This low-fat, vegan pasta fagioli, the traditional Italian pasta and beans soup, is thick and delicious. Using an Instant Pot speeds it up!
Since the weather got cooler, I’ve been making a lot more soups and stews. And since I’ve been test-driving a new Instant Pot (more about that in an upcoming post), I’ve been pressure cooking a lot of dried beans. So it was only natural to use my new gadget to make a soup/stew starting with dried beans. But don’t worry–you don’t have to have a pressure cooker to make this thick, Italian-inspired soup because I’ll tell you how to make it in either a pressure cooker or in a regular pot on the stove.
Cranberry beans are pretty when dried but lose their vibrant color when cooked.
I’ve had these beautiful cranberry beans sitting in a jar in my kitchen for a while, and though they make for an attractive decoration, beans do get old and should be used before they’re eligible for social security. So when I saw a Food Network recipe for Cranberry Bean Pasta Fagioli, I knew I had to make–and veganize–it. And pressure cookerize it. And fatfree-ize it. You get the picture. By the time I got through doing all that and doubling the amount of beans, it wasn’t much like the original. But it was delicious.
You don’t have to go searching for cranberry beans if you don’t have them because this recipe works just as well with pinto beans (cranberry beans have a slightly nuttier flavor, but with all the other flavors in this soup, I doubt you’ll notice). I used whole wheat pasta, but any pasta, including gluten-free, will do. I also used tomatoes from a box to avoid BPA, but you could use one of those big cans of tomatoes if you prefer. And I have a big rosemary bush right outside my kitchen window, so using fresh is easy for me, but you could always substitute dried.
I was actually very surprised at how much my family loved this dish. I’ve made other “pasta and beans” dishes, but this is one of the few times I’ve started with dried beans, and I really think it makes a difference. Lately it can be hard to get my daughter to eat beans, other than chickpeas, so I was thrilled when she liked this so much. I served it with a large chopped salad and that was all we needed for a hearty meal.
Be sure to check out my other pressure cooker recipes, all of which can be cooked in an electric or traditional pressure cooker.
Pasta Fagioli with Cranberry Beans and Kale
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried cranberry beans, borlotti beans, or pinto beans soaked for at least an hour–see step 1
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 7 cloves garlic minced and divided
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced or 1/2 tsp. dried
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 26 ounces chopped tomatoes canned
- 3 teaspoons dried basil leaves divided
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano divided
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt optional or to taste
- 2 cups small pasta (whole grain or gluten-free preferred)
- 10 ounces kale (4-6 cups chopped, stems removed and leaves chopped)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Suggested Tools
Instructions
- At least an hour before cooking: Check the beans for rocks and other debris and rinse them well. Then do a quick soak by placing the beans in a pot or pressure cooker, covering with 2 inches of water, and bringing to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let stand for at least 1 hour. Drain well and rinse. Set aside. (Alternately, soak overnight, drain well, and rinse.)
- Heat your pressure cooker (use the Sauté or Brown button on electric PC’s). Add the onion and a pinch of baking soda (optional) and cook until it begins to soften, adding water by the tablespoon if necessary to prevent sticking. Add the celery, half of the garlic, the rosemary, and the red pepper flakes and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, 2 teaspoons of basil, 1 teaspoon oregano, and the smoked paprika. Heat, stirring, until hot.
- Add the drained beans, 6 cups of water or vegetable broth, and salt, if you desire. Lock the lid in place, bring to high pressure, and cook at high pressure for 10 minutes. (Electric PC’s: select Manual and set the time to 10 minutes.) After 10 minutes at high pressure, remove from heat or turn off electric cooker and allow the pressure to come down naturally for 15 minutes. Release all pressure using a quick release. Carefully open the lid and check the beans. If they are not all completely softened and cooked, replace the lid and bring to high pressure for another minute or two. Quick-release pressure and check beans again. Do this until the beans are all tender.
- Once the beans are done, add the reserved garlic, basil, and oregano and check to see if additional salt is needed. Add the pasta and return to medium heat (electric PC–use Sauté or Brown setting). Cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is almost al dente–just a touch undercooked. Stir in the kale, turn off the heat, and cover the cooker. Allow the kale to cook in the residual heat for about 5 minutes. Check kale and pasta for tenderness and add more time if needed. Stir in nutritional yeast and freshly ground black pepper to taste and serve.
