Skip to Content

What to Serve with Pasta Fagioli (10 Easy Sides)

Pasta fagioli is the perfect, filling comfort food.

But sometimes, you need to add a little extra something to the meal to make it feel just right.

What to Serve with Pasta Fagioli

Here are ten great side dishes that will complement your pasta fagioli perfectly!

What to Serve with Pasta Fagioli?

Pasta Fagioli

The traditional side dish to go with pasta fagioli is mashed potatoes. This is because the two flavors complement each other very well.

If you are going to serve the dish, try not to add too much salt to it.

This is because the saltiness of the pasta fagioli is already quite intense, and you don’t want to make it worse by adding too much salt to the mashed potatoes.

Alternatively, you can go with a vegetable side dish like green beans (See Also: things to make with canned green beans) or roasted vegetables.

These will help to balance out the saltiness of the pasta fagioli, and they are also good choices because they can be prepared in advance.

Still looking for options?

Then keep reading!

1. Garlic Bread

Cheesy Garlic Bread

There are so many options, but we think that the best side dish to go with pasta fagioli is garlic bread—and it’s super easy to make.

All you need is bread, garlic powder, butter, and some grated parmesan cheese (if you want to get fancy).

  1. Toast your bread in a toaster or oven until it’s golden brown.
  2. While it’s still hot, mix together butter and garlic powder and spread it on top of the bread.
  3. Sprinkle with parmesan if you’re feeling like a high-roller.
  4. Once the bread is cool enough that your mouth won’t fall off when you eat it, dig in!

One thing to consider before choosing garlic bread as your side dish is that it might be too much carbs – especially if you’re trying to lose weight this holiday season!

2. Green Beans

green beans

Green beans are delicious, easy to prepare, and most importantly, they don’t take any more time than the pasta.

If you want to try this out for yourself at home, here’s how to do it:

  1. Boil the green beans for about 5 minutes.
  2. Drain them in the sink.
  3. Add your favorite sauce or dressing and toss those babies until they’re coated to your liking.
  4. Serve alongside your piping hot plate of pasta!

But before choosing this side dish option make sure you know what kind of bean will work best for your meal:

  • Do you want stringless beans?
  • Or would it be better if we used wax beans instead?

Be sure to consider these questions before deciding on which type of green bean would work best for your recipe.

3. Carrots & Celery Sticks

Carrots & Celery Sticks

It’s easy to forget how awesome a simple side dish can be.

So let us not forget how awesome carrots & celery sticks are.

We’re sure you’ve seen them in the movies, on the television and maybe even at your grandma’s house.

But what you probably don’t know is that making them at home is a breeze!

  1. Start off by putting some olive oil and red wine vinegar in a bowl.
  2. Then add some salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Next, put the carrots and celery sticks in the bowl and mix ’em up until they’re coated nicely with all of the ingredients.
  4. At this point, you should have a nice, tasty side dish that goes great with any pasta recipe.

One thing to consider before choosing this particular side dish is that it may be too crunchy for some people and it may be messy with dip all over the place.

4. Fruit salad

Fresh fruit salad

Fruit salad is a great, easy, and healthy side dish to go with your main dish.

Here’s how you can make it at home:

  1. Start by buying all of the fruits you want to use.
  2. You can get as creative as you want here! Buy some oranges, apples, grapes, strawberries, pineapples—whatever you think will taste good.
  3. Then get a big bowl and start cutting up all the fruit into little bite-sized pieces (or bigger if you prefer).
  4. After that, just mix it all together and put it in the fridge until it’s time to eat.

Voila!

You’ve got yourself a nice fruit salad for your pasta fagioli!

One thing to consider is if the people eating this will enjoy fruit salad.

If not, it might be better to serve something else like steamed vegetables or garlic bread instead.

5. Bruschetta

Bruschetta

Oh, pasta fagioli.

You know how much we love you and your italian heritage.

But sometimes it’s hard to find a side dish that doesn’t just add to the flavor and texture of the meal, but enhances it.

We think we’ve found the perfect solution: bruschetta!

See Also: best tomatoes for making bruschetta

Here’s how to make it at home:

  1. Get some bread.
  2. Cut up some tomatoes into tiny little pieces.
  3. Chop up some basil until it’s like… really chopped up really good.
  4. Mix all that together with olive oil and add salt, pepper, and whatever other herbs you want (we’re going for classic here, but don’t let us stop you from doing you).
  5. Spread that mixture on top of your bread and voila! You have homemade bruschetta!

6. Steamed broccoli

Broccoli

What we love about steamed broccoli is that it’s easy to make at home, there are a ton of different ways to cook it, and it pairs well with just about anything—including pasta dishes!

