Pasta e Fagioli Soup
This savory and flavorful pasta e fagioli soup is easy to make, and super delicious!
I know, right? It's July, and here I am posting a soup recipe. I'm clearly insane. It's one of my quirks that I love soup so much that I eat it frequently year round, regardless of how hot it is outside. This particular soup, though, I actually made several months ago during the winter. It was during a time that I was really busy with lots of projects, and I think I made it on a day when I had cooked and photographed 4 or 5 other recipes. We had it for dinner, and I was so worn out that I just didn't think much about it one way or the other. The recipe made a lot, so I saved the leftovers in the freezer for another day, and we pulled it out to have for dinner last week on a lazy evening. I took one bite, turned to my husband, and said, "Oh my gosh! This is fantastic! Was it this fantastic the first time?" He claims that it was, and that I just didn't notice its brilliance because I was so exhausted.
Having (re)discovered how incredibly tasty this soup is, I couldn't wait to share it with you! It has amazing depth of flavor, considering that its simmer time is not all that long, and it's loaded with tasty veggies, savory sausage, and tender pasta. It's hearty and filling, but still feels like a light meal. I served it with some of these yummy Olive Garden copycat breadsticks, and they were so delicious together. This soup is definitely worth heating the kitchen up for!
Pasta e Fagioli Soup
1 pound mild Italian sausage
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 cups chicken broth
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 pound ditalini or macaroni pasta, cooked according to package directions
In a large pot, brown the sausage until cooked through. Drain the excess fat, leaving about 1-2 teaspoons in the pot. Add the garlic, onion, carrots and celery, and cook until slightly softened. Add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the beans and cooked pasta, and serve immediately.
*If you are making this recipe ahead of time, keep the cooked pasta separate from the soup until ready to serve. The soup can also be frozen, with the cooked pasta frozen in a separate container and stirred into the soup when reheated.
adapted from Damn Delicious
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