Easy Pasta Fagioli
Healthy, flavorful and comforting meal featuring a marinara soup base, veggies and pasta noodles. Ready in about 30 minutes so it's perfect for a weeknight or for meal prepping. Vegan. 180 calories per cup.
Servings 8 cups
Calories 180kcal
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 cup carrot, peeled and chopped small
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup zucchini, cut into thin quarters
- 1/3 cup bell pepper, chopped
- 4 cups water
- 15 ounces canned dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 24 ounces marinara pasta sauce (classic or tomato/herb)
- 1 cup dry small pasta (such as ditalini)
Instructions
- Heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the 2 whole garlic cloves and cook until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add all vegetables to the pot (carrot, celery, onion, zucchini and bell pepper) and cook, stirring often, 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile in a separate pot, cook pasta al dente, according to package directions (this will likely overlap the next few steps).
- Stir in the drained and rinsed kidney beans and heat through, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic cloves from mixture and discard.
- Stir in the marinara pasta sauce + 4 cups water to the soup pot. Turn heat to medium-high and bring soup to a boil, stirring 1-2 times to prevent sticking.
- Reduce heat to low and let soup simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To serve, divide soup into bowls and top with desired amount of cooked pasta and salt/pepper to taste.
Notes
Pasta and soup are cooked separately to keep pasta from 'swelling' if stored in the fridge or freezer. If you'll be eating all of the soup fresh, you could add in all the cooked pasta before serving. We keep our soup and pasta separate in case we have leftovers.
This soup can be made 3-4 days in advance and kept in the fridge until needed. Simply reheat on medium, stirring occasionally while pasta is prepared.
Substitutions are welcome in this soup!
- Try adding your favorite veggies in place of the zucchini and pepper. I recommend keeping the carrot, celery, onion base and having no more than 2.5 cups of veggies total.
- Frozen veggies work just as well and save time on prep!
- Prefer a richer soup? Add in veggie stock for the water and serve topped with grated cheese.
Nutrition
Calories: 180kcal