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Vegan Pasta e Fagioli is a hearty, nourishing, and nutritious white bean and pasta soup packed with healthy veggies and plant-based protein! An Italian comfort food classic that is perfect all year round but especially on chilly nights. Serve with garlic bread.
When it comes to Italian soups, most people know minestrone and then maybe Italian wedding soup. Let me tell you, you are missing out on a goodie! Pasta e Fagioli -which translates to pasta and beans and that sums it up pretty well. Reminds you of minestrone? Well, it’s similar, but there are differences – mostly in texture and some ingredients.
What is the difference between Pasta e Fagioli and minestrone?
Both Pasta e Fagioli and minestrone are hearty Italian soups made from a tomato base with added beans and pasta. While a classic Italian minestrone soup often has a whole array of colorful veggies added (like green beans or zucchini), Pasta e Fagioli is typically just white beans and pasta. So while minestrone is a bit lighter, Pasta e Fagioli is meant to be very thick! While there are not too many veggies added in the original version, in my recipe, I add some celery and carrots as well to make the broth more flavorful and the soup more colorful!
In the traditional version, this Italian white bean soup is often made with pancetta or bacon. To make this a vegan Pasta e Fagioli recipe, we skip those additions and up the umami by adding tomato paste. You can add vegan bacon if you wish. Plenty of Italian herbs take care of the rest! This soup tastes amazing!
MORE VEGAN PASTA RECIPES FROM THE BLOG:
- Creamy Vegan Cajun Pasta
- Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake
- Vegan Mushroom Fettucine Alfredo
- Cajun Cauliflower Pasta
- Vegan Lemon Asparagus Pasta
- Roasted Red Bell Pepper Chickpea Pasta
- Cauliflower Parmesan Pasta Bake
- Vegan Sundried Tomato Pasta
Vegan Pasta e Fagioli
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup carrots, thinly sliced, or chopped small
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 3 cups of broth
- 15 oz can of white beans, such as northern beans, cannellini or navy or other white beans of choice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup small pasta shells, elbows, or other
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- fresh basil and red pepper flakes for garnish
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, add oil over medium heat. Add in the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery, and cook until the onion is translucent. Then add in the tomato paste and mix in.
- Add in the tomatoes, and the herbs, and mix in, and cook until the tomatoes are tender.
- Then add in your broth, beans, salt, and pepper, and mix in, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make your pasta separately according to the directions on the package. Add in your pasta to the boiling soup, mix in, taste and adjust flavor, and garnish with basil.Alternatively, add uncooked pasta. Make sure to add 1 cup more broth at the earlier step. Add the pasta after 15 mins then continue to cook until pasta is cooked to preference
- Add red pepper flakes and serve with a side of garlic bread.
Video
Notes
- If you prefer a more soupy texture, just add more broth.
- For a fancier version, add a splash of white wine after adding the tomato paste and let it reduce before adding the diced tomatoes.
- To add some more color, stir in a cup of spinach before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- like with any good soup, we start by frying chopped onion and minced garlic cloves then add some carrots and celery.
- tomato paste ups the umami.
- broth and diced tomatoes are added to create that signature tomato broth Pasta e Fagioli is known for.
- for the pasta, you can use any small shape pasta you enjoy. Elbows or ‘macaroni’ and shells are my favorites – but use what you have. Even if that means tossing in some broken spaghetti!
- to save time, I use canned cannellini beans but you can cook your own. Navy beans or great northern beans would also work.
- for that amazing Italian flavor, we add some dried rosemary, thyme, oregano, and basil!
- red pepper flakes make for an amazing garnish.
Tips:
- If you prefer a more soupy texture, just add more broth.
- For a fancier version, add a splash of white wine after adding the tomato paste and let it reduce before adding the diced tomatoes.
- To add some more color, stir in a cup of spinach before serving.
- You could also add a bay leaf, if you want.
In a large saucepan, add oil over medium heat. Add in the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery, and cook until the onion is translucent.
Then add in the tomato paste and mix in. Add in the tomatoes, and the herbs, and mix in, and cook until the tomatoes are tender.
Then add in your broth, beans, salt, and pepper, and mix in, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make your pasta separately according to the directions on the package. Add in your pasta to the boiling soup, mix in, taste and adjust flavor, and garnish with basil.
Add red pepper flakes and serve with a side of garlic bread.
Can this be frozen?
Yes, this vegan soup can also be frozen, either in a large batch or in individual portions, for up to 3 months.
It made a delicious hearty meal:)
Awesome!
Yum!
Definitely easy one pot recipe, no reason to cook the pasta separately IMO.
SO GOOD… Added some diced zucchini and fresh spinach that needed to be used, fresh basil too.
Thank you Richa 💚
thank you! glad you enjoy
Could you make this in the instapot?
Yes, pressure cook 4 mins
Made this tonight and it’s delicious! I doubled-ish the beans (homemade cooked from dry beans, so I used 3 cups of cooked beans) and doubled the celery and onion, used an 8oz box of GF pasta, and didn’t have any tomato paste so left it out. My can of tomatoes was fire-roasted and I went heavy on the spices due to all the extra volume. This was a great meal; very straightforward and tasty! Will be in my winter meal rotation. Thanks!
Thank you for you kind comment, Eva!
This was excellent! Very savory, very satisfying. I added a small diced zucchini to the dish, but otherwise made it exactly per the recipe.
Yum!
First time with your site and recipe. Excellent!!!
Will check out more later.
welcome
This is so yummy. Quick, comforting and easy. We will be seeing a lot of this soup throughout the winter. 🙂
stay warm, Diane, thanks
Excellent recipe. I used Cicerchia heirloom beans and they were delicious in the soup. I sauté the vegetables with broth to reduce the amount of fat and add just a little soy sauce. Made a double recipe so we have lots of leftovers. Been using your recipes for years and love them.
for years? wow, so kind. good idea with double batch
Do you know how many minutes it would take to make this in the Instant Pot? That’s become our preferred method. Hopefully it would work because this looks so good!
4 minutes
4 min with or without the pasta ?
With the pasha
Made this tonight, added kale and nutritional yeast at the end, it was tasty. I love that the recipe is very straightforward with ingredients that one usually has on hand.
yummy