Here’s how you make it:

  1. First, start with a pot of boiling water on your stovetop.
  2. While the water is heating up, prep your broccoli: wash it under cold water in your sink or use a sprayer attachment on your sink if you have one.
  3. Then cut the broccoli into even sections (for example, if you’re making the broccoli for two people, cut one head of broccoli into eight even pieces).
  4. When the water is boiling, drop your broccoli florets in and let them sit for 3-5 minutes. Check on them after 3 minutes—don’t let them overcook!
  5. When they’re done, remove from the pot and serve immediately alongside your pasta fagioli.

One thing to keep in mind when choosing this particular side over others is that it does take about ten minutes longer to prepare than other options like garlic bread or salad.

7. Salad (garden, Caesar, etc.)

Classic Caesar Salad

No matter which type of salad you’re in the mood for, it’ll taste amazing with your pasta fagioli.

We think a garden salad would go especially well—just chop up some lettuce (we like the romaine kind), toss in some tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and black olives, and make sure to add a little salt and pepper.

It’s up to you whether you want to add dressing or not!

One thing you might want to consider before adding your salad is how much time you have to make it.

If you’re in a rush, a pre-made salad from the store will do just fine.

But if you want to take your time and enjoy crafting your own salad at home, go for it!

8. Antipasto Platter

Antipasto Platter

Antipasto platter.

It’s not just a way to fill up on carbs and olives while you wait for your main dish!

When we think of antipasto, we think of cold cuts and olives, but it turns out antipasto is actually a whole world of appetizers that can be served hot or cold.

All you have to do is get some of your favorite Italian meats, cheeses, and vegetables together, arrange them on a platter, and voilà—antipasto!

If you’re looking for an easy side-dish option, antipasto is a great way to go.

In fact, this is such a quick dish that you can make it at home in no time at all.

Try putting together some mozzarella with roasted red peppers and salami (one of our favorites), or if you’re feeling fancy go for lobster salad (See Also: What to Serve with Lobster Salad?) with lemon-garlic vinaigrette on top!

9. Breadsticks

Breadsticks

We like breadsticks, because breadsticks are easy to make yourself, and you don’t have to worry about soggy breadsticks if you make them at home.

  1. To make your own breadsticks, preheat your oven to 425°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine 3 ½ cups of flour, ¼ cup of sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoons of yeast and 2 teaspoons of salt.
  3. Stir in 1 ½ cups of warm water and 1/3 cup of oil until the dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
  4. Knead for 5 minutes on a floured surface and then divide into 16 equal pieces.
  5. Roll each piece into a rope that’s about 9 inches long and place on the prepared cookie sheets.
  6. Let rise for 30 minutes while your oven continues heating.
  7. Bake until golden brown (about 10 minutes), brush with butter and sprinkle with salt while still hot.

But before you choose this particular dish as your side, consider that this could get messy if you haven’t taken any precautions to keep your hands clean!

It might be helpful to keep some napkins on hand!

10. Ciabatta Bread

Ciabatta Bread

One of my favorite side dishes is ciabatta bread.

However, it’s not always easy to find good ciabatta bread at your local grocery store.

So I’ve decided to share a recipe with you so that you can make your own bread at home!

Making ciabatta bread isn’t as difficult as it might sound.

  1. Start by combining flour, salt, olive oil, and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
  2. After mixing these ingredients together, add water and stir until it forms into a dough.
  3. Once the dough is ready to be cooked, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or 175 degrees Celsius).
  4. Next, put the dough in a baking dish, put it in the oven, and let it cook for 25 minutes.
  5. Then remove it from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for five minutes before serving!

One thing to consider before choosing this particular side dish: It takes longer than some other options like garlic bread or even just regular white bread with butter on top!

Pasta Fagioli

10 Sides to Serve with Pasta Fagioli

When serving up a bowl of pasta fagioli, it's important to remember that you don't have to stop at just the pasta and beans.
In fact, some think that adding sides to this hearty dish is a great way to round out the nutrients and flavor profile.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people
Calories 375 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • Garlic Bread
  • Green Beans
  • Carrots & Celery Sticks
  • Fruit salad
  • Bruschetta
  • Steamed broccoli
  • Salad (garden, Caesar, etc.)
  • Antipasto Platter
  • Breadsticks
  • Ciabatta Bread

Instructions
 

  • Pick any of the sides from this list to serve with your main dish.
  • Prepare the ingredients according to the recipe.
  • Be ready to eat in less than 25 minutes!
Keyword what to serve with pasta e fagioli
CEO at Happy Muncher | benjamin@happymuncher.com | Website | + posts

Hi, I'm Benjamin. I love cooking, long walks, and my girlfriend! Here you’ll find simple and delicious recipes that you can make in 30 minutes or less.