This Vegan Pasta Fagioli Instant Pot recipe is so easy to make and full of flavor. It’s a great way to get in your veggies and protein while also enjoying a comforting and satisfying meal.
This classic Italian soup is traditionally made with meat, but it can be easily adapted for vegans by using plant-based ingredients.
Plus, using an Instant Pot saves you time and makes cleanup a breeze. Give it a try and enjoy!
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While my family are not vegans we are trying to add more plant-based meals to our meal rotation. We love regular Pasta Fagioli so I decided to try out a vegan version. I consulted my vegan cousin about what protein to use.
The soup turned out just as delicious as the original! My husband took some leftovers to work and they gobbled up.
Pasta Fagioli, Pasta e Fagioli, or Pasta Fazool?
Pasta e Fagioli is a delicious Italian soup which translates to Pasta and Beans, the main ingredients for this dish. You’ll also find it under several different names but they all mean one delicious soup!
There can be different combinations of vegetables as well as some variation in the seasonings.
But what they all have in common is pasta, usually a small one like ditalini, and beans. Pasta fagioli often contains red kidney beans as well as some sort of white bean. I like to use great northern beans as my “white bean” but you can also use cannellini beans instead.
Ingredients
- 14oz roll of impossible sausage
- 1 can great northern beans (drained & rinsed)
- 1 can red kidney beans (drained & rinsed)
- 15oz can diced tomatoes
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 3 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup diced or shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- Optional: top with grated vegan parmesean cheese
You can also use Beyond Italian Sausage but you’ll have to open up the links to get to the “ground meat”.
Seasonings
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- pinch of red pepper flakes
I keep a bag of shredded carrots in my fridge for soups and stir fry because I’m a slow chopper. It can be a life saver if you’re trying to get a meal on the table fast.
The celery is optional, I often don’t add it if I don’t have any. You can also try adding onion to yours if that’s something your family enjoys.
For the broth I always use Better than Bouillon! Buying the bouillon paste saves on space and tastes great. When I make this recipe with meat I use a mix of vegetable bouillon and beef bouillon. They actually make a vegan beef bouillon!
How to Make Instant Pot Pasta Fagioli
1 – Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Once hot add the “meat”
2 – Once your protein is browned, add the garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, a few minutes.
3 – Add part of the broth and deglaze. Then add the rest of the broth. Add all the other ingredients except for the pasta.
Deglazing sounds like a fancy term but it really just means to add liquid to your hot pan. Then run your utensil, I like to use a wooden spoon, all over the bottom of the pan to loosen up any bits that got stuck.
This can also keep your instant pot from yelling at you that something is burning. I’ve never had this happen but I’ve heard that it can.
4 – Cancel the sauté setting. Place the lid on the instant pot and set to high pressure or soup setting for 4 minutes. (Be sure to turn the valve to sealing.)
Remember that while you are setting it to 4 minutes it will take more like 15-20 minutes to actually cook. The timer won’t start counting down until the instant pot gets up to temperature and pressurizes.
5 – While the instant pot is cooking, cook the pasta to al dente. By cooking it separately it won’t soak up all your tasty broth or get overcooked.
6 – When the timer on the instant pot goes off do a quick release.
7 – Either mix the cooked pasta into the instant pot or add directly to individual servings.
8- Top each bowl with a little vegan parmesan cheese and enjoy! (For those that want some spice they can add some extra red pepper flakes to their bowl.)
I also highly recommend serving it with some fresh crusty bread 🙂
Why cook the pasta separately?
If you cook the pasta in the soup it will soak up the broth while cooking…and continuing soaking up the broth and you’ll find that your leftovers will have hardly any broth left at all.
If you cook the noodles separately, then add it into the finished soup you will find that it soaks up much less of the broth.
You can even keep them completely sperate and add noodles to each persons bowl if you want to keep maximum soupiness.
You’ll end up with a better overall meal if you just cook the noodles separately.
If you have kids it’s an added bonus as I just cook some extra noodles and serve them the noodles with parmesan as I haven’t convinced them to try this soup just yet.
Need to cook it on a stovetop?
If you need to cook it on a stove top you’ll pretty much follow the same as above. Just brown the meat and saute the veggies on a stovetop.
Then add everything else, bring to boil, and then simmer covered until the veggies are tender.
I’d still cook the pasta separately and add it at the end.
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Vegan Pasta Fagioli
Delicious vegan pasta fagioli made with plant-based meat.
Ingredients
- 14 oz ground plant-based sausage
- 15 oz canned great northern beans
- 15 oz canned kidney beans
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 8oz tomato sauce no salt added
- 3 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp Italian seasonings
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Once hot add the ground "meat".
- Once the "meat" is browned, add the garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, a few minutes.
- Add part of the broth and deglaze. Then add the rest of the broth. Add all the other ingredients except for the pasta.
- Cancel the saute setting. Place the lid on the instant pot and set to high pressure or soup setting for 4 minutes. (Be sure to turn the valve to sealing.)
- While the instant pot is cooking, cook the pasta to al dente in a separate pot.
- Do a quick release once the timer goes off.
- Mix the cooked pasta into the instant pot or add directly to individual servings.
- Top each bowl with a little vegan parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 446Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 10gCholesterol 40mgSodium 1265mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 12gSugar 8gProtein 22g
Nutrition is a rough estimate. Will vary based on exact products and quantities used.