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
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- 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 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 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
- 1/2 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 1/2 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