Crockpot Pasta E Fagioli {Olive Garden Copycat Recipe}

CROCKPOT PASTA E FAGIOLI {OLIVE GARDEN COPYCAT RECIPE} CHELSEA LORDS
This post is sponsored by Prego®. All opinions are my own.
A delicious and hearty slow cooker pasta, vegetable, and ground beef soup copycatting the famous “Olive
Garden” Pasta fagioli.
To get this
soup recipe just right, I tried to convince the husband that he needed to take me to Olive Garden on a
weekly basis (I started by saying bi-weekly but I could just feel his eyes begin to roll) until I got it just
right. If he had agreed, I also had a secret agenda not to perfect a recipe for the next four months. That
would have been a lot of Olive Garden trips!
However, he didn’t buy it. He knows me and my secret agendas too well by now. BUT he has taken me on
a few dates to Olive Garden, and this is the soup I order each time! So I did have a pretty good idea
exactly how I wanted it to taste and this soup is pretty close to the exact pasta e Fagioli you’d get at Olive
Garden!
This
isn’t just a soup recipe where the crockpot makes things super simple; it’s one where the slow cooker
makes everything more tasty! By slow cooking the ingredients all day along with a hearty tomato-based
sauce like Prego Chunky Garden, you have a wonderful chance to meld and heighten.
I tried this recipe by putting the dried pasta into the crockpot and cooking it that way, but I didn’t LOVE
the taste as much as when the pasta was cooked separately. If you are looking to save an extra pot and
make things easier, you can add in the pasta about 30 minutes before dinner time. However, if you are
looking for the taste of the Olive Garden soup, I would cook it separately. The little bit of red wine
vinegar tossed in the pasta balances the acidity of all the tomato very well. So if you cook the pasta in the
crockpot, add in vinegar (or at least a little to taste!)
For the spaghetti sauce, I used Prego Chunky Garden, which gives this soup such a great flavor and adds
more texture, but the Traditional Sauce works as well! So if you already have Prego in your cupboard,
you don’t have to run out and switch. Both sauces work, and I love the super rich tomato flavors in this
soup!
Now, you can bring Olive Garden soup home tonight with this recipe!
Crockpot Pasta E Fagioli {Olive Garden Copycat Recipe}
Author: Chelsea
Prep time: 20 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 cup sliced carrots (3-4 carrots)
1 cup chopped celery (5 stalks)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, undrained
1 can (15 ounces) white cannellini beans, undrained
1 can (24 ounces) Chunky Garden Prego Spaghetti Sauce or Traditional Italian Prego Sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 and 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces (~1/2 cup) ditalini pasta
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Optional: freshly parsley, beef bouillon cubes
Instructions:
In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef and drain out the grease. Transfer to
the slow cooker.
To the slow cooker, add in the carrots, celery, garlic, diced tomatoes, red kidney beans, white cannellini
beans, spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, and bay leaf.
Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours or until the vegetables are tender.
About 20 minutes before serving, boil the pasta until al dente. Reserve the water and drain.
Toss the pasta with the vinegar.
Either add the pasta to the soup or serve on the side. I like to serve the pasta on the side so you can add
what you want and then store (or freeze) the remainder of the soup without the pasta getting “soggy.”
If you want a thinner, “brothier” soup, add in some of the reserved pasta water and a cube or two of beef
bouillon.
Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley if desired.
Notes:
*Olive Garden soup uses an onion, but my husband hates them! Add about a cup or one small yellow
onion if desired. Thin out with reserved pasta water and beef bouillon cubes.
Recipe Adapted from Top Secret Recipes
Here are some more delicious crockpot soup recipes:
Easy Slow Cooker Mexican Tortilla Quinoa Soup
Easy Crockpot Italian Chicken and Quinoa Soup
Crockpot healthy chicken, butternut squash, and quinoa soup
Crockpot healthy quinoa minestrone
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato, Quinoa, and Chicken Soup
Crockpot Kale, White Bean, and Quinoa Soup
Crockpot Salsa Verde Soup