Serves a Crowd

Pasta Fagioli-Hearty Bean Soup

May 14, 2011
4
6 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 12 hours
  • Cook time 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Serves 8-10
Author Notes

What is dirt cheap anymore? Inexpensive or economical and feeds many, I recall a big pot of bean soup going a long way to feed a big family on a skinny budget. Without a doubt I immediately go to "beans" and a big pot of pasta fagioli for my cheap but wonderful dinner for eight. Beans because I heard how cheap they were in the Great Depression.

Today is sausage making day and the soup is on, no time for anything fancy here today. I have to have something ready for the two day process and this is one of my go to recipes.

I would love to say that this is a family recipe and it is, mine, I didn't have the advantage of growing up with my Italian relatives so I don’t know what their recipes are and dad was a sailor you know so we spent little time with relatives. When he cooked, he threw in elements of what he remembered on his plate and in his bowl. He was a good cook; I miss his face and his food! Then again I would love to give credit to my mother and her version I do, a slight nod, for adding cabbage and calling it cabbage and beans to serve 7 of us.

Over the years to create a more expensive version and fancy things up a bit for a company dinner, I added chicken and/or beef broths, still economical because I make my own stocks and broths and freeze. Select greens and garnished with pesto. My notes later in the recipe mention other additions, not necessarily budget friendly.

Great for a casual dinner, serve a fresh loaf of bread and a salad.

Most definitely better the second day.


ibbeachnana

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pound bags of dried navy beans, picked over and rinsed
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 2 carrots, chopped in large chunks
  • 1 leftover ham bone or 2 ham hocks
  • 12 cups water 2 cups less if using broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano (or can use fresh herbs)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • 28 ounces can whole tomatoes and juice, rough chopped
  • 1/2 pound or more of tubetti pasta
  • 1 cheese rind, optional
  • 2 cups beef broth, optional
  • 1 cup chicken broth, optional
  • 2 cups Greens of your choice, Swiss chard, kale, or spinach, sauteed in garlic and olive oil. Add to just about finished soup
Directions
  1. Rinse beans, soak overnight and drain. To a very large stock pot add about 3 tablespoons olive oil and briefly sauté the celery, garlic, carrot, onion and ham bone or ham hocks. Break up the canned tomatoes and add to pot with all of the juices from the can. Let it all heat up while you add beans, water (optional broths if using), herbs and bay leaf. Season with a little red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Simmer until beans are tender about 2-3 hours on a medium low to low simmer. Remove bay leaf. Remove bones and pick meat off to add back into the soup. Season to your taste.
  3. Cook and drain tubetti, return to cooking pot, add some of the soup broth to the pasta. At this point you can take half of the beans and puree, but I like the thinner broth and whole beans. First night soup is my favorite; everyone else likes the soup thicker or the next day.
  4. Notes for basic pasta fagioli: Once you have your basic soup ready you can get pretty creative adding in sautéed favorite greens to the simmering soup for several minutes before serving. Tiny meat balls, crispy pancetta, or prosciutto, and sausage are favorite additions for a second soup meal. Keep in mind all additions = more expense. I love freshly grated cheese in my bowl of pasta fagioli. Freeze leftover soup without pasta.
  5. Since it was sausage making day, I left some meat on the pork butt bones and added them to the soup as well, nice bits of tender pork in the soup along with the ham bits.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

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    ibbeachnana
  • darksideofthespoon
    darksideofthespoon
  • sarajojojo
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  • Anne
    Anne

7 Reviews

sarajojojo February 13, 2019
Same question - what size bags of dried beans? I happily buy lots of dried beans but this gives literally no indicator on how much I should more or less plan on using for this recipe.
 
Anne September 18, 2018
Would like to make this for the first time, but two questions: what size bag of dried beans, and, what size can of whole tomatoes? Thank you.
 
ibbeachnana October 1, 2022
1 lb beans for 8 and 1- 28 ounce can San Marzano whole hand squished
 
Nancy January 24, 2017
I will leave out the pasta next time just as a personal preference. But tasty overall.
 
ibbeachnana October 14, 2014
Recently made the bean soup with a wonderful apple wood smoked pork shank (about 2 lbs. bone and all) delicious and really meaty.
 
darksideofthespoon March 5, 2013
We ate this soup over Christmas. It is DELICIOUS. Can't wait to try it again!
 
ibbeachnana March 5, 2013
Thanks. I'm always changin the recipe a little here and there as I did the last two times, one with braised bacon and another with the the ham bone of a "preacher's ham. Both delicious