The best thing about slow cooker recipes is that I usually have leftovers. When I take the time to prepare a meal in my slow cooker, I always make sure to make a large batch so that I can use it later in the week or pop it into the freezer for a quick meal on a busy night.
One of my favorite uses for leftover tomato sauce (especially when it’s chunky sauce with lots of veggies!) is to use it in some pasta e fagioli soup. So, when we had a few chilly, rainy days last week, I decided to make a nice big batch of soup.
I had some dry Northern beans in my pantry, so I used those in the soup, letting it simmer on the stove during the afternoon. If you prefer to use canned beans, those would work, too, and drastically reduce the amount of cooking time required! I also had some kale in the fridge, so I decided to add that into the soup for some extra nutrients.
It was a great vegetarian meal, and the added bonus was that I turned my leftover tomato sauce into more leftovers that are now in my freezer for later.
Pasta e Fagioli Soup with Kale
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 large ribs celery, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound dried white beans (Northern beans or cannelini beans), soaked overnight and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 4 cups water (or additional stock, if you have more on hand)
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 3 cups leftover tomato sauce
- 2 cups elbow shaped pasta
- 1 bunch kale, cleaned and chopped
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
In a large pot or a dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Saute until the vegetables are tender. Add the beans, vegetable stock, water, and sprigs of thyme. Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until the beans are tender.
Once the beans are tender, add the tomato sauce and pasta. Bring to a boil and cook until the pasta is tender.
Gradually stir in the kale and cook for a few minutes until the kale is tender. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately topped with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.
You make the best recipes, and they are usually ones I have not tried yet. I can’t even tell you how many of your recipes I’ve made, and this is going on the list, too!
Hey Jen!
Love the colours in this soup, definitely want to try it soon!
Healthy and delicious – love that it uses leftover sauce, too :-)
yum, I love pasta fagioli soup! My mom and my grandma used to make this all the time. I love how many noodles you put in too! Normally, mine is more broth and less noodles, but I’m like your ratio of noodles to broth :) great use for leftover sauce as well! I never thought to do that
Looks delicious and hearty! Yum!
Beautiful soup. Slow cooker recipes are sometimes the best.
Gorgeous colors in this soup! I love the healthy and delicious addition of kale!
First time here…..looks delicious! Yummy!
Leftovers are always good. I need to get me some kale at the farmer’s market. Yum!!! Looks delish, Jen!!
I love soup, and I’m always looking for new options. This recipe sounds wonderful, especially with the addition of kale!
What a great looking soup. I’m a soup freak as you know and I’ll be adding this to my lengthy list of soups to try.
What a fabulous soup Jen. I love that you put kale in there – we always get it in our organic box and I never have any clue how to use it since I don’t much like it. I might like it in this soup, though!
Love the looks of this recipe. Going to make it tomorrow. I can’t wait to try it. It started to snow here again today (happy freaking first day of spring) so it will be the perfect meal to have before it gets nice out again. Thanks for posting!
This is such a great way to use your left overs! I would love to be able to plan it out too that I would have some pasta made from Kamut Khorasan Wheat flour on hand. It is so healthy and yummy – and I just bet this soup would be awesome! I can picture it now during the cold winter!
As a mom, I don’t know what I would do without a slow cooker! This looks like an excellent way to put my slow cooker to use. :)
What would you sub if I don’t have the 3 cups of leftover sauce? And I don’t have time to make it?! 3 C of jarred pasta sauce?
Hi, Carla – Yes, 3 cups of jarred pasta sauce is fine.