Tagliarini with Beans is the traditional Sicilian version of pasta e fagioli. Homemade tagliarini pasta is boiled directly in the broth that dry beans are cooked in to create a thick and hearty dish. Commonly served during the winter months in Sicily, this is the ultimate Italian comfort food!
Tagliarini with Beans or tagghiarini cu fasolu in Sicilian, is my mother’s pasta e fagioli recipe. This traditional recipe is made completely from scratch, from the homemade pasta to soaking your dry beans overnight and cooking them the next day.
You can definitely make a quick version, as I also often do, with canned beans and ditalini pasta. However, this special recipe is well worth the effort, especially on a cold winter day. Here’s why!
Why does this Sicilian pasta fagioli recipe work?
-Instead of store bought dry pasta, this recipe is made with homemade tagliarini pasta.
-The pasta is dusted with flour to prevent it from sticking and this flour thickens the broth which makes this dish so satisfying!
-Instead of canned beans, dry beans soaked overnight are a must in this recipe. The tagliarini are cooked directly in the liquid used to cook the beans. This makes for a flavorful broth!
-This dish is even better reheated the following day when the broth has further thickened.
What are tagliarini?
Tagliarini are a wide flat pasta similar to tagliatelle but a little more narrow. They are also cut thicker than your average pasta and hold up well in this hearty bean broth.
The term tagliarini is often interchangeable with tagliatelle. And in fact, we use our pasta roller and cut the pasta with the tagliatelle cutter.
Of course, my nonna back in Sicily rolled and cut her tagliarini by hand. Tagliarini were also traditionally made without eggs, only flour and water. However, over time my mom added an egg to the recipe and this is the version I am sharing here.
Can I use canned beans to make Tagliarini with Beans?
In order to get the perfect thick consistency for this dish dry romano beans (also known as cranberry beans) are essential. The cooking water from the beans is used to cook your tagliarini. So be sure to soak your beans overnight before cooking. 
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed, printable recipe card!
How to make Tagliarini with Beans
Prepare the beans:
- Place beans in a large bowl, cover completely with water and soak overnight, or at least for 12 hours.
- The following day, heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté a finely diced onion. Add a chopped ripe tomato, a pinch of salt and cook a few minutes.
- Drain and rinse the soaked beans and stir into the onion-tomato mixture. Cover with 12 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, covered, approximately 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Add salt, to taste.
Make the tagliarini:
- Place flour in a mound on a clean surface. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, 1/2 cup water and a pinch of salt.
- Use a fork to beat the egg with the water and gradually incorporate the flour into the egg mixture until a raggedy dough is formed.
- Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the mixture is too dry add 1 or 2 tbsps. of water until the dough holds together. The dough must not be sticky. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Flatten a piece of dough with your hands, lightly flouring both sides. Run the dough through the pasta maker with the flat rollers set to the widest setting. Run the dough through the rollers twice at each setting until the third to last setting, about 3-4 mm thick.
- Place on a clean dish towel and roll the remaining pieces of dough.
- Cut the sheets of dough, lengthwise, in 2 or 3 (depending on how long you want your tagliarini to be). Use the cutter attachment to cut the pasta sheets into strips.
- Arrange the tagliarini into loose nests on a baking sheet covered with a dish towel or parchment paper that is lightly dusted with flour. Dust the tagliarini lightly with flour. Let them dry for 30 minutes.
Cook the tagliarini:
- When the beans are tender, bring the liquid to a boil and add the tagliarini. Cook for 1 minute then remove the pot from the heat, add salt (if necessary) and let sit for 30 minutes before serving. The pasta will continue cooking in the hot liquid and this will allow the broth to thicken.
- Drizzle lightly with olive oil before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Can tagliarini pasta be made ahead?
Once your tagliarini are cut and rolled into loose nests, dust them lightly with flour and let them air dry for 30 minutes. At this point you may cook them or place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to cook.
If you wish to use them on another day, place the nests of pasta flat in an airtight container or freezer bag. Separate layers of pasta with parchment paper.
Freeze for up to 3 months. Do not defrost the tagliarini. Cook from frozen, they may take a few extra minutes to cook.
Substitutions and Variations:
This recipe is made with very few ingredients, just as my nonna did back in Sicily, and this simple dish is flavorful as is. However, you may enhance it by:
-Sautéing a finely diced carrot, celery stalk and garlic clove along with the onion and tomato.
-Brown some cubed pancetta before adding the vegetables for another layer of flavor.
-Although not traditional, this dish may be served with grated Parmigiano cheese at the table.
Did you try out this recipe? Let me know how much you enjoyed it by commenting and/or rating it in the recipe card below. Buon appetito!
More of my favorite homemade pasta recipes for you to check out!
