.
- We like to add some greens to this soup, they are optional, but a great way to add more greens to your diet. If you are using baby spinach or baby kale add the greens once the soup is cooked. They will wilt with the heat of the soup. If you are using fresh spinach, kale, Swiss Chard, etc add the green when you add the crushed and diced tomatoes.
- We used nutritional yeast to emulate the flavor of a parmesan cheese rind that is often added to this soup. You can skip the nutritional yeast and parmesan rind, if you don't have them handy, you may need to slightly adjust the seasoning of the soup.
- The pasta can be added to the soup in two different ways. You can cook the pasta separately and add it to the soup when you are ready to eat it or cook it into the soup. If you cook the pasta in the soup, it will swell, become very soft, and absorb some of the broth. We don't mind it and prefer to make the whole soup in one bowl. However, if you are bothered by mushy pasta, cook the pasta separately and add it to the soup, when you heat a bowl for yourself.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 55
- Category: soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 235
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 1198.9 mg
- Fat: 5.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.4 g
- Fiber: 7.7 g
- Protein: 10.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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