Copycat Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

This delicious Olive Garden Copycat Pasta e Fagioli soup is so good with the combination of the meat, carrots, celery, onions, spices, pasta, garlic, and tomatoes. The perfect soup that the entire family will love. This is an amazing even better copycat recipe you can make at home. When I go to the Olive Garden I  always get their Pasta e Fagioli Soup. It is hearty and delicious so this recipe is so good, easy to make. I love to make soup even in the summer, this has everything from beans, vegetables, pasta and your protein. 


Ingredients:

• 1 cup ditalini pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound lean ground beef (or spicy or mild Italian sausage, casing removed ) 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon sugar 
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
•  Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-ounce) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• Parmesan Cheese For Topping if desired 

Directions:

• 1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; al dente, drain well and set aside.
• 2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add Italian sausage or the ground beef to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage or beef as it cooks, after it is done cooking pour into a bowl with the fat and set aside, if you do not want the excess fat, you can drain, but I think it adds extra flavor.
• 3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add  in garlic, onion, carrots and celery,  stirring occasionally cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
• 4. Stir in 3 cups beef broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, the Italian sausage or beef and 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered until vegetables are tender, about 30-40 minutes.
• 5. Stir in pasta and beans and 1 more cup of broth until heated, try not to let it cook, just heat through otherwise the pasta will absorb all of the liquid. 
• 6. Serve with parmesan cheese if desired 

recipe slightly adapted and photo source:http://www.cookingclassy.com/2012/10/olive-garden-pasta-e-fagioli-soup-copycat-recipe/