When I go to the Olive Garden I never choose salad anymore, it’s always the soup. And I have such a hard time choosing between the Zuppa Toscana and the Pasta E Fagioli. Normally I get the Pasta E Fagioli because I make the Zuppa Toscana at home BUT…I have a recipe for that as well and today I’m going to share it with you. It does take a little bit longer than the Zuppa Toscana but in the end it’s totally worth it. Not only does it taste almost exactly the same as what you get in the restaurant, it’s a lot less fattening. 🙂 That’s a WIN WIN if you ask me!
In case you missed it, here is the Zuppa Toscana Recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef – I use the leanest I can get to keep the fat down
- 1 onion – diced
- 2 good sized carrots – julienned
- 3 or 4 stalks of celery – chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic – minced
- 2 – 14.5 ounce cans of petite diced tomatoes
- 15 ounce can of light red kidney beans (including the liquid)
- 15 ounce can of great northern beans or cannellini beans (including the liquid)
- 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
- 12 ounces of V-8 juice
- 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon of dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 1/2 package of ditali pasta (since I can never find this I make ziti noodles and cut them into 1/4’s)
Directions
Brown the ground beef in a large soup pot. Drain off any remaining fat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and simmer until soft. Add the remaining ingredients except for the pasta and simmer for 1 hour. Meanwhile, cook the pasta, drain and set aside (or cut into 1/4’s if necessary). Add the pasta after simmering and let sit for about 5 minutes and serve!