MeMe's Pasta Fagioli

MeMe's fagioli recipe features white cannellini beans, ditalini pasta with vegetables, lean hamburger, and herbs simmered in vegetable juice and chicken broth. It is similar to Italian chili, like Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli, and even better on the second day.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 299 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 carrot, diced
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 thin slice onion, diced
• 1 (32 ounce) bottle tomato-vegetable juice cocktail (such as V8®)
• 1.5 cups ditalini pasta

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Spoon about 1/3 cup pasta into each serving bowl; ladle soup over pasta.

Step 2

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer beef to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; discard grease.

Step 3

Heat olive oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat; sauté onion, celery, and carrot until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir vegetable juice cocktail, chicken broth, parsley, basil, oregano, and black pepper into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 20 minutes.

Step 4

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook ditalini pasta in boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Step 5

Stir beef and cannellini beans into soup; cook and stir until soup is heated through, about 10 minutes.