Here is a classic Italian pasta and bean soup that contains a bunch of delicious ingredients such as chunky fresh tomatoes and fresh basil… You will adore my homemade and filling pasta fazool soup with pasta and beans!
Sure you must have heard about bean pasta soup before?
This name is a popular pronunciation of the original Italian ‘pasta e fagioli’ or pasta and beans, a delicious veggie meal soup.
Do you know why we call this soup pasta ‘fazool’ actually?
Pasta e Fagioli
Fazool comes from this soup’s Neapolitan name.
In the Naples area people call it ‘pasta e fasul’. So that is where the name pasta fazool comes from. I just can’t shake the feeling that I have heard this soup being named in a mafia movie somewhere!
How about you?
If you want to know more about pasta fazool and delve into its origins, please check out this very interesting article on Phylosokitchen!
Easy Pasta Fazool (Pasta e Fagioli)
True, this classic pasta and bean soup is originally a vegetarian one.
But of course you can add protein to this soup if you like.
Minced beef, meatballs or pancetta for instance!
Last week I was in California and I ordered a minestrone soup for lunch one day. I got this delicious bowl of chunky vegetable soup in front of me and also in it were beans and pan fried and sliced spicy Italian sausages!
Don’t forget that last drizzle of olive oil when you are plating up these soup bowls…
Olive Oil
You have no idea what flavor difference that makes!
I have even come across versions of this pasta fazool with grated cheese sprinkled on top of it. I don’t know about you but I think that’s also a great addition.
Especially on a cold winter’s day then.
Do you love chunky Italian style tomato soups and wholesome meals like this one below?
Then you should also check out my Italian tomato and meatballs soup! Or how about my tomato and tortellini soup with cheese?
Pure comfort food!
Or maybe you like my meatball, pasta and tomato soup even better?
Whatever you do, enjoy!
Easy Pasta Fazool Recipe (Pasta e Fagioli)
Pasta fazool: a classic Italian pasta and bean soup with fresh tomatoes and basil!
- 2 large fresh tomatoes
- 5,5 oz cooked pasta (155 g), elbow or macaroni
- 5,5 oz canned white beans (155 g), drained weight
- 4 cups vegetable stock (960 ml), warm
- 1 medium fresh carrot chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves chopped
- ½ small onion chopped
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- a handful fresh basil chopped
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese (grated)
- olive oil
- pepper
- salt
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Pour a splash of olive oil in a high pan and place it over medium-high heat. Then add the bay leaves, the chopped onion and garlic. Season with a little pepper and salt.
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Gently fry the onion for 3 minutes. Chop the tomatoes roughly and add them to the pan.
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Stir well and cook the tomatoes for 5 minutes. Then add the chopped carrots, the tomato paste and pour in the warm vegetable stock. Season with another pinch of pepper and salt.
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Stir and bring the tomato soup to a rolling boil. Keep it there for 10 minutes, then turn the heat low and simmer the soup for another 10 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and have fallen apart. Then add the (cooked) pasta and drained white beans.
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Stir well and cook for 3 minutes - a little more if you are using uncooked pasta. Then check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary. Stir in the chopped basil right before serving.
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Then scoop the soup into large bowls. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and a good glug of olive oil. Serve hot.
Is pasta fazool Italian or is it a dish that Italian immigrants created in America?
Pasta fazool has deep roots in Italy.
This lovely bowl of pasta and beans actually has humble origins, it became a popular meal for working-class families because it is simple and cheap. Every region has its own recipe made with the available local ingredients.
The first Italian immigrants in America took this dish with them. The name pasta fazool comes from the Neapolitan dialect for fagioli or bean. Over time (like many immigrant dishes) people started to include ingredients that were more readily available in the U.S., but keeping it hearty and rustic at the same time.
A bit of Italian sun on your plate at home actually!
So what is the difference between a minestrone soup and this pasta fazool?
The difference is the ingredients.
An Italian minestrone is a vegetable soup of a variety of vegetables, beans, pasta or rice, sometimes meat. It has a tomato-based bouillon broth that is lighter and less dense. It doesn’t need to cook long. It is a flexible dish that changes with the seasons and available produce.
Pasta fazool is all about the combination of pasta and beans, which gives this soup also a thicker and creamier consistency if the beans start to fall apart after simmering it for long.
Both soups are Italian classics. Minestrone is all about the abundance of colorful seasonal vegetables, and pasta fazool is about the rustic flair of beans and pasta.