Description
Olive Garden’s slow cooker pasta fagioli brings hearty Italian comfort to home kitchens. Rich with ground beef, beans, and vegetables, this soup delivers classic restaurant flavors in an easy one-pot meal you can savor.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb extra lean ground beef (browned and drained)
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14–16 oz / 397–454 g, with juice)
- 1 can kidney beans (14–15 oz / 397–425 g, rinsed and drained)
- 1 can white beans (14–15 oz / 397–425 g, rinsed and drained)
- 1 jar tomato-basil marinara sauce (24–26 oz / 680–737 g)
- 1 ¼ cups dry pasta (fusilli, shells, or ditalini, cooked separately)
- 1 ½ tsps oregano
- ¾ tsp hot pepper sauce (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
- grated Parmesan (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Meat Preparation: Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, eliminating excess fat, then transfer to the slow cooker.
- Vegetable Integration: Precisely chop onions, carrots, and celery, incorporating them into the slow cooker with the seasoned meat.
- Liquid and Seasoning Fusion: Add diced tomatoes, kidney beans, white beans, beef broth, and marinara sauce. Enhance with oregano, hot pepper sauce, salt, and black pepper. Mix thoroughly to marry flavors.
- Slow Cooking Process: Cover and simmer on LOW for 5-7 hours, allowing vegetables to tenderize and ingredients to develop a rich, cohesive profile.
- Pasta and Final Assembly: Cook pasta separately according to package instructions. Drain and gently fold into the soup. Adjust seasonings to taste, ensuring a harmonious blend of flavors.
- Serving Presentation: Ladle the robust soup into bowls. Optionally, crown with fresh parsley and a dusting of Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately while steaming hot.
Notes
- Optimize Meat Browning: Thoroughly brown ground beef to develop deep, rich flavors and eliminate excess grease for a more robust taste profile.
- Vegetable Prep Precision: Dice vegetables uniformly to ensure even cooking and consistent texture throughout the slow cooker soup.
- Slow Cooker Magic: Allow extended cooking time to develop complex flavors and tenderize ingredients, with low and slow being the key to a perfectly melded dish.
- Pasta Timing Trick: Add pasta near the end of cooking to prevent overcooking and maintain ideal texture, ensuring pasta remains perfectly al dente.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 hours
- Category: Dinner, Lunch, Appetizer
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 20 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg