Name: Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 390 min
Ingredients: ⅔ cup dried white great northern or navy beans (*see notes); ⅔ cup dried red kidney beans (*see notes); 1 pound ground Italian sausage ((mild or spicy)); ½ yellow or white onion (diced); 3 teaspoons minced garlic; 4 cups chicken broth; 1 15 oz can tomato sauce; 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes ((not drained)); 2 celery ribs (chopped); ½ cup carrots (chopped or sliced ); 1 cup ditalini pasta (boiled til tender); 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste); 1 ½ teaspoons dried Italian blend seasoning ( (OR substitute ½ teaspoon each dried basil, dried thyme, and dried oregano)); ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; fresh basil, cracked black pepper, grated parmesan cheese (for topping) (to taste)

HOW DO YOU MAKE PASTA E FAGIOLI SOUP?

The combination of Italian seasonings, garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes really make the flavors of this dish stand out. My family took a vote and we say it’s better than restaurant versions, plus cooking it in the Instant Pot means we can have our favorite soup that much faster!

Before you put the beans in the Instant Pot, you’ll need to soak them a bit by covering them with cold water and letting them soak the night before (or at least 6-8 hours). Then, after they have soaked, you should drain and rinse that water, add them to a large stock pot, and cover with fresh water. Bring them to a boil, then reduce heat and let them simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and cooked all the way through. Drain again.

Set your Instant Pot to “saute” and add the Italian sausage and onions and saute those together for 3-5 minutes or until the sausage is browned. Add the garlic and cook that with the sausage and onions for about 1-2 minutes longer.

Switch the Instant Pot setting to “soup” and add the broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, beans, and Italian seasonings and give it a good stir to combine.

Lock the lid in place and seal the pressure release or the valve to seal, depending on your make and model. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. All the pot to manually release for 3-4 minutes, then turn the release valve all the way to “quick release” the rest of the steam.

Final step: Stir in the cooked ditalini pasta, garnish with cracked black pepper, fresh basil, and grated parmesan cheese if desired and serve!

HOW DO YOU MAKE PASTA E FAGIOLI SOUP IN THE SLOW COOKER?

If you’d prefer to make this in the slow cooker, you’ll want to still go ahead and soak and cook the beans as instructed.

Then, instead of sauteing the first few ingredients in the Instant Pot, instead do this on the stovetop. (So that would be all of step 4 on the stove.)

Then, add all of the ingredients listed in step 4 into the slow cooker, cover, and cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 4 hours. Stir in pasta at the end before serving as instructed in step 5.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PASTA E FAGIOLI AND MINESTRONE?

These two soups are very similar, but minestrone has a lot more veggies in it (what kinds of veggies varies). The name “pasta e fagioli” translates to “pasta and beans,” and so this soup’s two main components are just that, with all the other ingredients simply there for accompaniment.

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