Momma's EASY Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli

I love hearty soups any time of year, especially if they're easy to make. This pasta fagioli recipe is SO simple and the ingredients are not over-the-top hard to find. This is similar to Olive Garden's famous pasta fagioli recipe, but dareIsay...better? It was also a family favorite, which surprised me because there are vegetables and beans in it, so you never know. But I can safely say that everyone loved it. Read on for the easy recipe.

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First, how do you pronounce this soup? I'm not Italian (but my husband is) so I say it like this, pasta fah-JOOL. But google says pasta fah-jow-lee and I've also heard pasta fah-joe-low and pasta fah-joo-lee. I don't know which is correct, but I'm sticking with mine. How do you say it? Feel free to tell me in the comments. 

Pasta e fagioli  (Italian pasta and beans) is a hearty soup that warms your insides and makes a perfect main course. Some soups are best eaten as side dishes. Not this one! I promise you that my recipe is easy to make. The toughest part is chopping the vegetables (and no, you don't have to cook the beans separately with this recipe). 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground sweet Italian sausage
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cups chicken stock
1 16-ounce can tomato sauce
1 15-ounce can diced petite tomatoes, undrained
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans (be sure to drain and rinse)
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans (be sure to drain and rinse)
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon dried thyme
¾ cup ditalini pasta
½ cup shaved parmesan cheese (shredded also works)
Optional: olive oil, chopped fresh parsley, salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add ground sausage and chopped onion to a frying pan and cook, stirring frequently until sausage is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. drain excess fat.

Transfer sausage and onions to a 6-qt slow cooker. 

Stir in tomato sauce, petite diced tomatoes, chicken stock, beans, carrots, celery, garlic, oregano, basil and thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high for 5-6 hours. 

Uncover crock pot and stir in ditalini pasta. Cover again and cook on for an additional 30 minutes or until tender.

Serve immediately with shaved/shredded parmesan cheese and bread sticks. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

*printable recipe coming soon

Notes from The Jersey Momma

-I've made this with petite diced tomatoes and regular diced tomatoes- both are good so feel free to choose your favorite. 

-This soup really tastes best with added parmesan. If you don't have shaved or shredded parmesan, even grated works, sparingly (too much makes the soup salty).

-I HIGHLY recommend serving with garlic breadsticks or some kind of warm bread with butter. It's SO good for dipping! 

-This reheats nicely the next day. I've never tried freezing but I'm sure you could!