MeMe's Pasta Fagioli

White cannellini beans, ditalini pasta with vegetables, lean hamburger, and herbs are simmered in vegetable juice and chicken broth. It is like an Italian chili like Olive Garden®'s Pasta Fagioli and even better the second day.

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 thin slice onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 (32 ounce) bottle tomato-vegetable juice cocktail (such as V8®)
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cups ditalini pasta
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Steps

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease.
2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; saute carrot, celery, and onion until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir vegetable juice cocktail, chicken broth, parsley, basil, oregano, and black pepper into vegetable mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 20 minutes.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook ditalini pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain.
4. Stir cannellini beans and ground beef into soup; cook and stir until soup is heated through, about 10 minutes.
5. Spoon about 1/3 cup pasta into each serving bowl; ladle soup over pasta.