Notes
Follow the directions in steps 1 through 3, using a large, heavy pot. Then add the dried beans, salt, and 8 cups of water or broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until beans are tender, adding more water if necessary. Allow 1 1/2 to 2 hours for beans to cook. Uncover the pot and bring back to a boil. Add the pasta and reserved seasonings and check the liquid level–there should be enough to cover the pasta completely; if not, add more. Cook until pasta is al dente. Add the kale, cover the pot, and cook on low for 3-5 minutes. Add nutritional yeast and black pepper to taste.
Nutritional info is approximate.
A Note About Nutritional Yeast
Nutritional yeast gives this soup a savory umami flavor that replaces the Parmesan cheese used in traditional Pasta Fagioli recipes. But it has come to my attention that there have been studies (such as this one and this one) that raise the concern that high amounts of synthetic folic acid may increase the risk of breast cancer.
Most brands of nutritional yeast do contain added folic acid in varying amounts, and while using a little every now and then is probably not a problem, if you use a lot, you may want to read labels carefully and choose brands that contain as little folic acid as possible. For the past few months, I have been using Foods Alive brand, and I like it a lot. Plus, it’s less expensive than Sari Foods, the other popular unfortified nutritional yeast.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy something through them, I receive a commission that helps support this site. Thanks for your purchase!
Max
A smashing recipe, the best I’ve put together in ages!
Ashlee
I’ve been gathering new soup recipes for winter and this one just got added to my list. I can’t wait to try it! It looks delish : )
Stephanie
Wowza! This soup is super good. If you’re wondering whether or not to make it, stop wondering and run in to the kitchen to soak your beans right now!
I made this on the stove top the slow way. After cooking the beans (I did this separately, ahead of time, and discarded the cooking water) the whole process took a little less than an hour from the time the onion hit the pot til the soup filled my bowl.
Made a few substitutions to accommodate what I had on hand. I used one cup pintos and one cup red beans. Cooked the beans ahead of time and used homemade stock with a strip of kombu since I had discarded the bean water. And finally, 8 oz. stelline instead of shells. The soup still turned out great; better than great even!
Angel
Made this tonight in my electric pressure cooker and it’s a definite keeper. Thanks for the pressure cooker fun, as I hadn’t tried using the browning feature to cook pasta in a soup before and I feel like I learned some new tricks! The next one on my list to try is the yellow split pea. Thanks, Susan!
moonwatcher
I just made a half batch of this with pinto beans the “slow” way without a pressure cooker and I am eating it right now. SO good!! Yum yum. 🙂 The perfect combination of flavors. I had some tomatoes frozen from a friend’s garden so I thawed and used those. So nice on a cold Idaho evening! Thanks! xo
Miriam
We love pasta e fagioli!!! Usually I take out about 1/3 of the soup, blend it, and return it to the pot, giving the soup a creamier texture. And sometimes I cook the pasta separately, as I found that it doesn’t always cook well in the soup.
The recipe works as well for “Pasta e Ceci” (chickpeas), another one of my favourites.
Reena
Thanks for your amazing recipes! I’m eagerly waiting for your review of the Instant Pot before I buy it. Especially how well (or not) it works for Indian foods – lentils, beans, etc, etc. I’m looking at the 7 in 1 one, and would be happy to buy it through your link, if you’d post the link for that particular one. It’s been on my wish list for about a year now, and haven’t bought it, since I’ve been skeptical.
Studentessa Vegana
The healthy version of italian pasta 🙂 looks so good!!
http://www.studentessavegana.it
Jennifer
made this tonight and it was really great! I used kidney beans instead and it took about 17 minutes in pressure cooker. I ended up adding more water with the pasta and again at the end. Maybe the different beans soaked up more water. Thanks for the recipe – a new favorite!
Shellie
This is the second recipe I cooked in my new Instant Pot. Delicious. My husband’s words….’Umm….it’s a keeper.’ And it is. I had some of the leftovers for breakfast this morning. The flavors only get better. 🙂
Becky
So good!!!! I forgot to add the nutritional yeast, but my husband loved it anyway. So, when I remembered, I added some in the rest of the batch. Wow!!!!!!!! Thanks for an awesome recipe 🙂
Erin
Question- if using a crockpot for this, at what point would I add the pasta?
