Vegan Pasta e Fagioli is a classic Neapolitan-style soup/stew with a creamy bean broth, chewy pasta, and comforting tomato flavor. Simple, filling, nourishing, and very easy to make.
You can use any kind of pasta, or even mix types of pasta. Though tubular varieties are best for this dish.
Many Italian recipes call for borlotti (aka cranberry) beans. They are speckled and similar to pinto, though not easy to find. Kidney beans, white beans (cannellini, great northern) will work just as well.
You can use dry beans as well, but you’ll need to soak and cook them in advance. The equivalent amount of dry beans is about 1.5 cups.
If you use water instead of vegetable stock, the soup may not be as flavorful. You can increase the amount of miso slightly to give it more flavor.
The tomato paste gives the soup a nice boost but it’s not critical.
The pasta will continue to soften the longer it is in the soup. For the best pasta texture, serve the soup right when the pasta is perfect.