Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fagioli

Between the ages of 17-19, I worked at The Olive Garden next to Spring Hill Mall, in Suburban Chicago, Illinois. I was there for the introduction of The Gateway to Hell, aka, The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl, and I worked there before they renovated the place into the Tuscan-inspired stucco style it is today (it’s better now). I often told people that I’d eat off the floors, the place was so clean. It was the best and most professional restaurant service training I’ve ever received, before or since, and I stand by the quality of their ingredients. It’s a guilty pleasure going there, minus the guilt. It’s not real Italian, the way fast food burgers aren’t really burgers, but it’s its own thing and has its place.

They had only three soups back then, with the spicy potato sausage soup being the new addition (it was a long time ago), and their minestrone which I would make if I could figure out how to keep the veggies from becoming mush.

This chili-style soup though, was always a go-to. It’s satisfying and can be customized in lots of ways for your taste requirements.

Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef or mild Italian sausage
• 2 Tbsp olive oil , divided
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup diced carrots (about 2 medium)
• 1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbsp)
• 3 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans low sodium chicken broth or beef broth
• 1/2 cup water, then more as desired
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (I add a lot of pepper, it’s great peppery. Definitely test often for salt, it’s very bland without a lot)
• 1 scant cup dry ditalini pasta (I used a full cup, I’m a rebel who likes pasta)
• 1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• Finely shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium high heat, crumble in ground beef or sausage and cook, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Drain fat from beef then transfer beef to a plate, set aside.

   Heat remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil in same large saucepan, onions, carrots, and celery over medium-high heat until tender about 6 minutes, add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Reduce heat to a low, add tomato sauce, beef broth, water, canned tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram and cooked beef then season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with lid and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft, about 20 minutes.

   Meanwhile prepare ditalini pasta according to directions on package, cooking to al dente.

2. Add cooked and drained pasta to soup* along with kidney beans and great northern beans. Thin with a little more water if desired. Allow to cook 2 minutes longer. Serve warm with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

   * If you don’t plan on eating all of the soup right away I recommend adding the pasta to individual servings. Then whatever is left over you can add the pasta to that the next day. Otherwise the pasta get’s really soggy and soup doesn’t have enough liquid.*

   ****

   * This is extremely true. I made the pasta and kept it in a separate container once it cooled, then microwaved it and added it to the soup as needed. It WILL get soggy and gross, so definitely do this if you don’t plan to eat the whole batch at once.

   You want this thick like chili, with some liquid throughout.

   

   Recipe author’s photo, highly accurate. More cheese = more better!