COPYCAT OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E FAGIOLI
How can you even pick a favorite Olive Garden soup? It’s a nearly impossible task. While heading back to the restaurant to try them all time and time again could really drain the old wallet, the good news is you can easily make all of your favorites at home and get the same amazing flavor. It’s more economical and you get tons of leftovers to enjoy. Win win! One of my favorites is their Pasta e Fagioli. It’s hearty but not overbearing and the balance of herbs, tender beans, chewy ditalini pasta, and savory beef swimming in a tomato-kissed broth is just about perfect.
I personally love a meal that takes less than thirty minutes to make and this soup should come in well under that, closer to twenty minutes if you’re a particularly fast chopper. And there’s not a lot to chop. While the soup has a very nice layered flavor, the ingredient list isn’t unwieldy by any means.
You start by browning some ground beef and then tossing some carrots, onions, celery, and garlic into the pot. (After all, most great soups start with that group of four, no?)
Once the veggies have softened, you stir in some tomato sauce, beef broth, diced tomatoes, and some thyme and oregano. You let that simmer for a bit before you stir in the ditalini. Once the pasta is tender, you stir in the beans and let them bubble just until they’re heated through.
You can also opt to boil the pasta in a separate pot while the veggies simmer and then stir the cooked pasta into the soup. It cuts down on cooking time by a bit, but since it requires another pot, I prefer this method. Plus it’s nice how the ditalini absorbs some of that delicious broth!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2lbs ground beef
- 1onion, chopped
- 3carrots, chopped
- 4stalks celery, chopped
- 2(28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1(16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
- 1(16 ounce) can white kidney beans, drained
- 3(10 ounce) cans beef stock
- 3teaspoons oregano
- 2teaspoons pepper
- 5teaspoons parsley
- 1teaspoon Tabasco sauce(optional)
- 1(20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
- 8ounces pasta
DIRECTIONS:
Brown beef in a skillet.
Drain fat from beef and add to crock pot with everything except pasta.
Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
During last 30 min on high or 1 hour on low, add pasta.
Smartpoints : 11
Serves : 12