Gluten Free Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli Soup

This is one of my go-to soups for busy weeknights. Add a green salad and a loaf of gluten free bread, and it’s also a great meal to take to a friend. Actually, this soup is hearty enough to be a meal by itself. If you add the pasta right before you serve it, it holds its shape and texture better. Two of my kids have been strictly gluten and dairy free for years, and I recently found that I need to be gluten free as well. Fortunately there are quite a few great gluten free pastas on the market these days! I have made this with gluten free ditalini, elbow macaroni, spirals, and shells. I just happened to have a mix of shells and elbow macaroni, so that’s what is pictured here.

Quick tip – cook a big batch of ground sausage in advance and freeze it. It’s super simple. When ground sausage (or beef) goes on sale, I throw a big batch into my instant pot, add a little water, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. I think you could do it in less, but I’m really particular about making sure my meat is wellllll done! Then I drain it, chopstir it up, let it cool, and package into 1 pound portions in ziploc bags and freeze them flat. It thaws very quickly in the fridge or you can easily break it up and put it in your recipe still frozen.

Another quick tip – always keep a container of mirepoix on hand in your freezer. What’s mirepoix? It’s simply a mixture of diced carrots, celery, and onions. It’s a fantastic base for soups and stews and you can toss it into your instant pot still frozen. I always have a container in my freezer.

Actually, let’s back up a step. What is pasta e fagioli? It’s a traditional Italian soup that means “pasta and beans.” I think you could also translate it as good, filling, healthy, comforting deliciousness. But don’t quote me on that 😉

This is one of those recipes that you’ll find about a billion different variations, and I don’t necessarily make it exactly the same way every time. Sometimes I use a mix of italian sausage and beef. It’s pretty tough to mess up though, so be a recipe follower or get creative! This is a quick and easy recipe that uses a lot of shortcuts so it’s great for busy moms who just want to get a healthy dinner on the table. So, here’s my version of pasta e fagioli. Let me know if you try it and what you think!

The following are tools that I used (and love) in my kitchen to make this soup.

• 8 qt Instant Pot
• 6 qt Instant Pot (I love it so much that I have 2!)
• Silicone Mini Mitts (these are NOT for taking things from the oven, but great for gripping the instant pot)
• Chopstir for breaking up ground meat