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Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli soup olive garden copycat served in white bowl with spoon

Olive Garden Copycat Pasta e Fagioli Instant Pot

Olive Garden Copycat Pasta e Fagioli Instant Pot tastes even better than the restaurant version. This healthy Pasta Fagioli soup will warm your soul any day, loaded with protein packed beans, Italian sausage, tomatoes & an amazing bunch of seasonings.
5 from 21 votes
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Course: Entree, Soup
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli, Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli Soup, Olive Garden Copycat Pasta e Fagioli Instant Pot
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 352kcal
Author: Meghna
Cost: $5

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Italian Ground Pork Sausage **Use mild or spicy. You can use 1:1 ground beef : Sausage. 16 oz/454 g.
  • 15 oz Great Northern Beans **Drained & rinsed. 439 g / 1 can.
  • 15 oz Kidney Beans **Drained & rinsed. 439 g / 1 can.
  • 14 oz Diced Tomatoes **with juices. I used Diced tomatoes with basil, oregano & garlic. 1 can / 411 g.
  • 8 oz tomato sauce **226 g / 1 can.
  • 2 tbsp Tomato Paste **diluted in about 4 tbsp water.
  • 1 cup onion **roughly chopped. Use yellow or white onion.
  • 1.5 tbsp garlic **minced
  • ¾ cup carrot **roughly cubed
  • ¾ cup celery **roughly chopped. About 2 sticks.
  • 1 cup Ditalini Pasta **you can use small elbow or shell pasta. Use ¾ cups in that case.
  • 3 tbsp Olive Oil
  • Salt (to taste) **use according to taste.

Seasonings

Liquid

  • 6 cups chicken stock **Use 7-7.5 cups for thinner soup. I used 4 better than bouillon cubes diluted in hot water.

Garnish

Instructions

  • Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE & set it on HIGH heat. Add oil. When the oil becomes hot gently release the ground meat and saute the meat until nicely browned. Stir frequently with a spatula.
  • Once, the meat is well browned add the chopped onion & garlic and saute for about a minute.
  • Now, throw in the chopped carrots and celery and give everything a good stir. Saute for another minute.
  • Pour Stock. De-glaze the pot very well scraping the sides & the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will loosen any stuck food particles and prevent the BURN error.
  • Next, add all the seasonings like paprika, oregano, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes & salt. Give eveything in the pot a good stir.
  • Add the tomatoes, canned beans (rinsed and drained), pasta. Give eveything in the pot a very good mix.
  • CANCEL the SAUTE function. Close the lid of the Instant Pot. Seal the Valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 4 minutes. The pressure will take some time to build because it's a large quantity soup.
  • Once, the Pressure cooking cycle is over the Instant Pot will begin to beep. Immediately perform a quick pressure release (QPR) by manually moving the valve from the SEALING to the VENTING position. Open the lid carefully.
  • The amazing wholesome Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli is ready. You need to serve the soup almost immediately because the longer the pasta sits in the soup the more it get's over cooked & turn mushy.
  • Garnish with some chopped fresh parsley, crushed black pepper, grated parmesan and drizzles of extra virgin olive oil. Dig in!

Video

Notes

  1. IMPORTANT: Serve the soup immediately as the Pasta tends to absorb a lot of liquid, get over cooked and turn mushy the longer it sits in the soup.
  2. Ground meat: We chose Ground Italian Mild pork sausage. You an also use ground beef and pork sausage in the 1:1 ratio. You can also make the soup with only ground beef. 
  3. Best Pasta: We vote for Ditalini. However, you can use small elbow or shell pasta. In that case use no more than ¾ cups. ½ cup or ¾ cups would be a good choice for todays soup.
  4. How to store the soup in the fridge? If you plan to store it in fridge I would skip cooking the pasta in the soup. Because the pasta will absorb a lot of liquid the longer it sits in the soup & turn mushy! Cook the pasta separately & mix in the soup bowl while serving only if you plan to store the soup in the fridge.
  5. Storing Tips: For storing or freezing the Pasta e Fagioli soup I would recommend that you leave out the Pasta and add some cooked pasta later to the soup while re-heating it. The pasta will completely mush up if you freeze or store the soup along with it. The soup will also become drier as the pasta continues absorbing liquid.
  6. Seasonings: Play around with the bunch of seasonings and add more or add less according to your liking.
  7. Basil: You can add some dried basil in the soup especially if you add regular canned diced tomatoes. I skipped adding basil because the canned diced tomatoes had basil.
  8. Extra flavor: I would highly recommend using canned diced tomatoes with basil, oregano & garlic. It would almost instantly face lift the soup. Avoid using regular canned diced tomatoes. You can sub the chicken stock with beef stock.
  9. The Pasta e Fagioli consistency: Todays soup has a medium consistency, it's not super thin nor very thick. If you prefer thinner soups add 7 or 7.5 cups stock.
  10. Heat intolerant: Skip the red pepper flakes.
  11. Hate Kidney Beans? Sun them with a can of garbanzo beans. We love these creamy, nutty beans so much. Yum! 
 
Calorific details are provided by a third party application & are to be used as indicative figures only.

Nutrition

Calories: 352kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 465mg | Potassium: 992mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2468IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 5mg