WW Recipe of the Day: Slow Cooker Low Fat Pasta Fagioli
This Olive Garden Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli Recipe is just slightly adapted from Stephanie's A Year of Slow Cooking version. (She adapted it from a recipe for Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli on GeniusKitchen.com).
It got lots of rave reviews on her website and facebook page, where she posted it recently. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to give it a try.
Low Fat Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli - Olive Garden Copycat
How Many Calories/WW Points in this OG Pasta Fagioli Recipe?
This Olive Garden Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli recipe makes 10 (1-¼ cup) servings. According to my calculations, each serving has 238 calories and:
5 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
5 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Olive Garden's Copycat Pasta Fagioli Recipe Notes
I had Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli for the first time a few weeks ago and liked it a lot. So, I was curious to see how this Slow Cooker Low Fat Pasta Fagioli Recipe would compare.
I made a few changes. Because it seemed plenty tomatoey, I eliminated 1 can of diced tomatoes. And I cut back on the hot pepper sauce. In Stephanie's write up, she said the the taste of the Tabasco came through, which didn't seem like a good thing to me.
I went back to the original recipe on Food.com and discovered that it calls for 1-½ teaspoons of Tabasco for twice as much soup as Stephanie's recipe. She says to use 1 tablespoon. I cut it back to just ¾ teaspoon.
I also cooked the pasta separately and added it at serving time. I sometimes hate the way dry pasta swells and absorbs so much liquid when you add it, uncooked, directly into soups.
I know this takes a little extra work, but to me it's worth it, at least when I have the time and energy. If this seems not worth the effort, during the last half hour of cooking add 1 cup dry pasta right into your slow cooker and cook until tender, 15 to 30 minutes more.
I used my Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System (affiliate link), to make this Olive Garden Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli so I could brown the meat and slow cook the soup without dirtying a separate skillet. I love this feature of the Ninja.
We all loved this hearty and delicious soup. It's definitely one I will be making again. Enjoy!
Are You Ready To Slow Cook Yourself Slim?
If you've made this low fat Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Olive Garden Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef, browned and drained
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (14 to 15 ounces) white beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 ar (24 to 26 ounces) tomato-basil marinara or pasta sauce
- 1-½ teaspoons oregano
- ¾ teaspoon hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1-¼ cups dry pasta (I used fusilli, but shells or ditalini would work well, cooked separately according to the package directions.)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (optional, for serving)
- Grated Parmesan (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Ideal slow cooker size: 6- to 7-Quart.
- Stir together the cooked and drained ground beef, onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes, beans, broth, pasta sauce, oregano, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper in your slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 7 hours, or until the vegetables are as tender as you like them.
- When ready to serve, stir the cooked pasta into the soup. Taste the soup and adjust the salt and herbs to suit your tastes.
- Serve with grated parmesan and a sprinkling of fresh parsley, if desired.
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
If you like this Olive Garden Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli recipe, you might also like:
- Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Chicken Pasta Fagioli
- Weight Watchers Italian Beef and Lentil Slow Cooker Stew
- Weight Watchers Simply Filling Slow Cooker Bean and Cabbage Soup
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
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Joyce
I think this was the first "Martha recipe" I made and it got me hooked to her flavorful recipes. Love, love, love this recipe for soup. We actually omitted the pasta and it made a wonderful hearty vegetable soup!!! Sooo good!!!! I made it again this past weekend and it still is at the top of our list!!!! YUM!
Martha McKinnon
Thanks Joyce!!