Seriously. This recipe is going around. It’s been around, come around and back again. So, I knew it had to be good after seeing it pop up on about a million, or ba-jillion, food blogs. And, after trying it, I now understand why. It’s such a perfect meal! We had our friends over for dinner and it fed a few bowls to each guest, along with enough leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day. Oh, and yeah, there is still about 2-3 more bowls worth in my fridge.
Seriously. When you make this, have friends over or plan to freeze a bunch for future meals. Perfect solution to meal planning!
And, I know you’re wondering….
Seriously. This recipe is even better than what they serve at Olive Garden. Seriously.
UPDATE 10/25/10: I made this tonight with sweet turkey sausage and it was delicious!
Pasta Fagioli
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
½ large (or 1 medium) onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
64 oz. beef broth (I used a little less)
28 oz. can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
4 oz. small dry pasta (I used ditalini)
In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Once melted, add the sausage, crumbling it as it cooks. Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage from pot and discard any grease that remains.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the same pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Saute over medium heat until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Carefully add the cooked sausage back into the pot. Add the can of diced tomatoes (do not drain), stir, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the beans, and add the beef broth and tomato sauce. Stir in all of the seasonings. Turn the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Add the dry pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve with Garlic & Parsley Buttermilk Biscuits.
Source: Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
I made this soup last night for the family. I used turkey sweet italian sausage instead of pork. It was delious, so much so I shared the recipe(and the soup) with friends. It is defintely a keeper. Love the blog! Take care!
Thanks for the recipe….
I keep meaning to thank you for this recipe. Absolutely delish! I plan to serve it to my customers at my scrapbooking crop this weekend. I have a feeling I should just make copies of the recipe now and save myself the work on Saturday!!
Love this blog!
I’ve made this recipe several times now for my family and every time it’s been a great success. Thank you for posting it.
This is a fantastic recipe for both the beginner to the experienced chef.
Thank you, Jerry! I’m so glad to hear your feedback. We love this dish!
I did not have enough tomato sauce, had one 14 oz. can and one 7 oz can. I found the broth which I mistakenly made with bouillon cubes too salty. So I substituted close to one can of tomato paste and the soup turned out very smooth and tomatoey – the best tomato soup broth I have ever made. This is a really yummy recipe – I added another can of beans as well. What I had on hand were kidney, black and garbanzo – they worked great!!
Thanks, Gingere! I love how versatile this recipe is and you’ve proven that! 🙂 I’ll add more of the ingredients here and there to stretch it for a larger crowd, although as it is written it feeds a bunch! Thank you for your feedback!