This post was sponsored by Better Than Bouillon as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
My Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli Soup is a delicious and comforting option for the Fall and Winter season, and also great for busy weeknights! This soup is perfect for the holiday season when you need to feed a houseful of visitors without being stuck in the kitchen for hours.
Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli Soup
Fall and Winter seasons are all about comfort foods, and what’s more comforting than a nice bowl of warm, filling and delicious soup? Pasta E Fagioli soup has it all, there’s pasta, there’s beans, there’s veggies, and depending on who makes it, there’s even a bit of meat. Traditionally Pasta E Fagioli soup is meatless, but a popular Italian restaurant chain makes this with meat. Since that’s how most Americans that have tried this soup have become accustomed to it, that’s how I like to make it as well.
This time of year is so busy, everyone is focused on the holiday season and the new year looming ahead. Many families often have visitors that come for the holidays, whether it’s just a dinner guest or visitors for the weekend (or longer) and sometimes you need something that’s ideal to make. That’s just what I love about this Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli, it’s all made in the Instant Pot so there’s less dishes and clean up. It’s easy to put together and set, so it can cook on it’s own while you focus on catching up with your loved ones.
I’m all about shortcuts, which is why I love the Instant Pot! I also almost exclusively buy all of my garlic roasted, minced and in a jar, and I love to use Better Than Bouillon as the base for my soups. It gives it that depth of flavor as though it’s been simmering all day, without having to spend hours in the kitchen prepping away. I like that I can increase or decrease the flavor in my broth by adding a little less or more, which you can’t do when using a standard broth or stock. My favorite thing to do is create a custom base by combining Better Than Bouillon flavors in my recipes.
For this Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli I used both the Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base and the Better Than Bouillon Roasted Garlic Base. However, I have also used the Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base. quite a bit in my cooking and absolutely love the flavor that it lends to every dish.
If you’re not familiar, Better Than Bouillon is a paste concentrate that is equivalent to a bouillon cube or broth, all you have to do is mix it with water. There’s a wide variety of bases in a range of flavors that can be used to take all of your holiday meals to the next level. Better Than Bouillon adds a “cooked all day” flavor to your favorite holiday dishes – from appetizers to the main course! You can use it as a base for soups so it’s more of a traditional broth, or you can use it to marinade meats, or just add a teaspoon or two to recipe creation to combine with your seasonings. It’s a great time saver and way to add flavor to your recipes for upcoming holiday celebrations and special gatherings with friends and family.
I love the roasted garlic chicken broth base that this soup has, added with a handful of my favorite seasonings like smoked paprika, dry basil and oregano, and a red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. The pancetta, Italian sausage and ground meat add to depth of flavor and give the soup a great texture. It’s the ultimate comfort food!
The pasta is added to the soup before starting the pressure cooker. I have it cook for 11 minutes, but if you like the pasta a bit more al dente, you can lower the cooking time. Once it’s all mixed together, place some sprigs of rosemary and thyme on top and a few bay leaves and let that baby pressurize!
I do a slow release for this soup for 15 minutes, and once I vent the valve there’s still quite a bit of pressure in there. You can leave the leaves and sprigs in or take them out, totally your preference. Stir in some Parmesan cheese, then let it cool for a bit.
Serve topped with chopped parsley and some more Parmesan, and hot sauce if you like it spicy! Serve with my Three Cheese Garlic-Herb Drop Biscuits, Herb & Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits, or my Cheesy Garlic Bread. Enjoy!
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 5 oz cubed pancetta
- 2 small carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 oz mild Italian sausage
- 8 oz ground turkey
- splash of white wine
- 3½ teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
- 1½ teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Roasted Garlic Base
- 3½ cups water
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (15 oz) can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- chopped Italian flat leaf parsley, for garnish
- Press the "Sauté" button on the Instant Pot after plugging it in, then add the olive oil to the inside of the pot once it begins to heat up.
- Once the oil begins to heat, add the cubed pancetta. Stir every so often until crisp, about 3-5 minutes.
- Remove Pancetta from the pot into a small bowl and set aside, leaving the excess fat in the pot. Add the carrots, celery and onion to the pot, and continue to sauté in the leftover fat from the pancetta until the onion has softened and is slightly translucent.
- Add garlic to the pan, and lightly sauté another minute before removing all vegetable from the pot. Place in a bowl and set aside.
- Add the Italian sausage and ground turkey to the pot and gently break up the meat with your spatula. Sauté until meat has browned.
- Once meat is browned, deglaze the pot with a splash of white wine to get the extra food remnants that may be stuck at the bottom. Add the measured Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base and the Better Than Bouillon Roasted Garlic Base to the pot and stir to combine with the bit of white wine. If you need a little extra liquid, add a ½ cup or so of the measured water.
- Add the sautéed carrots, celery, onion, garlic and the cooked pancetta. Mix well.
- Add the basil, oregano, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Mix in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (be sure you don't drain these!), and the rinsed garbanzo and cannellini beans. Add remaining water.
- Now stir in the dry ditalini pasta and make sure everything is combined well.
- Place the sprigs of rosemary and thyme and the bay leaves on top of the liquid mixture, then close the top of the Instant Pot.
- Make sure the valve on the lid is set to "Sealing". Press the power button to get it out of sauté mode. Press the power button again to turn the pot back on, then press the "Manual" buttom, making sure it's set to high, and set it to 11 minutes.
- It will take at least 15-20 minutes for the pot to build the pressure, then it will begin to cook for the set time. Once it beeps let it slow release for another 15 minutes before switching the valve to "venting".
- Once you remove the Instant Pot lid, you can either take out the leaves and sprigs or leave them in. Stir the soup well, then stir in ⅓ cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Allow the soup to cool a bit before serving, garnish with chopped Italian flat leaf parsley and some more Parmesan cheese.
- Enjoy!
Looking for more recipe inspiration this holiday season?
Check out the Better Than Bouillon Holiday Microsite for additional ideas. What are some of your favorite shortcuts when cooking this time of year? I’d love to read some of your ideas in the comments!
Also, if you love this recipe don’t forget to PIN it to your favorite board on Pinterest!
(Just hover over the picture below and click “Pin it”)
