Nonna's Pasta Fagioli

Time :1 hour 5 minutes
Yield :8 servings

The Scoop

This is the kind of soup that doesn’t need a fancy introduction; it just needs a big bowl and someone hovering nearby with a piece of crusty bread.
Nonna’s Pasta Fagioli combines tender vegetables, savory beef, creamy cannellini beans, and little bites of ditalini in a tomato-rich broth.
It’s hearty enough to call dinner and comforting enough to make you forget you ever considered ordering takeout.
Hack it:
Want to keep it vegetarian? Skip the beef and chicken broth and use vegetable broth. Add extra beans or some chopped zucchini to make up for the missing bulk.
For deeper flavor, sauté a little tomato paste with the vegetables and garlic before adding the broth.
Add a Parmesan rind while the soup simmers if you have one hiding in the fridge. Remove it before serving for an easy boost of savory richness.
A handful of chopped kale or spinach stirred in during the final few minutes turns this into an even more substantial one-pot meal.
Leftovers:
Pasta Fagioli Bake: Stir leftover soup with extra cooked pasta, top with mozzarella and Parmesan, and bake until bubbling and golden.
Italian Bean Toast: Mash some of the beans and beef with a little of the broth, pile onto toasted bread, and finish with Parmesan and black pepper.
Hearty Pasta Skillet: Drain off some of the broth, add the leftovers to a skillet with extra vegetables, and cook until thick and saucy.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced and diced
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 1 (32-ounce) bottle tomato-vegetable juice cocktail
  • 1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups ditalini pasta
  • 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

  • On the stove-top, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Cook and stir the ground beef in the skillet until browned and crumbly, about 5-7 minutes.
  • Drain the skillet, discard the grease, and set the meat aside.
  • In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil.
  • Sauté the carrot, celery, and onion until the vegetables are softened, about 5-10 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add the tomato-vegetable juice, chicken broth, parsley, basil, oregano, and black pepper, stirring to combine.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Cook the ditalini pasta according to package directions, in salted water, until al dente. Drain the pasta thoroughly.
  • Stir the cannellini beans and cooked beef into the broth and cook while stirring until heated through, for about 10 minutes.
  • Add pasta to your preferred serving bowls and ladle the soup on top.
  • Serve!
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