Barefoot Contessa’s Pasta Fagioli Recipe: Revamp Your Dinner Menu

Barefoot Contessa’s pasta fagioli recipe, a simple mix of beans, meat, white pasta, and seasoning, is hearty, delicious, and warm. This recipe has it all right: It’s spicy, savory, and filling. Of course, we wouldn’t expect any less from Barefoot Contessa, especially after the biscotti and the chicken divan recipes.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Pro Tips
• Barefoot Contessa’s Pasta Fagioli Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

• Bean soup mix — 1 pound
• Grated cheese — ½ cup.
• Onion — 1 pc., large and chopped
• Canned tomatoes — 1 can, 28-ounce
• Red pepper flakes — ½ tsp.
• Dry red wine — 1 cup
• Vinegar — 1 tbsp.
• Salt and pepper — to taste
• Chicken stock — 5 cups
• Olive oil — 2 tbsp.
• Garlic — 3 cloves, minced
• Salami — 6 oz.
• Miniature pasta — 1 cup

Instructions

1. Start by soaking the beans in cold water. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Drain, rinse, and transfer the beans into a large pot.

3. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for an hour or so.

4. In a different pot, heat some olive oil and sauté the salami with the onions.

5. Once the onions are browned, add the garlic, canned tomatoes, red pepper flakes, red wine, and chicken stock. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

6. Transfer half of the beans to the soup mixture and put the other half into a blender.

7. Add the latter half of the beans into the soup, along with miniature pasta and grated cheese.

8. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for half an hour.

9. Add the vinegar.

Substitutions

• Parmesan cheese — There are different variations of Barefoot Contessa’s pasta fagioli recipe, but almost every version calls for parmesan cheese. If you happen to be short on it, cheddar cheese or any other hard cheeses are good replacements.

• Dry red wine — Dry red wine can be replaced by pomegranate juice, although you will miss the complex and rich flavor it brings. Red grape juice will also work, though not quite well as red wine.

• Chicken stock — Barefoot Contessa’s pasta fagioli recipe can also be made using vegetable stock or bouillon cubes, or even water.

• Canned tomatoes — You can simply use tomato paste or tomato sauce instead of canned tomatoes. If the different consistency wouldn't be a problem for you, you can even use fresh diced tomatoes.

Variations

• Pasta fazool — In Italian, pasta fazool and pasta fagioli are very similar. Pasta fazool has a different consistency, resembling a stew. Pasta fagioli is more like a soup. Omit the chicken stock, and you have yourselves a good old-fashioned pasta fazool.

• Pasta e Ceci — This one hails from Northern Italy. The only difference between the two is that while you’ll be needing beans for Barefoot Contessa’s pasta fagioli recipe, beans are replaced by chickpeas in pasta e Ceci.

Equipment

• Measuring cups and spoons

• Large pot

• Medium-sized pot

• Blender

Storage

• Let the pasta fagioli cool first.

• Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container.

• Stored in your fridge, it will last for up to a week.

Pro Tips

• The consistency — If you realize that the consistency is a bit thick, just add some more chicken stock to the mix.

• The beans — Even though it is recommended to soak the beans overnight, you could still get away with soaking the beans for a few hours, if you are short on time.