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Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli Copycat Recipe

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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 2 carrots diced
  • 2 celery stalks diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained
  • 1 15-ounce can white beans, drained
  • 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 6 cups beef broth
  • 1 cup ditalini pasta
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Method
 

  1. Brown the ground beef in a large pot and drain the fat.
  2. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook until softened, about 6 minutes.
  3. Stir in the diced tomatoes, beef broth, Italian seasoning and both cans of beans.
  4. Simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavors come together.
  5. Add the ditalini in the last 10 minutes, cooking just until al dente.

Notes

The kidney and white bean combo is the Olive Garden signature; purists use only cannellini or borlotti. Ditalini holds the broth well and swapping in a larger shape changes the texture significantly. Do not add the pasta too early - it absorbs liquid fast and turns mushy, so some cooks cook it separately and add it per bowl. Beef broth is what Olive Garden uses; chicken broth gives a lighter result.