This 21 Day Fix Pasta Fagioli recipe is a simple, delicious and healthy winter meal that the whole family will love!
Well here we are, in the year 2016. Do you remember when we were younger and saying a year that started with "20" made it sound like we were on Star Trek or something? So outlandishly in the future that surely by then there would be hoverboards, flying cars, computer chip-in-your-head communication devices and such?
I guess some of those things exist, but they're not exactly common. Get with it smart people, make this whole flying car thing happen!
Anyway, now that the holidays are over, I know you guys are all ready to get back on track with your eating and your workouts, right? I know I am, I definitely had a few too many cookies and it's possible that my weights have collected some dust. It happens.
It's ok though, because since I've started the 21 Day Fix, I find it so much easier to get back on track. Mostly because I feel like a few extra cookies and a few missed workouts doesn't really take me off track.
Anyway, how was everyone's Christmas? Mine was pretty darn perfect. We had a wonderful Christmas day at home in which we opened our presents, played all day and ate sushi for dinner. It. was. awesome. So which gift totally won Christmas?
Our family gift from Santa, this microphone stand karaoke machine (affiliate link). Seriously, have I mentioned that I'm also a private rockstar? True story. Anyway, then we went to Ohio and visited lots of friends and family. There's just nothing like a trip home, I'm missing everyone already.
So let's get back to this amazing soup. I feel like Pasta Fagioli is one of those you either love it or you hate it kind of things. It's probably the chickpeas, they're a bit of a controversial ingredient.
I used to be firmly on the "hate it" team, but not even because of the chickpeas. You see, this recipe is the original one from my grandmother (which I absolutely adore), but it's not the way my mom makes it so when I was a kid I always thought I didn't like it.
My mom likes to use whole canned tomatoes instead of our delicious homemade sauce. I never liked the texture of that because there would always be the hard-ish pieces from the stem end of the tomato and it just felt wrong. Sorry, Mom!
Also, large pieces of tomato that you'd have to work your butt off to cut with a spoon (not an easy task) to consume. In truth, I may be a bit of a lazy eater, which is why I never order fajitas in a restaurant. If I wanted to make it myself I would have stayed home.
Pretty much the only restaurant item that I'm willing to work for are crab legs. Because crab legs.
A few things about this recipe: I used leftover sauce from my All Day Tomato Sauce recipe, but feel free to use whatever no-sugar-added tomato sauce (pasta sauce, not plain tomato sauce from a can) that you like or have on hand.
Because I used this sauce, which has a higher calorie count than a meat-free sauce, I counted this as a purple. If you are using a no-sugar-added pasta sauce from a jar or maybe made the All Day Tomato Sauce without the meat, you can count it as a green. If you have any questions on how to count this, feel free to contact me, I'm happy to help!
Also, it might be tough to find the whole wheat ditalini pasta at the store, so I ordered mine (this is the one that I used), but you could certainly sub any small pasta shape (or even whole wheat pearl couscous - like this stuff - which you can usually get at the store).
Since there isn't a protein in this soup, I usually eat it for lunch or even as a snack, but you could always throw in a little cooked chicken if you like π
Save this 21 Day Fix Pasta Fagioli recipe to Pinterest! β
If you make this 21 Day Fix Pasta Fagioli be sure to snap a pic and tag me @thefoodieandthefix on Instagram so I can check it out! It makes me ridiculously happy to see what you guys are making π
π Recipe
Pasta Fagioli
Ingredients
- 1 ΒΌ cup cooked whole wheat ditalini pasta (about ΒΎ cup dry), reserving Β½ cup of the pasta cooking water (if you can't find this shape, feel free to substitute with another small shape like elbows or mini shells)
- 2 cups of this All Day Tomato Sauce or whatever no-sugar-added pasta sauce you have on hand - you're going to take a couple of tablespoons from this to keep your pasta from sticking, just fyi.
- 2 Β½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Β½ onion, whole
- 1 ΒΌ cup canned chickpeas (1 can, rinsed and drained)
- β grated pecorino-romano cheese (or your favorite hard, grated cheese), plus more for topping (up to 1 Β½ tbs per serving)
- 2 - 3 Tbs chopped parsley
Instructions
- Combine the pasta with the chickpeas and a couple of tablespoons of the tomato sauce (to keep the pasta from sticking together) and set aside.
- To a medium pot, add Β½ cup of pasta water, the tomato sauce, the chicken broth and the onion. Cover, bring to a bubble, uncover and let simmer for 10 minutes or so. Remove the onion and discard. Turn off the heat and add the parsley and β cup of grated cheese.
- To serve, in each bowl add 1 cup of the broth and Β½ cup of the pasta/chickpea mixture. Top with an additional 1 Β½ Tbs of grated cheese if you like (I like.)
Notes
21 Day Fix Container Counts per Serving: 1 Yellow, Β½ Purple (or Β½ Green, see note in post), Β½ Blue
Weight Watchers Personal Points Link: Pasta Fagioli
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5Amount Per Serving: Calories: 250Total Fat: 6g
Ashley says
How could I make this a freezer friendly meal?? Cook without pasta then make pasta when you pull soup out?