- How to make Potato Gnocchi
- Spinach Gnocchi
- Homemade Sicilian Maccaruna
- How to Make Cavatelli
- Homemade Tagliatelle
- Chickpea Flour Tagliatelle
- Homemade Busiate Pasta
Ingredients
For the beans:
- 2 cups dry romano beans or cranberry beans (about 1/2 lb)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil plus extra for drizzling
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 ripe tomato chopped
- 11 cups water
- salt to taste
For the tagliarini:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup water
- pinch salt
Instructions
To prepare the beans:
- Place beans in a large bowl, cover with water and soak overnight.
- The following day, heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onion. Add the chopped tomato, a pinch of salt and cook a few minutes.
- Drain and rinse the soaked beans and stir into the onion-tomato mixture. Cover with 11 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, covered, approximately 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are tender. Add salt, to taste.
For the tagliarini:
- Meanwhile prepare the tagliarini. Place flour in a mound on a clean surface. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, 1/2 cup water and salt.
- Use a fork to beat the egg with the water and gradually incorporate the flour into the egg mixture until a raggedy dough is formed.
- Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If the dough is too dry add 1 or 2 tbsps. of water until the dough holds together. The dough must not be sticky. Cover in plastic wrap and let rest, at room temperature, for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Flatten a piece of dough with your hands, lightly flouring both sides. Run the dough through the pasta maker with the flat rollers set to the widest setting. Run the dough through the rollers twice at each setting until the third to last setting, about 3-4 mm thick. Place on a clean dish towel and roll the remaining pieces of dough.
- Cut the sheets of dough in 2 or 3 pieces lengthwise (depending on how long you want your tagliarini to be). Using the cutter attachment to cut the pasta sheets into strips.
- Alternately, you can use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into thin sheets, then fold into thirds and using a sharp knife cut tagliarini strips that are approximately 1 cm wide.
- Arrange the tagliarini into loose nests on a baking sheet covered with a dish towel or parchment paper that is lightly dusted with flour. Dust the tagliarini lightly with flour.
To cook the tagliarini
- When the beans are tender, bring the liquid to a boil and add the tagliarini. Cook for 1 minute then remove the pot from the heat, add salt (if necessary) and let sit for 30 minutes before serving. The pasta will continue cooking in the hot liquid and this will allow the broth to thicken.
- Drizzle lightly with olive oil before serving.
Notes
Can tagliarini pasta be made ahead?
Once your tagliarini are cut and rolled into loose nests, dust them lightly with flour and let them air dry for 30 minutes. At this point you may cook them or place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to cook. If you wish to use them on another day, place the nests of pasta flat in an airtight container or freezer bag. Separate layers of pasta with parchment paper. Freeze for up to 3 months. Do not defrost the tagliarini. Cook from frozen, they may take a few extra minutes to cook.Substitutions and Variations:
This recipe is made with very few ingredients, just as my nonna did back in Sicily, and this simple dish is flavorful as is. However, you may enhance it by: -Sautéing a finely diced carrot, celery stalk and garlic clove along with the onion and tomato. -Brown some cubed pancetta before adding the vegetables for another layer of flavor. -Although not traditional, this dish may be served with grated Parmigiano cheese at the table. -Tagliarini with Beans are even tastier reheated the following day as the broth thickens.- Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and will vary according to exact portion size.
Nutrition
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I just wrote a comment which does not yet appear and realize I forgot to give the recipe a rating … 5 stars for sure and if I could I would give it a ten.
So incredibly kind of you Anna, thank you very much!
Nadia, the only difference I see is that my family uses garlic and yours uses onion. Either way I know it is delicious. I love the beans you call Romano, which I grow in my garden and the packet of seeds calls them shell beans. The wonderful thing about growing them is that they can be frozen right out of the pod, no other preparation needed, so I have a frozen supply to use whenever I wish. I have not made this dish in a long time since my chicks have flown the nest and my husband passed away 7 years ago but you inspire me to make it just for me. It is always good left over so I can enjoy repeat performances. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
Hi Anna, that’s exactly what my mother used to do when they had a larger garden way back then. She and my dad would spend hours shelling them and freezing them so she could make this dish. Unfortunately that’s no longer the case so we use purchased romano beans. You’re lucky to have a frozen supply of beans! You should definitely make some for you especially since it is even better reheated! Hope you do and enjoy!
Everything looks wonderful thank you so much for sharing. My nona would make all these wonderful dishes without any recipe , I tried to measure ingredients while she was making the dish but it never tasted like hers.
Hello Annette, thank you very much for your lovely comment! I’m to this days still amazed how my mother can bake without measuring anything and relying on the palms of her hands to determine quantities. That is a talent that will be lost with her generation. That is why I’m taking the time to stop her and measure ingredients so we can pass on these precious recipes. Thanks again for stopping by my blog!
Fresh pasta and beans are true comfort foods and perfect for these colder days! Looks absolutely delicious Nadia!
Thanks Marisa, it is a classic recipe that I’ve been wanting to preserve!