Thanks!!!
Erin
Susan Voisin
I’m not a crockpot expert, but I’m guessing that you would add uncooked pasta during the last hour of cooking. Or you could cook the pasta and add it during the last 15-20 minutes.
mamaraby
I made this tonight and it was fantastic. I added my kale and noodles together and then cooked it 5min at pressure and both the noodles and kale were perfect. We added sriracha and some hemp seed parmesan at the table. Yummy!
Vegan Junction
Excellent, I’ve been looking for a recipe that uses shells pasta. Those cranberry beans look lovely! I’m glad this is a pressure cooker recipe too, it sure can make food prep a lot less time consuming. And I’ve heard mixed reviews on nutritional yeast before, so thanks for the note.
Sharon McRae
Susan, you can buy unfortified Nutritional Yeast in bulk here: http://natures-garden-health-center.myshopify.com/search?q=Nutritional+yeast
Shellie
Thanks for that unfortified nutritional yeast link, Sharon. I order this one from Amazon, and expect it tomorrow. Good to know there’s another out there just in case..
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PJ3IPMI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Esther J
Fantastic!
I’m not much of a pasta in soup fan (or a pasta fan, for that matter), so it took me a while to get around to trying this. (And actually, I was motivated in large part because I wanted to try out my new pressure cooker.)
I’m glad I did. Just delicious.
Thanks, ma’am, for another hit! 😀
Donna
This recipe tastes wonderful and was a huge success with my taste buds! The flavors are amazing and the nutritional yeast is a must… it’s an excellent add in! My husband enjoyed it as well and said so; and, truth be known, if he was left to his own, he might go back to eating meat and potatoes so that’s meant as a super compliment!!! I only had pinto beans on hand the day I came across the recipe; but this week I’m hoping to make it with cranberry beans since I’ve never tried them before. Our thanks to you, Susan!
Sharon
Made this recipe tonight using the pressure cooker. Had to make a few adjustments for personal taste and not having all the ingredients. We loved it. Definitely make it again. When the husband goes back for seconds you know you’re on a winner!
Lisa Lyon
Hi Susan,
I am interested in buying a rice cooker and have been looking at the Zojirushi models but started considering an instant pot. I wonder if you have experience with both of these types of appliances and what your impressions have been. I am mostly interested in having something for cooking brown rice which we eat regularly.
Thanks so much!
Susan from Northern VA
This recipe was a big hit with my husband who loves lentils and pasta–made it with pinto beans and it was very yummy.
Cynthia Tonseth
I probably made this more complicated than it had to be since I sauteed the onions and celery on the stove then added the tomato and spices, heated it through and put it in the Insta-Pot. I have never used the saute feature on my pot. I used pinto beans and spinach as that is what I had on hand. This soup is very good. It is thick like I have had in restaurants. I added a bit of garlic salt and did sprinkle with nutritional yeast to serve. A very satisfying soup. Thank you ~!
Virginia
This is a FANTASTIC soup recipe. I think I could make it and eat it every day. I think the seasonings are the reason – they are just perfect. Thanks so much for this outstanding recipe.
Kylie
This is the first whole meal I’ve produced in the pressure cooker. It was fun discovering the saute setting and keeping my pans clean in the process. I wish I could pinpoint what is so fantastic about this recipe, but I cannot. It is one of the best things I have ever made (and I am a pretty accomplished cook). It is absolutely delicious!
I soaked the beans while I was at work, and cooked them for the first time this evening in the soup. They were as soft as can be. I used quinoa pasta because I am GF, and it was a good choice because the noodles didn’t cook too fast or get too soft in the warm soup before I put it away in the fridge.
Kylie
Cathy
I cooked this using the electric pressure cooker and not only was it simple but it was absolutely delicious! Thank you very much for sharing!
Patrice Keating
This soup is just so good…..and to be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of kale but this soup is so tasty, so well balanced I don’t even mind the kale. You rock!
Pavithra
This soup was so yummy and bursting with flavor! Definitely going to be a part of my weekly dinner menu. I am not really vegan, so I used Parmesan instead of nutritional yeast.
Juliana
How did u figure out the nutrional information for the recipe
Susan Voisin
I use a software program that adds up all the nutrients and divides by the number of servings.
