Pasta Fagioli

I make this at least once a week – this is my go to, cheap and easy meal that everyone loves!  This soup is so simple and basically impossible to mess up!  The best part is it’s made with just a few ingredients that I usually have in the house.  If you try this out, you will definitely be making this all the time!

First I chop an onion into small pieces.  If I’m using fresh garlic I chop that into small pieces – but I usually just use minced garlic from a jar! 

I add olive oil to a pan and cook onion for a few minutes on medium heat until translucent. After a few minutes I add garlic and cook for a minute or two.

Then I add in two cans of cannellini beans.  I add the whole can – I don’t rinse or drain the beans – I use all the juice!  I add about ¼ cup of tomato sauce (if I don’t have any tomato sauce, sometimes I use about a tablespoon of tomato paste) and salt and pepper to taste.  

In a separate pot, boil water and cook pasta.

I cover the pan and I let the beans cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the beans are soft.  If it gets too thick I add a little bit of chicken broth every few minutes, so that the beans don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.  

Once beans are soft I like to smash them a little – If this doesn’t sound good to you, you can definitely skip this step!  I don’t like having too many full beans, so I smash them a little.

Add the rest of the chicken broth and let that cook for a few minutes.  Add more salt and pepper if needed!

Sometimes I also add escarole to this soup – just chop it up and add at the end to the same pot and let it cook for a few minutes.  

Once the soup is done I add the pasta to a bowl and then add the soup on top of that and enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion

1 tsp of garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cans cannellini beans (15.5 oz/each)

32 oz chicken broth

1 cup small pasta

¼ cup tomato sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Chop onion into small pieces (and garlic if using fresh).
2. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat.
3. Cook onion until translucent.
4. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add 2 cans of cannellini beans (don’t rinse or drain).
6. Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper.
7. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until beans are soft.
8. Cook pasta in a separate pot.
9. Add little bits of chicken broth as needed every few minutes so beans don’t stick to the pan.
10. Smash beans a few times with spatula.
11. Add the remaining chicken broth and cook for a few minutes.
12. Add pasta to a bowl and add soup over pasta.
13. Enjoy!