Olive Garden's famous Pasta e Fagioli soup is good on cold Fall nights or rainy cool Spring days with sprinkled with some parmesan cheese on top, and a piece of crusty bread! A copycat version you can make at home.
This post was updated on May, 1st, 2019. The picture was driving me crazy and it needed to be updated, plus the freestyle smart points I had needed to be updated as well after a reader had commented saying that Olive Garden's soup is only 2 smart points and I had 6 before. Previous comments about people asking for points are from WW previous plans. There are so many different varieties of sausage out there that can be used for this soup. I have used Sweet Italian Sausage and Hot Italian Sausage for this Fagioli soup. If you don't like either sub out for chicken or turkey sausage. Use the WW recipe builder to figure out points for each sausage. With 1 cup of pasta, the soup became really thick so I lowered it down to only ½ cup.
Need more WW recipes? Try these! Weight Watchers Pizza (Chicken Alfredo), Weight Watchers Fried Rice, or Easy No Boil Manicotti
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Why You Will Like This Recipe
Olive Garden is one of my favorite places to eat carbs. Their breadsticks are to die for and one could fill up on just soup and salad for a light lunch. I have to be really careful on the number of breadsticks I eat at Olive Garden because the calories and points can add up pretty quickly. Pasta Fagioli is one of my favorite soups on their menu and it is a hearty soup filled with beans and pasta. Actually, I think it is similar to a hearty Italian chili. Some recipes call for Italian sausage or pancetta. The smell of bacon, onions, carrots, and celery cooking in a pot with some garlic is just one of the best cooking smells out there.
Walmart has these cheese breadsticks located in their bakery section and each breadstick is 3 smart points each. One of the ladies I follow on Instagram raves about them and I finally tried them. They are very good with this soup but not like Olive Garden's breadsticks. 1 breadstick with 1 cup of this soup is only 6 smart points.
Where I live Ditalini pasta can be super hard to find. There are two local grocery stores here and neither of them has that shaped pasta. I have to go to Wal-Mart just to find it and when I go there. I'll pick up a couple of boxes of ditalini and those breadsticks for this soup. There are lots of yummy zero point foods in this soup!
Ingredients for Olive Garde Pasta Fagioli
- Ditalini pasta or large ringed pasta
- 8 oz of sweet Italian sausage (can sub turkey sausage or chicken sausage)
- Veggies - Garlic, Onion, Carrots, Celery
- Chicken broth - The best type of stock to use is one that is homemade. For canned stock, I look for ones that say reduced sodium or fat free.
- Crushed tomatoes - When purchasing canned tomatoes, it is important to read the label and choose a product with no added salt or sugar if you are looking for a healthier option.
- Basil
- Dried oregano - is a common herb used in cooking, particularly in Mediterranean and Mexican cuisine. It has a pungent, slightly bitter taste and a strong aroma
- Dried thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste - I never add any extra salt to my soup because there is enough of it in the other canned foods.
- 1 (15-ounce) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can of Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
How to make Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli Soup
Step 1 Spray a large Dutch oven with cooking spray. Heat to medium-high heat. Add sweet Italian turkey sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, drain excess fat and set aside.
Step 2 Stir in garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Step 3 Whisk in chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Step 4 Add in uncooked pasta and beans until heated through.
If you want leftovers of this soup or want to reheat it the next day, it will be very thick. Add in a little extra water before reheating
Recipe FAQS
Nutrition info is calculated with the zero point food included in the recipe I pay for the WW app monthly to figure out points and use myfitnesspal for nutrition.
The points for the recipe will always be listed in the Notes section of the recipe.
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Weight Watchers Pasta Fagioli
- Prep Time: 10min
- Cook Time: 20-25min
- Total Time: 35min
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Easy
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Olive Garden's famous Pasta e Fagioli soup is good on cold Fall nights or rainy cool Spring days with sprinkled with some parmesan cheese on top, and a piece of crusty bread! A copycat version you can make at home.
Ingredients
- ½ cup ditalini pasta or large ringed pasta
- 8 oz of sweet Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (15-ounce) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-ounce) can of Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
- Toppings: parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Spray a large Dutch oven with cooking spray. Heat to medium-high heat. Add sweet Italian turkey sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, drain excess fat and set aside.
- Stir in garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Whisk in chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add in uncooked pasta and beans until heated through.
- Serving size: 1 cup.
Notes
myWW points: Blue 3; Green 5; Purple 3
My WW Personal Points: 5 Click here to see in recipe builder (will have to log in)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 227
- Fat: 7.9g
- Carbohydrates: 24.4g
- Fiber: 4.6g
- Protein: 15.3g
Jenna says
You're welcome!
Linda G. says
I would like to say this soup is a family favorite! It is hearty and delicious. It freezes well and I thank you for the recipe.
It doesn’t hurt that it is relatively good for us as well.
Jenna says
Sometimes I don't look at my recipes for a while until a reader comments on it and I didn't realize the old recipe was 6 smart points. I adjusted the recipe so it is now 3 points per serving but I do need to take a new picture. This current one is bothering the heck out of me and I have a hard time finding ditalini pasta around here.
Linda says
If you get the real thing at Olive Garden, the points are only 2 per serving. Might want to see what you can change in your recipe.
Jenna says
There's 10 servings, divide that into 10 equal portions. 🙂
Maggie says
Can you please tell me what the serving size is? Looks great!
Wendy says
Excellent. I substituted a can of corn instead of pasta and added a can of Garbanzo beans. This made it a 5 point soup per serving. I freeze portions for work and thought may be better than freezing pasta too. Very yummy soup.
Jenna says
Hi Debra, it is now 4 smart points per serving! Thanks.