Juliana
Sorry for all the questions but how did u get 1.6gram of fat per. Serving of one person??
Susan Voisin
The nutrition software adds up all the nutrient values in all the ingredients and divides by 8 to get the info per serving. If you look at just the major ingredients, 2 cups cranberry beans have 4.8g fat, pasta has about 3, kale has 2, and tomatoes have 1. All of these plus the traces of fat in the other ingredients are added up and divided by 8. It isn’t exact, but it’s close enough to give a sense of how many nutrients you’re getting. I hope this explains it.
Juliana
So how in one serving size is it only 329 and 1.6 grms fat is that also good for you??
Juliana
How do u know in one sebring size is 329 and 1.6 grms fat is thag good for u
Susan Voisin
I have tried to answer your questions, but I am not sure what you are asking. A serving is 1/8 (one eighth) of the entire pot of soup. The nutritional software adds up all the calories in all the ingredients and divides by 8 to come up with the number in 1/8 of the recipe, 329. The same goes for fat, carbs, and all the other macronutrients. I would say 1.6 grams of fat per 329 calories is very good for someone following a low-fat diet.
Juliana
Thank u for answering my questions I follow a low fat vegan lifestyle i just want to make sure this would make u fat does that make since and also What i mean is each serving only has 1.6 grms fat and is it heathy to eat for dinner for the week?? I love yor website u have amazing heathy low fat recipes
Juliana
Wouldnt not would
Juliana
Thank u for keep answeing my questions
Taste Freak
Looks tasty and healthy!
would love to make it tomorrow for party, hopefully my friends will enjoy it.
amy
One of the Whole Foods in my town has bulk Nutritional Yeast that contains NO folic acid. The other store as well has it in bulk, but that one DOES contain folic acid. Go figure…………..
Dawn
I buy this unfortified yeast from Sari Foods:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PJ3IPMI/ref=pd_bxgy_121_2?ie=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00PJ3IPMI&pd_rd_r=HC7YFC7N80FMEQJXPR4W&pd_rd_w=4Wg1S&pd_rd_wg=D9ZBp&psc=1&refRID=HC7YFC7N80FMEQJXPR4W
Karen McClure
Thank you Susan for your dedication to healthy food and this web site. Your recipes have been a real inspiration to me. I especially LOVE your Louisiana Red Beans and Rice recipe. You help me stay healthy!
Tina
I made this for dinner tonight. It was unbelievably delicious! Much tastier than anything we’d be served at a restaurant. Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful recipe! I’m so glad there’s lots of leftovers. 😊
Janelle
Tried the soup today, it was awesome, I did change the method up a little, beans in the IP, finished on the stovetop. I also used fire roasted tomatoes, otherwise everything was per year recipe.thanks, this will be one of our favorites.🍅
taya
I can attest this was excellent – so yummy! Thank you.
Tina
I am hoping to make this today – does anyone know if it is spicy for kids? my eight year old is a picky eater and won’t touch something if it’s spicy. unless it’s salsa – and even then it’s iffy. if it’s extremely mild I might be ok… or maybe I should leave it out?
thank you!
also – I don’t have Kale on hand – have spinach (not sure if it’s still good) and spring mix.. either of those a good sub?
Tina
Susan Voisin
I don’t consider this spicy at all, so I think you should be safe. But tastes vary! Please let me know what your kids think. If you use spinach to spring mix, just stir it in at the very end and cook until wilted. Should be fine.
Kathryn Dailey
It looks like Sari Foods also does NOT have folic acid. https://www.amazon.com/Sari-Foods-Natural-Non-Fortified-Nutritional/dp/B00PJ3IPMI
Thomas R Swanson
Delicious and filling. I think I used swiss chard because it’s what I had, but it was great…
Amy
I just found this recipe and made it tonight. It is delicious! Thanks so much for creating and sharing!
susan
This is delicious – had beans in the freezer and used them- had some tomato stock so added that to veggie broth. Had spinach instead of kale. This is a keep – total comfort food.
Sharon
Sari NY has no folic acid and has a wonderful flavor. I buy it on Amazon
Chana
Sari Foods Company also offers a non fortified nutritional yeast. I found it when looking up the ones you suggested.
Chana
Ugh. Sorry. I just saw the other post who already commented on the Sari brand.