9 pasta bean soup recipes

Italian pasta and bean soup (pasta e fagioli) simmers Great Northern beans with onion, carrot, celery, zucchini, and tomato paste, then finishes with al dente pasta. A rustic, hearty peasant-style bowl.

A thick, rustic Italian-style soup loaded with penne, cannellini beans, fennel, zucchini, and summer squash simmered in vegetable broth spiked with dry vermouth. Low-fat, naturally vegetarian, and feeds 8 from one big pot in about an hour.

Summer bean and basil soup is a classic Provençal soupe au pistou. White beans, leeks, potatoes, zucchini, green beans, and macaroni in a light broth, served with a fresh basil-garlic pistou sauce on top.

Vegetable-packed alphabet soup with barley, tomatoes, and peas in a chicken-beef broth. Wholesome, colorful, and satisfying without any meat.

Pasta e fagioli with cannellini beans, fresh tomatoes, rotelle pasta, and Italian herbs finished with balsamic vinegar and Parmesan. A classic Italian bean and pasta dish that's hearty, healthy, and quick.

Homemade cream of chicken noodle soup with shredded chicken, elbow macaroni, mixed vegetables, and a sage-and-thyme-scented cream base. A hearty one-pot soup that beats anything from a can.

My hearty soup starts with a homemade stock simmered low for hours, then strained and skimmed clean before a load of vegetables, pasta, and pulled meat go in. A from-scratch, stick-to-your-ribs bowl made the old-fashioned way.

Bajan black bean soup from Barbados: dried black beans simmered with a ham hock, fragrant with allspice and lemon, finished with cream and an optional splash of dark rum. Caribbean comfort in a bowl.

A chunky vegetarian minestrone loaded with cannellini beans, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, and spinach, thickened with rice instead of pasta. A hearty, one-pot Italian soup finished with Parmesan.