Vegan Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli

This vegan Instant Pot pasta e fagioli is warm, comforting and full of flavour. A mix of veggies, tomatoes, herbs, beans and pasta are cooked together in the pressure cooker to create a quick and nutritious meal the entire family will love.

Pasta e fagioli is the ultimate Italian comfort food. After all, "When the stars make you drool just like a pasta e fasul, that's amore."

I'm pretty sure Dean Martin wasn't crooning about an Instant Pot version, but this doesn't mean this vegan Instant Pot pasta e fagioli isn't just like a love letter to your belly.

Making pasta e fagioli in the Instant Pot means that you can have a delicious bowl of soup in your hands much faster.

It's very easy to make pasta fagioli vegan because the base of this classic recipe is naturally plant-based.

My version includes two kinds of beans, borlotti and cannellini. I'm all about recipes that can be on the table in 30 minutes or so, and that's why I make this vegan pasta fagioli soup with canned beans.

If you're good at planning ahead, you can use dried beans that you've soaked overnight or for at least 6-8 hours.

Ingredients and substitutions

Olive oil - Use the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can for this pasta fagioli. If you don't cook with oil, saute the veggies in a bit of stock instead.

Onion, carrot and celery - I dice my veggies on the smaller side for this soup, so they cook quickly and evenly.

Garlic - Freshly chopped garlic is best in soups like this.

Herbs - A mix of dried oregano, thyme and basil is just perfect for this soup.

Red chilli flakes - I like my pasta e fagioli to have a bit of a kick, so I add ¼ teaspoon red chilli flakes. You can skip this or increase the quantity as you like.

Sugar - A teaspoon of sugar helps reduce the acidity of the tomatoes in this vegan pasta fagioli.

Chopped tomatoes - Both chopped tomatoes and crushed tomatoes work in this soup. You can also use fresh tomatoes, but make sure they're ripe enough.

Beans - I went for a mix of borlotti and cannellini beans, but you can use any mix of white and white pasta. Navy beans and red kidney beans are both excellent choices.

Pasta - Any small dried pasta such as ditalini, shells or elbow pasta is great for pasta e fagioli. I used a type of small shells called margheritine.

Vegetable stock - It's always great if you can make your own veggie stock, but if you don't have time for that, shop-bought will work just fine. Just make sure the stock you use is vegan and use the best quality you can.

Fresh basil - A handful of roughly shredded fresh basil leaves is the best finishing touch for pasta e fagioli. Stir it in right at the end, before serving.

How do you make vegan Instant Pot pasta e fagioli?

Set the Instant Pot to "Saute" and add the olive oil, onion, carrot and celery. Saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened.

Cancel the "Saute" function. Stir in the garlic, herbs and red chilli flakes and continue to saute for another minute until fragrant.

Next, stir in the tomato paste, sugar, chopped tomatoes, beans, pasta and vegetable stock.

Lock the lid and cook on "High Pressure" for 3 minutes.

When the Instant Pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then perform a quick release by turning the valve to "Venting".

After the pin drops, unlock and remove the lid from the Instant Pot. Stir in the fresh basil and season to taste.

Serve as is or with your favourite crusty bread.

Recipe notes and tips

• You can add some other veggies to your pasta e fagioli, such as sliced zucchini, for example. Make sure the ingredients don't do over the maximum fill line of the Instant Pot if you do add extras.
• Pasta e fagioli leftovers taste great, but they will thicken as the pasta continues to soak up the liquid. Add a bit of water or veggie stock when reheating on the stove or in the microwave.
• I don't recommend freezing pasta e fagioli because the pasta will break down and become mushy when thawed.
• This vegan Instant Pot pasta e fagioli was tested in a 6-quart Instant Pot duo.

If you liked this vegan Instant Pot pasta e fagioli, you might also like some of my other vegan Instant Pot recipes:

• Vegan Wild Rice Soup (Instant Pot)
• Zuppa di Farro (Instant Pot)
• Vegan Instant Pot Creamy Pasta
• Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup
• Vegan Instant Pot White Bean Soup

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