Beans and pasta are served up in a garlicky tomato base to create this cozy and comforting vegan pasta e fagioli. Hearty, delicious, and easy enough for a weeknight dinner!
Pasta e fagioli (or pasta fazool, as we called it) was a regular meal in my house growing up, which was nice, because my mom's version was vegetarian.
I didn't learn until I was older and worked in restaurants that most pasta fagioli isn't vegetarian. It usually has panchetta in it!
So I thought it would be a good idea to share a recipe for vegan pasta e fagioli here. This is based of of mom's old recipe, with a few of my own touches.
What You'll Need
- Olive oil. Technically the recipe will work with any high-heat oil, but olive oil will give it the best flavor.
- Onion.
- Celery.
- Carrots.
- Garlic.
- Tomato paste.
- Vegetable broth. I used Better Than Bouillon in Roasted Vegetable flavor.
- Herbs. We're using rosemary and thyme. I prefer fresh herbs for this dish, but I've included instructions for substituting dried within the recipe.
- Diced tomatoes. Use the canned variety that are packed in juice.
- Beans. You've got options here! You'll need 2 cans, and you can mix and match your favorites — just about anything will work, but chickpeas, cannellini beans, butter beans, and great northern beans are my favorites for this soup.
- Small pasta shells. Or substitute your favorite small pasta shape. Elbows and ditalini both work well.
- Salt and pepper.
How to Make Vegan Pasta e Fagioli
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Heat up some olive oil in a pot, then add diced onion, carrots, and celery. Sweat the veggies until they begin to soften up. Now add the garlic and cook it for about a minute with the veggies.
- Push the veggies to the side and add the tomato paste to the pot. Sauté the tomato paste for about a minute, stirring it frequently.
- Now stir in your broth, herbs, tomatoes and beans.
- Bring the liquid up to a boil, lower the heat, and let the soup simmer on low for about 20 minutes, until the veggies are soft.
- While the soup simmers, cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- When the soup has finished cooking, take the pot off of heat and stir in the pasta. Season the soup with some salt and pepper, then ladle it into bowls and dig in!
Vegan Pasta e Fagioli Tips & FAQ
- Can this recipe be made gluten-free? Yup! Just use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
- Shelf-life & storage: If you think you'll have leftovers, I recommend keeping the soup and pasta separate and then combining them as you dish out each individual serving. Store the pasta and soup each in their own sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months. You can store the pasta and soup together, but the pasta will suck up lots of broth, so only do it if you like soggy pasta!
- Topping ideas! I always serve my vegan pasta e fagioli with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese. Coconut bacon also makes a great substitute for the pancetta you'd find in traditional pasta e fagioli.
More Vegan Italian Soups
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Pasta e Fagioli
Beans and pasta are served up in a garlicky tomato base to create this cozy and comforting vegan pasta e fagioli. Hearty, delicious, and easy enough for a weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for pasta
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 2 (14 ounce or 400 gram) cans chickpeas, cannellini beans, great northern beans, or butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups small dried pasta shells (about 4.25 ounces)
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
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When oil is hot, add the onion, carrots and celery. Sweat the veggies for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften up.
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Add the garlic and cook it with the veggies for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Push the veggies to the side of the pot, then add the tomato paste. Fry the tomato paste briefly, stirring it constantly, for about 1 minute.
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Stir in the broth, rosemary, thyme, tomatoes, and beans.
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Raise the heat and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and allow it to simmer until the veggies are soft, about 30 minutes.
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While the soup simmers, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Toss it with a few dashes of olive oil.
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When the soup is done simmering, stir in the pasta.
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Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
Made this for dinner. Trying a bowl right now. I like it!
Thanks for the recipe :)
Hey! Looks so good. Pasta is such a great comfort food, I love it, too much, I have to ration it! :)
Hello Allysa
I am super hungry looking at this now. Your veggie site is such an inspiration for meat eaters like me..but i did enjoy making a veggie recipe too..please let me know what you think of my fried vegan cake recipe.. sunnydaysrecipes.com/recipes/fried-vegan-cake/
Looking forward to what you think when i used sesameoil a lot on this recipe
Yas! Can't wait to make this.
Thanks for the always awesome recipes!
would this soup freeze well...with the pasta mixed in ??
I think so! I haven't done that myself, but I remember my mom freezing pasta e fagioli when I was a kid, and I think it worked out just fine. :)
This was a hit. I only used one can of cannellini beans and added more pasta. I went a little heavy on the tomato paste and rosemary and it was pretty much perfect. Thanks so much - will make this again.