The Absolute Best Beans To Use In Pasta E Fagioli

Beans are a carbohydrate-rich comfort food that many cultures love to pair with even more carbs, whether it's beans on toast in England or red beans and rice in the deep south. In Italy, beans and pasta are a tasty duo in soups like this hearty minestrone recipe. Pasta e fagioli translates to "pasta and beans" and is an equally beloved Italian soup. If you want to make a batch of pasta e fagioli at home, we've consulted an expert for tips on the key ingredients. Matthew Cutolo, a third-generation Italian-American chef at Gargiulo's Restaurant in Coney Island, keeps things traditional when it comes to the best beans for pasta e fagioli.

"Cannellini or borlotti beans are the best beans to use for pasta fagioli," he says. "They have a creamy texture and mild flavor that complements the flavors of the dish." Cannellini beans are one of the most common types of beans used in Italian cooking, characterized by a white color, large oval shape, and the buttery, creamy texture and flavor Chef Cutolo mentions. Borlotti beans are another popular ingredient in Italian and Portuguese cuisines, with a beautiful maroon hue that's earned it the nickname "cranberry bean." They're slightly longer than a pinto bean, but much smaller than cannellini. Both offer a buttery, savory pairing for the umami-rich tomato-based broth and beef, and the aromatic Italian soffritto that comprise pasta e fagioli's flavor profile.

While we use dried soaked beans in our recipe for classic pasta e fagioli, both borlotti and cannellini beans are available canned. Colavita is an Italian brand that makes delicious cannellini beans, and DeLallo markets canned borlotti beans as "Roman beans." Using dried beans will be the most flavorful option, as they will absorb the flavors of the aromatics and parmesan rind that you add to the cooking liquid.

If you're whipping up a batch of soup on the fly and need a worthy substitute, kidney beans are the best option as both borlotti and cannellini beans are in the kidney bean family. You can also use a blend of borlotti and cannellini beans for a varied texture; borlotti beans are firmer and smaller than the large cannellini beans that become melt-in-your-mouth creamy as they simmer away in the broth.

The most common type of pasta used in pasta e fagioli is ditalini, a small, thimble-shaped tubular pasta. But, elbow macaroni, orzo, and the tiny tubettini are great alternatives. Beef and pancetta are the umami-rich proteins in traditional pasta e fagioli soup recipes, but we also have this vegetarian pasta e fagioli that omits the meat and adds Tuscan kale for more heft.