Pasta e fagioli is a classic Italian soup that's perfect for a cozy night in. It has beans, pancetta, garlic, and plenty of veggies to make it an incredibly flavorful rustic soup!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time40 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pasta and bean soup, pasta and beans, pasta e fagioli soup
Add the pancetta to a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté until it starts to get crispy. I like to prep the other veggies while doing this step.
Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the garlic, followed by the diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Be sure to scrape up the brown bits. Let it bubble until the liquid is noticeably reduced (stir occasionally) to help concentrate the flavor. This should take 8-10 minutes or so.
Add the chicken broth and beans to the pot. Increase the heat to high. Once the soup is boiling, add the pasta.
Reduce the heat to a rapid simmer and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the pasta is nice and tender. I suggest stirring every few minutes so the pasta doesn't stick the bottom of the pot.
Season soup with salt & pepper as needed (the soup should be fairly salty already). This soup is delicious served with some shaved parmesan!
Notes
The pasta in these types of soup tends to soak up the broth, so you may want to add more broth/stock when reheating leftovers. If the soup is too thick for you once the pasta has finished cooking, thin it out with more chicken broth if desired.
You don't have to be exact with the pancetta measurements... anything in the ballpark works (packaging sizes vary from place to place).
Use low-sodium chicken broth if sensitive to salt.
Want to kick the flavor up even more? Throw in a parmesan rind when cooking this soup.