Thanks for any tip you may have!
Ash
Stephanie says
Hey Ashley - that's exactly what I would do!
May says
Hi! I just started 21 day fix and im looking for yummy recipes to make. I tried your soup and it was delicious! Thank you for posting it.
I do have a question.....how do i figure out how many containers / types for my own recipes?
How did you calculate for the soup? Did you measure everything then divided it by servings to get the number of containers and type?
Thank you
Stephanie says
Hi May! I'm so glad you liked it! Yes, exactly right. I write down how many of each color go into the entire recipe, then divide that by the number of servings (I also measure the recipe when it's completed so I know exactly how much a serving is, especially for a soup like this). Hope that helps! If you have a question about a particular recipe of yours, feel free to email it to me and I'll be happy to help! You can send me an email by clicking "contact me" on the menu bar π
THERESA says
I was really impressed with this soup! I used homemade bone broth, added 2 cloves of fresh garlic and then I used 1/2 a red container of turkey Italian sausage to add a bit of protein since I was eating this for dinner. I had a hard time finding a no-added sugar, good clean pasta sauce in my area, but I finally did find one jar. Thanks for the great recipe! Now I have lunches for a couple days this week too!
Stephanie says
Ooh, I bet it was great with the sausage! I'm glad you found a good jar of pasta sauce and that you have leftovers! That's always my fave, cook once, eat for days! Thanks so much for letting me know how it went, Theresa!
Alyssa Kolpek says
This is delicious! I changed it up a bit. I chopped half of the onion and added it along with 2 cloves of chopped garlic. I also added cooked ground turkey for some protein. But what a great winter meal. I made it to take to work for lunches.
Stephanie says
SO glad you liked it, Alyssa! Your additions sound great! It's in the 30's here today and some Pasta Fagioli sounds pretty darn good about now π
Cheryl says
Hi!, Quick ?, but can you make this ahead and then freeze for later?
Stephanie says
Yep! My Grandma always freezes hers π
Michelle says
Although I'm not following the 21 day fix diet, but instead following weight watchers I made this soup knowing that it would probably be very low in points! ONLY 3 POINTS for 1 cup of soup! I also added a can of mushrooms which made this soup extra special (I'm a mushroom lover). What a healthy and delicious soup! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Stephanie says
Thanks, Michelle! What a great idea to add the mushrooms (I'm a mushroom lover too)! That's awesome that this soup is only 3 points, thanks for sharing that!
Sherly says
This sounds like a really yummy one. My kids will love this pasta recipe. Thanks for sharing its ingredients??
jay says
chickpeas are protein tho
Stephanie says
According to the 21 Day Fix meal plan, chickpeas are a carb (yellow). Recently beachbody did come out with a vegan/vegetarian meal plan that includes chickpeas as a protein, but non-vegans/vegetarians are supposed to count this as a yellow. This recipe was posted before the new meal plan came out (or at least before I knew that it came out) so I didn't make a note of it in the post. Glad you brought it up, Jay!
Amanda says
Hi! This looks delicious and I can't wait to make it. I've never made anything with chick peas before. Do I cook them before hand like the pasta?
Stephanie says
Nope! They're ready to go in the can π
Sue says
This may be a dumb question but for the kitchen handicapped I still ask......is the pasta precooked before mixing with the chick peas?
Stephanie says
No problem, Sue! Yes, you cook the pasta first (make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water right before you drain it) π
Melanie says
Since I made my own beach body tomato sauce, wouldn't it be half a green instead of half a purple?
Thanks!
Stephanie says
Yep! Sorry, I talked about the green vs. purple for tomato sauce in my All-Day Tomato Sauce post, but didn't mention it here. I'm going to add it in now, glad you brought this to my attention, thanks!
Alison M says
This looks great and I'm planning to make it tomorrow. I was reading over the recipe for the all day tomato sauce, how long do I need to let it simmer? 5 hours even without adding the braciole? I was planning to make the sauce only and use it in a variety of ways π
Stephanie says
Thanks, Alison! Without the braciole, I would say at least an hour - hour and a half, but the longer you can let it go, the better it'll taste π
Alison M says
Thank you so much!
Stephanie says
No problem!
Courtney Redepenning says
how much is a serving?
Stephanie says
Hi Courtney! It's in the bottom of the directions, (for some reason, it wasn't saving right in the "serving size" area) - For each bowl add 1 cup of the broth and 1/2 cup of the pasta/chickpea mixture. Top with an additional 1 1/2 Tbs of grated cheese if you like (I like.) π
Meghan | Fox and Briar says
I agree, I don't like chunks of tomato in my soup either, I always thought I was a weirdo so I'm glad you are on my side π Glad you had a fab Christmas, and I'm with you on getting back to healthier eating and hopefully more workouts!
Stephanie says
Well, if you're going to be a weirdo, it's better to be a weirdo with someone else π