Who doesn’t love Olive Garden? Everybody does, but not everybody can go whenever they want so this is a perfect way to bring the restaurant to your table. Italian cuisine is very popular, but not all Italian food is easy to make.
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That is not the case with this soup. This is an all-in-one pot dish. Easy and fast, it only takes 30 minutes from start to finish and you can feed your family an Italian favorite.
Winter’s cold weather calls for hot and delicious food to warm not only your body but your heart as well, and this is a winner recipe for that. Soup season is officially here and this copycat Olive Garden Pasta e fa*gioli has it all!
WHAT’S IN OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E fa*gIOLI SOUP
This wonderfully hearty soup has it all. Protein from ground beef. Veggies from onions, carrots, and celery.
Complex carbs from red kidney beans and cannellini beans.
Pasta gives it the Italian touch, all cooked in a beef broth and tomato sauce base with diced tomatoes. It also has basil and oregano, which are the most recognized herbs in Italian cuisine.
HOW TO MAKE OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E fa*gIOLI SOUP
- Step 1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook ground beef until no pink is showing
- Step 2. Once the beef is cooked, add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic
- Step 3. Next, add the tomato sauce, beef broth, the canned petite diced tomatoes, ½ cup of water, basil, oregano, salt and pepper
- Step 4. Bring this to a boil and let simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add the ditalini pasta and cook for 10 minutes more or until the vegetables and pasta are cooked
- Step 5. Stir in the kidney and cannellini beans and cook until these are heated through.
Check the seasoning and add more water if you want a thinner soup.
- Step 6. Make sure everything is well combined and beans are hot. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
CAN I USE BLACK BEANS IN OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E fa*gIOLI SOUP?
If you don’t have red kidney beans, you can use black beans but the soup will acquire a darker color.
I would highly recommend using red kidney beans instead. If using black beans, drain all the liquid and rinse the beans to remove all the dark juice.
CAN YOU FREEZE OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E fa*gIOLI SOUP?
Yes, you can make it ahead of this recipe and freeze it in a freezer bag.
When you are ready to serve it, let it thaw inside the bag. When thawed, put it in a large pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
HOW MANY CALORIES IN OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E fa*gIOLI SOUP
Each serving of Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e fa*gioli has 283 calories
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Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e fa*gioli
This wonderfully hearty soup has it all. Protein from ground beef. Veggies from onions, carrots, and celery. Complex carbs from red kidney beans and cannellini beans.
5 from 51 votes
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Course: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, chopped finely
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
- 2 (14.5oz) can beef broth
- 1 (14.5oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of water
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 8 oz dry ditalini pasta
- 1 (15oz) can dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 (15oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated for serving
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
In a large pot over medium heat, cook ground beef until no pink is showing
Once the beef is cooked, add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic
Next, Add tomato sauce, beef broth, canned tomatoes, water, basil, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper
Bring this to a boil and let simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add the ditalini pasta and cook for 10 minutes more or until the vegetables and pasta are cooked
Stir in the kidney and cannellini beans and cook until these are heated through. Check the seasoning and add more water if you want a thinner soup.
Make sure everything is well combined and beans are hot. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Cindy Kennedy
Very good and easy to make. I added a Parmesan rind while it simmered and might use Italian sausage next time.- Susan
Outstanding. Made it 3 times…and 3 times perfect. (Might add sweet italian sausage next time)Reply
- Kathy H
So easy to put together in one pot and was absolutely delicious!Reply
- Marie
This has become my favorite “go to” soup. I have shared it with two other friends who have loved it as well. I used Michael’s of Brooklyn Homestyle Gravy Sauce in place of just tomato sauce today and I think it added to the flavor. This is so great! Best copy-cat recipe for anything I have made! Thank you for sharing!Reply
- Sarai Larsen
Keeper! Thank youReply
- Ashley - 100krecipes
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for your review!
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- Chris
This has become a regular. Freezes well. I portion our the soup and then add the pasta on top right before freezing. Works perfectly to avoid mushy pasta.Reply
- Ashley - 100krecipes
Happy to hear it worked out, Chris!
