Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli Ham Bone Soup is loaded with vegetables, beans, pasta bites and savory chunks of ham making this the ultimate rich and hearty Italian soup. The perfect way to use that leftover ham bone from your holiday dinner.

If I had to pick just one Italian soup to be my favorite, Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli has to be IT!! I love Beer Cheese Baked Potato Soup and Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup but my ‘Go-To’ soup is always Pasta Fagioli.

Why? Let me tell you why .. Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli soup freezes beautifully, it’s super rich in flavor and it is such a hearty comfort food soup that it’s perfect to come home to after a long day.

Plus it’s also a great healthy lunch option to keep those sugar cravings at bay as you move through your day but keep in mind that everyone in your office break room will #1 – Hate You and #2 – want the recipe to whatever it is that you are heating up in the microwave. Plan accordingly.

WHAT IS PASTA FAGIOLI SOUP?

Basically pasta e fagioli soup is a savory soup made of minced garlic, onion, celery and carrots in a stewed tomato broth served up with pasta like macaroni or ditalini.

Often compared to minestrone soup, pasta e fagioli is a simple soup of a few vegetables and spices to make a hearty comforting bowl of happiness. Adding the leftover ham bone to this Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli probably breaks a few rules but honestly, it’s too delicious to argue.

LEFTOVER HAM BONE SOUP?

This right here is what takes a great slow cooker soup to an AWESOME slow cooker soup. Wondering what to do with that leftover ham bone from you holiday dinner? Well, now you have your answer.. this Pasta Fagioli soup.

By adding that leftover ham bone to this soup, you are bringing so much flavor that you couldn’t replicate any other way. Now you are infusing this hearty soup with a rich flavor and all of the ham still on the bone is going to fall off into the soup and make it extraordinary. #mostfavoritesoupever

WHY YOU NEED THIS PASTA FAGIOLI HAM BONE SOUP

This savory slow cooker Italian soup is the ultimate comfort food bursting with rich flavor, beans, veggies, pasta and all the meat from that leftover ham bone.

Leftover ham bones are worth their weight in gold when it comes to bringing extra flavor to soups and stews.
Pasta fagioli soup is easy to make and is the perfect slow cooker soup to serve up ANY day of the year!
This easy ham bone soup freezes perfectly so you can always have it on hand when you need a heart comfort food fix.
This soup is made in the slow cooker which means little prep time and lots of slow simmered flavor.

To make this Pasta Fagioli Ham Bone Soup, you will need:

Garlic
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Kidney beans
Garbanzo beans
Beef stock
Your favorite spaghetti sauce
Spices
Fresh parsley
Fresh rosemary
Ditalini pasta
Leftover ham bone

HOW DO YOU MAKE SLOW COOKER PASTA FAGIOLI SOUP?

Easy!! To make Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Ham Bone Soup, you really are just adding everything to your slow cooker and letting your crock pot do the work. Add the minced garlic, diced onion, celery and carrots to your slow cooker. Stir in the beef broth and spaghetti sauce along with your spices, herbs and beans. Add in the leftover ham bone and submerge as much as possible. Cover and cook on High for the first hour then drop to Low for the next 6 – 7 hours. Before serving, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook ditalini following manufacturers instructions on the box. Drain pasta and serve up with your Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli soup.

PRO TIPS FOR SLOW COOKER PASTA E FAGIOLI SOUP

Choose your beans .. if you are a die hard kidney bean fan, go with that. Some people love cannalini beans, some love chili beans. I love the extra bit of texture garbanzo beans bring to the party so I add them to my Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli.
To make the prep work easy, add your garlic, onion, carrots, celery, parsley and rosemary to a small food processor and let it do the chopping work for you.
Cook you pasta separate. If you add your pasta directly into your slow cooker to cook, the next day you will find your pasta has soaked up a huge amount of your broth. Plus the pasta tends to get mushy. I cook my pasta separate and then transfer to a large zip top bag and keep in the refrigerator. That way I can add it to my Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli as needed and it won’t get mushy.
If you don’t have a leftover ham bone or simply do not want to include it into this recipe, no worries. This Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli is a hearty, delicious soup with our without the leftover ham bone. Simply leave the ham bone out and follow the recipe as written.
Don’t have a leftover ham bone but DO have leftover smoked pork? Yessssss… add that in here too!
This ham bone soup is extremely thick and hearty and is almost like a stew. If you prefer a thinned out soup, add in extra beef broth
This soup freezes beautifully. Simply let your Slow Cooker Pasta Fagioli cool completely then move it to a large zip top bag. Freeze flat until completely frozen and can be frozen up to 3 – 4 months. To use, remove from freezer and let defrost one day in the refrigerator before moving to soup pot. Reheat over medium heat.

MORE EASY SOUP, STEW AND CHILI RECIPES

Enjoy!

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Update Notes: This post was originally published in November of 2018 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in October of 2019.

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