Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup Copycat Recipe
Stove Top or Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli Olive Garden Soup
Amazing Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup Recipe
This hearty Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup is warm, comforting, and full of flavor—everything you love about the restaurant version, made right at home! It’s simple enough for weeknights but delicious enough to serve for guests or family gatherings.
I order this as my first bowl of soup every single time I go to Olive Garden and get their unlimited soup and salad—just to make sure I still have room for it! It’s truly my favorite. When I was a kid, my aunt made a version just like this. I wish I had her original recipe, but this copycat comes amazingly close to the one I remember from her kitchen. The aroma of simmering tomatoes, herbs, and pasta instantly brings back those memories.
After falling in love with my Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce Copycat, I knew I needed more restaurant-style comfort foods in my life. This soup has become a go-to family favorite—it freezes beautifully and tastes even better the next day!
Ingredients for Pasta e Fagioli
This soup blends pantry staples into something restaurant-worthy. You’ll need:
- Ground beef (or Italian sausage for extra depth)
- Onion, carrots, celery, and garlic
- Diced tomatoes and red kidney beans
- V-8 juice or tomato sauce with broth
- Ditalini pasta (or any small pasta)
- Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper
It’s a simple one-pot recipe, yet it tastes slow-simmered and rich. For more on building authentic Italian flavors, check out this Italian soup guide.
Preparation Tips
Before you start cooking, chop your veggies evenly for best texture. Sautéing the onions, celery, and carrots together builds the base flavor. If you prefer less chopping, pulse them in a food processor briefly—just don’t overdo it!
Pro tip: If your soup gets too thick after sitting, thin it with a little beef broth instead of water to maintain rich flavor (thanks to reader Becky Y. for that great tip!).
How to Make Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup
- Sauté the aromatics. Brown ground beef in a large pot or Dutch oven. Drain the fat, add diced onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the liquids. Stir in diced tomatoes, beans, V-8 juice, Italian seasoning, and broth. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to simmer for 45–60 minutes.
- Cook the pasta. Prepare ditalini separately until al dente. Drain and stir into the soup near the end of cooking.
- Finish & serve. Simmer 5 minutes more, then ladle into bowls. Top with Parmesan and parsley for a restaurant-style touch.
Instant Pot Directions for Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup
This recipe also works beautifully in an Instant Pot! Reader Debbie Gibson shared her success making it this way, and Melanie confirmed the results were fabulous. Here’s how to do it:
- Follow steps 1 and 2 above, using the Instant Pot sauté mode to brown the meat and cook the veggies.
- Add all remaining ingredients except pasta, then pour the dry pasta on top—do not stir.
- Seal the lid and pressure cook on HIGH for 8 minutes.
- Do a quick pressure release, stir, and serve hot.
This method locks in flavor while cutting your total cook time in half!
How to Store & Freeze
Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days in the fridge. For freezer storage, cool completely, then transfer to freezer-safe bags or containers for up to 3 months. Add a splash of broth when reheating to loosen consistency.
Reader Tips & Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jaclyn Hinrichs: “This has been a family favorite for years!! I came here to reprint it because my copy looks rough after today’s triple batch. Love the Olive Garden, love Pasta e Fagioli, love this recipe.”
Becky Y.: “This is the exact recipe I’ve used for a long time. The last time we had OG’s version, my husband said, ‘This is good, but yours is better!’ If it gets too thick, thin it with beef broth—it keeps the flavor richer.”
Michael, Italian Restaurant: “This recipe is really perfect every time and tastes exactly like Olive Garden.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this soup vegetarian?
Yes! Skip the ground beef and use vegetable broth. Add an extra can of beans or lentils for protein.
What pasta works best?
Ditalini is the classic choice, but elbow macaroni or small shells work great too.
How do I make it thicker or thinner?
For a thicker soup, let it simmer uncovered longer. For a thinner consistency, stir in more broth before serving.
More Olive Garden Copycat Recipes
Subscribe to our recipe newsletter for more tried-and-true family favorites every week!
Pasta e Fagioli Olive Garden Copycat Recipe
Equipment
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion diced (1 cup)
- 1-2 carrots julienned (1 cup)
- 2-3 stalks celery chopped (1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cans diced tomatoes 14.5 ounce can / 411 grams
- 1 can red kidney beans, not drained 15 ounce can / 425 grams
- 1 can great northern beans, not drained 15 ounce can / 425 grams
- 1 can tomato sauce 15 ounce can / 425 grams
- 1 can V-8 vegetable juice 12 ounce can / 354 mL
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 5 ounces ditali pasta
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat.
- Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the pot and sauté for 10 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and simmer for 1 hour.
- About 45 minutes in to the simmer time, start cooking the pasta in boiling water. Cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta, the add it to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve.
Preparing For the Freezer:
- After adding the cooked pasta to the soup, remove from heat and let the soup cool. Portion into gallon-size resealable freezer bags or airtight containers. Freeze.
Prepare after Freezing:
- Thaw. Reheat.
Instant Pot Instructions for Pasta e Fagioli Soup:
- Brown the ground beef in the Instant Pot on saute setting. Drain off most of the fat.
- Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the pot and sauté for 10 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients, except pasta.
- Then add the pasta on top of the other ingredients, DO NOT STIR it in.
- Pressure Cook on HIGH for 8 minutes and do a quick pressure release.
- Stir and enjoy!
Nutrition
Recipe Adapted From: TopSecretRecipes.com
Trending Recipes
Comments & Reviews
Leave a Review/Reply
More Related Recipes
Trending Recipes
- Recipes
- DIY
- Deals
- Blog
Popular
Recommended
About Us
At Fabulessly Frugal, our goal is to help you live HEALTHY, WEALTHY, and WISE! My team and I work hard to bring you the best, online deals, clean eating, DIY's, freezer meal recipes, and more! I LOVE coaching and inspiring people to improve their health in my fitness challenge! You should also check out my favorite cleanse! Learn more about me and the rest of my team.
Copyright © 2008–2025
Fabulessly Frugal: A Coupon Blog Sharing Gift Ideas, Amazon Deals, Printable Coupons, DIY, How to Extreme Coupon, and Make Ahead Meals. All rights reserved
This recipe is really perfect every time and tastes exactly like olive garden.
Thanks, Michael! Glad you like it!
This is the exact recipe I’ve used for a long time. The last time my hubby and I had this soup at O.G., my husband took a bite, looked at me and said “This is good, but yours is better!” Just a tip, if it gets too thick, use beef broth to thin it. Beef broth keeps the flavor richer than water or tomato juice.
Awesome tip! Thanks, Becky!
I made this in my instant pot and it turned out fabulously!
Follow the instructions for step 1 and step 2.
For step 3 just add the pasta on top and DO NOT STIR.
Pressure Cook on HIGH for 8 minutes and do a quick pressure release.
THANK YOU for sharing your success in making the fagioli soup in the Instant Pot! I have wondered about it, but hadn’t gotten around to trying it out. Yay!
This has been a family favorite for years!! Thank you so much for this recipe. I came here to reprint it because my copy looks pretty rough after making today’s tripple batch. Love the Olive Garden, love Pasta e Fagioli, love this recipe.
Thank you for sharing this review with us! Glad it is family favorite!