Eating this vegan pasta e fagioli will be an unforgettable flavour experience. It has an amazing umami taste. It’s made with a soffritto base cooked for 30 minutes, and dried borlotti beans that are simmered for an additional 2-3 hours. This means the dish takes quite some time to prepare, so it’s best made when you have the time. I guarantee you, though, the effort will be totally worth it!
This pasta dish is a hearty, warming, and comforting meal bursting with incredible flavour. It’s perfect for the colder times of the year when you want to warm yourself up with a delicious soup. It’s great for get-togethers during the autumn and winter holidays, as it can be shared from the pot. This vegan pasta e fagioli will surely become a new staple dish at your family gatherings!
The original pasta e fagioli uses meat and a parmesan rind, cooked together with the beans to create that rich flavour. For this vegan version, I substituted the meat with smoked tofu, which has a perfect flavour for this dish. Instead of a parmesan rind, I used my cashew parmesan recipe, mixing it with water to create a creamy consistency.
You can use any small pasta you like. By choosing gluten-free pasta, you can easily make this dish gluten-free, as all other ingredients are already gluten-free friendly. Cook the pasta separately and add it to the rest of the ingredients at the end of cooking.
Have you made this recipe? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear your feedback.
More delicious pasta recipes:
Vegan Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Beans Soup) (GF Option)
Ingredients
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
- 100 g brown onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 50 g celery
- 50 g carrots
- 1/2 tsp salt divided
- a pinch of black pepper
- 1 tsp fresh oregano chopped; measured before chopping
- 1 leaf fresh sage chopped
- 1/2 tsp fresh thyme chopped; measured before chopping
- 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary chopped; measured before chopping
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 150 g dried borlotti beans soaked in boiling water for 1 hour
- 1200 ml (5 cups) water divided
- 33 g (1/3 cup) cashew parmesan
- 2 bay leaves
- 125 g small pasta of choice gluten-free if needed
- 1/2 tbsp salt for cooking the pasta
- 100 g smoked tofu sliced
Optional toppings:
- a pinch of chilli flakes
- a drizzle of olive oil
To serve:
- 2 slices of bread
Instructions
- Boil water and pour it over dried borlotti beans so that it completely covers them. Leave to soak for 1 hour.
- While the beans are soaking start chopping all the vegetables for the soffritto (onion, garlic, celery, carrots). The pieces should be very small.
- Heat olive oil in a larger pot over medium heat, then add vegetables for the soffritto and lower the heat to low. Add also 1/4 tsp of salt and a pinch of black pepper. Mix together then cover and cook for 30 min, checking and mixing every 5 min.
- In the meantime prepare the rest of the ingredients from oregano to bay leaves. Chop herbs in small pieces. Prepare spices and tomato paste, so that they're easily reachable, when you'll need them. Prepare 1 L of water in a larger bowl. Put the rest of 200 ml of water into a blender, add cashew parmesan and blend into a smooth liquid. When 1 hour of soaking is over, drain beans of water and splash them with some fresh water.
- When soffritto has been cooking for 30 min, add chopped herbs (oregano, sage, thyme, rosemary). Mix and cook covered for 3-4 min.
- Add cayenne pepper and smoked paprika, mix and cook covered for about a minute.
- Add tomato paste, mix and cook covered for about a minute.
- Add borlotti beans, mix, then immediately add 1 L of water and the cashew parmesan mixture from the blender. Increase the heat to high.
- While the water is getting hot, add also 1/4 tsp of salt and bay leaves. Mix, cover and wait for it to boil.
- After it boils, turn the heat to low and cook for 2-3 hours. Check a few times in between and mix (one time every hour is enough).
- 15 min before the end of cooking start cooking the pasta separately. Heat a medium pot with 1.5 L of water over high heat. When it starts to boil, add 1/2 tbsp of salt and pasta. Wait for it to boil again then lower the heat to medium and cook per the instructions on the pasta box. After pasta is done cooking, drain it from the cooking water, then add it to the already turned off pot with beans. Mix together.
- Add to the pot also sliced smoked tofu and mix again. Remove bay leaves from the pot.
- Leave the pot to rest for a while so that the smoked tofu warms up and the pasta e fagioli thickens. Keep in mind that the longer you let it rest, the thicker it will become, so choose when to eat it according to your preferred thickness. If you only want the smoked tofu to warm up, a few minutes is enough.
- Divide between two bowls and serve warm with an optional sprinkle of chilli flakes and a drizzle of olive oil on top. You can also serve a slice of bread with each bowl.
No Comments