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- Teri Hawkins
This was so good! Will make again.Reply
- Ashley - 100krecipes
So happy to hear it!!
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- April Lapp
My husband and daughter absolutely loved this recipe! It was super easy to make and delicious. I do feel that it takes double the time to make though.Reply
- Ashley - 100krecipes
Thank you!! So pleased you liked it, April.
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- Vicki
Delicious. I add about a cup of grated parm in at the end and it’s delishReply
- Ashley - 100krecipes
Yay!! That’s great to hear, Vicki!
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- Brandy Detherage
This was really good! My husband loved it. I made bread sticks and salad. We pretended we were at Olive Garden, but really at home in a ice storm. It works 😋Reply
- Ashley - 100krecipes
So pleased it was a hit!! 😀
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- Cheryl Neace
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
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- 100krecipes
You can freeze it for up to 3 months
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- Pat Beckett
I made a few modifications by using a 24 oz jar if Rao’s marinara sauce instead if tomato sauce. Also 1/2 c red wine in place of water. Yum!!! Thanks for sharing this recipeReply
- Wanda
I loved it! Thank youReply
Super simple & not expensive. We thought the soup had a wonderful flavor too. My daughter usually smells immediately when I’m cooking and comes to investigate. When she lifted the lid, she said “Wow” you learned how to make daddy’s favorite soup from Olive Garden!Reply
- Angela Altomare
My husband is an Italian from Brooklyn (his mother came here from southern Italy), so he’s very particular about his Italian meals. I’ve been making this recipe for years and he says it’s better than his mother’s. We sub a mix hot & sweet Italian sausage for the beef, since that’s what he grew up with. Other than that, it’s pretty close to my mother-in-law’s recipe. She doesn’t add sugar to the soup, nor garlic. In Italy garlic isn’t used as much as it is here; it’s an Italian American thing. I think that’s what makes the difference and what hubby prefers.
Like others, I double, and sometimes triple the recipe, for leftovers and freezing before pasta is added.
Ciao, AngelaReply
- Zoe
I keep making this recipe again and again because it’s just so good. The only change that I prefer is to shred the carrots. They’re not as crunchy, but just as tasty. Thank you!Reply
- Charyl Greenia
Loved this soup recipe so it ended up the inspiration for a slightly different version. I didn’t have the pasta, so used so cheese tortellini. I also had to change up the ground beef to sausage. I had read a few recipes and the used ground sausage. So without even checking first, I cooked the sausage with the veggies and garlic, then decided to check the recipe. Oops! But was fantastic.Reply
- Stephanie
Super easy to make – makes A LOT and was absolutely delicious! I used pinto beans as I did not have cannellini on hand – it was so good!Reply
- 100krecipes
So glad you loved it! Thanks so much for the 5 star rating!
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Easy. Delicious.Reply
- Colleen
I made this yesterday! A double batch… it was very good.. thanks so much!!! Definitely making it again..
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- 100krecipes
How wonderful, Colleen! So glad you decided to give it a try!
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- Christine
You say to add water, but water isn’t in the ingredients. How much to use?
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- Claudia
it’s a half a cup, about 8th down on the list.
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- Hilary
What is the sugar for and when do we add it? It’s not under the instructions
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- 100krecipes
Sugar is added to tomato-based soups or stews to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes. Add it to the pot along with the salt and pepper.
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- Deanna
Surprised my husband when he mentioned he wanted this soup from Olive Garden. Very easy to make, and he loved it!!Reply
- 100krecipes
How wonderful, Deanna! So glad you decided to give it a try!
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- Claudia
This is awesome! My kids love it. Never any left overs! The first time I made it I froze half of it but I had to defrost it the next day because the kids had eaten all of it! Great recipe! Thanks!Reply
- 100krecipes
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for coming back and letting me know how it turned out.
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- Darlene
Would it change the soup too much to puree the veggies? Super picky fam when it comes to veggies in soup.
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