Pasta e Fagioli Soup

This winter I’ve been trying to make some new soup recipes and this is one we love.  It’s a copy of the famous restaurant Pasta e Fagioli soup (which, for those of you who don’t speak Ol*ve G*rden, simply means ‘pasta and beans’).  You can find this recipe all over the internet but I had never tried it until a few months ago.  It is delicious.  It’s easy.  And it would go really well with the No-Knead Bread I posted last spring.

Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Printable recipe here

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans (or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 (26 oz) container beef stock (3 cups)
1 jar (25 oz) spaghetti sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ Tbl kosher salt (or to taste)
*1 cup ditalini pasta (or your favorite pasta shape)

Brown and crumble ground beef.  Drain.  Add all other ingredients to the slow cooker *except for the pasta and stir.  Set slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.  During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add in the pasta and stir.

*The pasta will absorb lots of the liquid so you may want to add an extra can of beef broth towards the end.  I did.

Divertiti!