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Vertical picture of Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli in white bowls

Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup

A super delicious, classic Italian soup. Takes about 45 minutes to prep, the slow cooker does the magic! Walk in the door, after a long day and the most amazing fragrance will greet you; and dinner will soon be served!
Course Main
Cuisine Italy
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours 40 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 354 kcal
Author Chris Scheuer

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef*
  • ½ pound Italian sausage**
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt for meat
  • ½ cup dry red wine
  • 1 6- ounce can tomato paste
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 pound carrots*** peeled and sliced
  • 1 14 ½- ounce can fire-roasted canned tomatoes if you can't find these, just use regular diced tomatoes
  • 8 cups beef broth
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons pesto****
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 15 ounce can dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 ¼ cups ditalini pasta uncooked
  • For garnish:
  • fresh parsley for serving
  • freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

  1. Brown ground beef and Italian sausage and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium size pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. (If you're using the KitchenAid Multi Cooker, just brown the meat right in the insert.) Cook, stirring frequently and breaking up meat with a metal or plastic spatula, till meat mixture is deep golden brown. With a large spoon or spatula, push meat to one side and tip pot so that any grease will accumulate on the other side. Remove any accumulated grease with a spoon or sop up with paper towels and discard.
  2. Add the red wine to the meat and bring to a steady simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 3-5 minutes. Add tomato paste and, stirring frequently, cook for another few minutes, until mixture is fragrant and turns deep red in color. Transfer mixture to the insert of your slow cooker.
  3. Add all remaining ingredients except pasta. Cover and cook on low power for 7-8 hours or until carrots are nice and tender.
  4. Just before serving, cook Ditalini (or other pasta) according to package directions until al dente. Drain and add to soup***** (see notes below). Serve soup with a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of finely chopped fresh parsley.

Recipe Notes

* I like to use ground sirloin as it's leaner.
** I use Johnsonville brand as it's very lean and has great flavor.
*** I like to use the baby carrots as there's no peeling.
**** Homemade or purchased pesto is fine. I really like the pesto sold at Costco. I store it in the freezer, thaw it slightly and just scoop out what I need.
***** If you're not serving all of the soup right away, you may want to store the soup and pasta separately as the pasta will continue to absorb the liquid from the soup. The other option is to add more beef broth when serving leftovers if you like to keep the soup more "brothy". I like it both ways, it's a little heartier after some of the broth is absorbed.
This recipe makes a large batch. Feel free to half it if you don't need as much however it makes wonderful leftovers!
Makes 12 1 ½-cup servings

Nutrition Facts
Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 354 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 41mg14%
Sodium 1316mg57%
Potassium 767mg22%
Carbohydrates 34g11%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 18g36%
Vitamin A 6775IU136%
Vitamin C 8.4mg10%
Calcium 80mg8%
Iron 3.8mg21%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.