This soup is a vegan copy of Olive Garden’s Paste E Fagioli soup.
My favorite things at Olive Garden are the soups and salad combinations!
Sadly none of them are WFPB except Minestrone and it is my least favorite. If you are not familiar with Olive Garden, you can view their soups here, Olive Garden Soups – or stick around and make yourself this delicious soup yourself!
I replaced the beef with mushrooms and used orecchiette pasta. It was just the hearty soup I was looking for on a rainy day!
Olive Garden Vegan Pasta E Fagioli Soup
This is not Olive Garden's official recipe, even as a WFPB version...but it's exactly what I expected when I was putting this together! It's a little like an Italian chili! I spice it up but it's not overly spicy! The abundance of vegetables make this hearty, delicious and satisfying!
Print Recipe
Equipment
- Stock pot
Ingredients
- 1 18.3 Oz Jar Diced Tomatoes I use Jovial organic diced tomatoes in a glass jar
- 1 Carrot About a cup, diced into 1/2" pieces
- 2 Stalks Celery About a cup, dices into 1/2" pieces
- 1 Cup Cut green beans About a cup, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 Sweet Vidalia onion About 3/4 cup diced into 1/2" pieces
- 3 Mini bell peppers
- 6 Mushrooms
- 1 Large fresh tomato Optional
- Can Red kidney Beans Use low sodium
- 2 Cups Swiss Chard, kale or spinach
- 6 Cloves Fresh garlic
- 1/2 Cup Orecchiette pasta Your favorite pasta works just fine!
- 2 Tbsp Calabrian Chili Trader Joe's Italian Bomba hot pepper sauce
- 1 Tsp Herbe De Province
- 1 Tbsp Fresh oregano
- 1/2 Tsp Fennel Seeds
- 1/2 Tsp Black peppercorns
- Himalayan salt To taste
- Water As needed
Instructions
- Add the tomatoes and beans to a large stock pot. Do not drain.
- Soak oregano and greens in water to remove the dirt, seeds and possible insects. Set aside while preparing the remaining ingredients.
- Slice an onion in half. Slice one of the halves in two then slice crosswise to make 1/4" slices. Add to stock pot.
- Peel and crush garlic. Add to stock pot.
- Peel and dice carrot(s) into a 1/2" dice. Add to stock pot.
- De-string the celery and dice into a 1/2" dice. Add to stock pot.
- Wash and trim green beans. Cut into 1" pieces. If you cut them at a slant, it makes them prettier.
- Slice mini bells in half and remove the seeds. Slice the peppers into 1/4" slices. Add to stock pot.
- Clean mushrooms and Dice into 1/2" pieces. Add to stock pot.
- Add Calabrian chili and seasonings to stock pot. Add enough water to cover the ingredients by an inch.
- Set the burner to medium heat and bring the soup to a boil. Turn down to a simmer.
- Drain your greens and oregano. Chop your greens. Strip the leaves from your oregano and set them aside to add to the soup. Kale and Swiss chard take longer to cook. Add them about the last 12-15 minutes of cooking time. Add spinach (and oregano) the last 3-5 minutes of cooking time.
- After 15 minutes, bring the soup to a boil again and then add the pasta. Let the soup continue a slow boil for about 3 minutes, add your greens and oregano, then turn the heat back down to medium to simmer. The pasta will sink to the bottom and start to stick so you will need to stir gently a few times with a wood spoon to prevent sticking.
- Pasta soaks up the liquid so add water as necessary to keep this soupy!
- Add your oregano (and spinach if that is your choice of green) about 3 - 5 minutes before serving.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy.
Notes
This is a Snap Pea Sheep recipe!
I used fresh oregano here. If you use dry oregano, use about 1/2 Tsp. I used three 6" strands of fresh oregano from my garden.
I am sold on Jovial brand tomatoes because they are organic and come in a jar. I NEVER use canned tomatoes because the acid leeches the metal from the can. You can use a pound of fresh, peeled tomatoes if you prefer. I use both to have a fresh element in the soup.
The Calabrian chili adds spice to the soup. The spice level on this soup is low but you can adjust up or down depending on your preferred spice level.
I use whole, black peppercorns in soups because my husband loves that hit of black pepper. You can use ground pepper if you prefer but use half the amount I specified for the peppercorns and adjust to your taste.
If you don't mind having corn in your soup, you can save some time by using frozen mixed vegetables that has the corn, green beans and carrots. The celery doesn't add much flavor to the soup, it is there for the health factor, as are the greens.
Enjoy!
