Fifteen ingredients and under an hour, in one soup pot.
The beef goes in first and comes up to temperature before anything else joins it, so the broth builds on browned meat rather than boiling it.
Ingredient Notes
- Lean ground beef
- One pound, browned to 160°F.
- Canned cannellini and kidney beans
- One can of each, drained and rinsed. Canned rather than dried, which keeps the recipe to one simmer.
- Small ditalini pasta
- Half a cup, added near the end so it stays firm.
- Low-sodium beef broth
- Four cups, which is what makes this brothy rather than thick.
How to Make It
Beef browned to 160°F, excess fat drained
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Brown the ground beef with half the salt until it reaches 160°F, draining excess fat if needed.
Vegetables 5 minutes, then garlic and herbs 30 seconds
Add the onion, carrot, celery and green pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning for 30 seconds.
Tomatoes, broth and both beans brought to a simmer
Add the tomatoes, broth, cannellini beans and kidney beans and bring to a simmer.
Ditalini stirred in and cooked 8 to 10 minutes
Stir in the ditalini and cook until the pasta is tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Seasoned to taste and finished with parsley
Season with the remaining salt as needed and finish with the parsley.
The Order the Pot Fills
A soup with meat, two beans and a pasta in it has one hard rule and one soft one: the beef has to reach temperature before the liquid arrives, and the pasta must not go in until the end. The first is a safety rule - GROUND BEEF MUST REACH 160°F.
First, to 160°F
1 lb LEAN GROUND BEEF in 1 tbsp OLIVE OIL with half of 1 tsp SALT
BROWNED UNTIL IT REACHES 160°F, with EXCESS FAT DRAINED IF NEEDED. That is the safe temperature for ground beef.
5 minutes
1 small diced ONION, 2 diced CARROTS, 2 diced CELERY STALKS and 1 diced GREEN BELL PEPPER
Cooked in the beef fat. These are the diced vegetables visible throughout the bowl.
30 seconds
3 MINCED GARLIC CLOVES and 1 tsp ITALIAN SEASONING
Bloomed before any liquid, which is the only chance they get.
To a simmer
1 can (14.5 oz) DICED TOMATOES, 4 cups LOW-SODIUM BEEF BROTH, 1 can (15 oz) CANNELLINI BEANS and 1 can (15 oz) KIDNEY BEANS, both DRAINED AND RINSED
Canned beans need heating, not cooking - which is also why no hard-boil step appears in this recipe.
8 to 10 minutes
1/2 cup SMALL DITALINI PASTA
STIRRED IN AND COOKED UNTIL TENDER. Last, so it does not turn to mush in a long simmer. Then the REMAINING SALT AS NEEDED and 1/3 cup CHOPPED PARSLEY.
Why This Recipe Works
- Browning the beef to temperature first means the soup never has to cook it later.
- Draining excess fat keeps the broth clear rather than greasy.
- Onion, carrot, celery and green pepper soften into the base instead of staying raw.
- Canned beans need only heating, so they hold their shape in the finished bowl.
- Cooking the ditalini in the broth at the end stops it going soft while the soup simmers.
Success Tips
- Break the beef up as it browns so the crumbles stay small enough to spoon.
- Add the pasta only once the soup is simmering, and time it from there.
- If it sits, expect the ditalini to drink broth; loosen the pot with a little more when reheating.
Serving Ideas
Six bowls of red-orange brothy soup with white cannellini and red kidney beans, small pasta, diced vegetables and beef crumbles, finished with chopped parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there meat in this soup?
Yes - a pound of lean ground beef, browned to 160°F before the vegetables go in. It is part of the soup even though the title doesn't name it.
Can I use dried kidney beans?
This recipe uses canned beans. Dried kidney beans need their own soaking and hard boil, which is not part of this method.
Is this a traditional Italian recipe?
The name is used descriptively, for a soup of beans, vegetables and small pasta. No claim to a traditional or regional recipe is made.
