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Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli, which means “Pasta and Beans”, is a hearty peasant style soup that is a traditional Italian one-pot meal. Pressure cooker Pasta Fagioli soup has sausage, and can be made without as well. Make this Olive Garden copycat Pasta Fagioli in the Instant Pot as a budget friendly meal that tastes delicious!
Originally published 10/16/2017
Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli
We are heading into Fall, and I’m starting to see the trees change colors. It’s really beautiful!
With that change comes the cold! We really felt it this morning, so I decided a hearty pot of pressure cooker Pasta E Fagioli was going to me our midday meal. I have wanted to tell you about this soup, so today is my chance!
How often do you combine pasta and beans? Me either. I just don’t usually think of it. It’s either going to be a pasta dish, or a bean dish. But if you think about it, we do combine rice and beans, so why not!
The Italians sure know what’s up! This soup has so many wonderful, yet simple ingredients. It might seem a little intimidating because the list is long, but it’s really easy!
I like to cook the pasta first, and then make the rest of the soup. I tried this a few different ways, but this yielded the results I like. I can control the pasta’s doneness so it doesn’t end up overcooked.
You could also add the pasta after pressure cooking and use the sauté setting to cook it.
Since you need to let large pots of soup naturally release pressure, the pasta would be mush if it was in from the beginning of the soup’s cook time. No one wants that!
I hope you enjoy the Fall season, wherever you live, and enjoy this Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli! Ciao!
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
Instant Pot Creamy Tortellini Soup
Sandy’s Instant Pot Beef Stew
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup
If you make this yummy pressure cooker Pasta Fagioli, please leave a comment and a star rating below. I’d love to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli
Ingredients
For the Pasta
- 4 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 cup Ditalini Pasta (4 oz) or orzo, macaroni, etc.
For the Soup
- 4 Slices of Bacon (4 oz weighed) chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Size Onion, chopped
- 1 lb Italian Sausage (ground)
- 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 5 Garlic Cloves, (pressed or finely minced)
- 2 Stalks Celery, diced
- 1 Large Carrot, diced
- (1) 14.5 oz can Diced Tomatoes (with liquid)
- (1) 15 oz can Tomato Sauce
- (1) 15.5 oz can Cannellini Beans (drained & rinsed)
- (1) 15.25 oz can Red Kidney Beans (drained & rinsed)
- (1) 15.5 oz can Garbanzo Beans (drained & rinsed)
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme (each sprig with 3 or 4 stems)
- 1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary
- 3 cups Chicken Broth (low sodium) Use 4 cups for more soup like consistency.
To Finish
- ¼ cup Flat Leaf Italian Parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated) plus more for garnish
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped (or to taste)
Instructions
Cook the Pasta*
- Add water, salt, and oil to the Instant Pot inner liner.
- Press the Sauté button and let the water heat up. When the water starts to simmer, add the pasta and stir.
- Close the lid and set the steam release Knob to the Sealing position.
- Press the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button and the +/- button or dial to choose 4 minutes. Choose High pressure.
- When the cook cycle is done and the pot beeps, do a quick release of the pressure.
- After all of the steam is out and the pin in the lid drops, open pot and drain the pasta in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the pasta from cooking further, and then set it aside (make sure it is completely cooled).
Make the Soup
- Press the Sauté button and let the pot start warming up.
- Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until done. Remove and set aside. Keep 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease in the pot, discard any remaining.
- Add the olive oil to the pot and the onion. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until just starting to turn translucent.
- Add sausage and red pepper and cook, breaking up the meat, until done.
- Add the Italian seasoning, black pepper, garlic, celery, and carrots. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, all of the beans, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, reserved bacon, and chicken broth. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to get up any browned bits.
- Press the Cancel button to turn off the Sauté mode. Put the lid on and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
- Press the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button and the +/- button or dial to choose 7 minutes. High pressure.
- When the cook cycle is done and the pot beeps, let the pot sit undisturbed for 15 minutes (15 minute Natural Release), then do a quick release of the remaining pressure. After all of the steam is out and the pin in the lid drops, open and stir the soup.
- Add the reserved pasta, parsley, parmesan cheese, and basil. Stir well and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
- Garnish with more parmesan cheese and serve.
Notes
Inspired by "My Italian Cottage" Kirkland Neighborhood Italian Cookbook, 1987.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Resources to Make Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli
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My family absolutely loves this recipe. No changes needed. Beware, do not double this recipe. The original recipe fills the instant pot.
I’ve been making this for a few years now and I love it. I’m back here on the site because my recipe needs reprinting since I use it so often. This version of pasta fagioli is different than most Italians make but I like the addition of all the ingredients especially the sausage and 3 different kinds of beans. This recipe feeds many or in my case it serves up several lunches during the week. You won’t be disappointed in this hearty and very delicious meal.
We have a supermarket That preps Italian sausage with turkey instead of pork so this is what I use. It was deliciousness! Thank you!
It was good. I didn’t have garbanzo beans but had fresh green beans to use. Added about 2 cups of that. Added dried basil in place of fresh. Also added chopped spinach at the end. Next time will add a cheese rind to the pot before cooking. I also cooked the pasta on the stove.
This was so easy and delicious! I cooked my pasta separately. It all fit in my 6 qt instant pot perfectly. I did do natural release for about 20 minutes because we were busy but so happy when it was done. When finished I put it on saute again and added some fresh spinach. Then added a scoop of pasta and some grated Parmigiano to each bowl.. Try it, You won’t be disappointed!!
I’ve made this many times and it is delicious…,.my supermarket always has italian sausage makred down – $1.00 afor a pound package…….also i also buy the onion,carrot, celery mixture already diced so that cuts down on the preparation time..i cook the pasta on sstove tope and add iit to the soup when it is done…..easy, easy, easy and oh……sooooo good
Mine is in the Instant pot as I type this. What a wonderful way to cook my favorite soup. My boyfriend doesn’t like Pasta e Fagioli and I’m hoping this changes his mind!
The stars don’t see to be working for me, but 5 stars all the way! This soup is delicious!! I used a half pound of sausage and a half pound of ground beef. I added some spinach at the end to get more veggies. I made this on Sunday and packed it up for lunches for the week. It’s really yummy, and filling!
Delicious! Will make this over and over again!
I used a 6qt instant pot and this size is perfect!
2 thumbs up!!!
I’ve made this kind of soup before but it never called for bacon. Can you taste it in the soup? Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I want to try this. Evelyn
The bacon in the soup doesn’t taste like a strip of bacon. It will give the soup a bit of a smoky flavor, and lots of richness.