Pasta With White Beans, Olives and Fennel
Updated Oct. 21, 2025
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Salt, as needed
- 8ounces short pasta, such as shells, campanelle, cavatappi or fusilli
- 5tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
- ½cup torn pitted olives (black or green or a combination)
- 4garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ½teaspoon fennel seeds
- Crushed red pepper
- 1(15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup chopped fresh fennel fronds or parsley, for serving (optional)
- Parmesan, for serving (optional)
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, then season it liberally with salt; it should taste as salty as the sea. Add pasta to the pot and cook until just shy of al dente (check package directions and subtract a minute or so). Using a large mug or measuring cup, scoop out about a cup of the pasta water, then drain pasta well.
- Step 2
While the pasta is cooking, warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the olives (you should hear them sizzle) and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, fennel seeds and a large pinch of red pepper; cook until the garlic is golden, another minute or two.
- Step 3
Add the white beans and let simmer until the mixture thickens, 4 to 8 minutes, mashing some of the beans into a chunky purée.
- Step 4
Toss in the pasta and a large splash of pasta water. Using tongs, keep tossing until everything is well combined and the pasta is al dente, 1 to 2 minutes, adding more pasta water as needed to make things saucy. Season with more salt if needed and toss in the herbs, if using. Serve immediately, with more red pepper flakes and cheese, if you like, and lemon wedges for squeezing.
Private Notes
Comments
I love beans with or as a substitute for pasta. Made this last night with rigatoni but with my own cooked cannellini beans. It was good. If I was to use canned beans, before adding to the pasta, I would rinse them well and then simmer in a pan for 10 minutes in a bit of stock or water with some preferred seasoning/herbs to counter the tinny taste canned beans can have.
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
Step 4 calls for spaghetti, while the ingredient list calls for short pasta. I imagine that either would work fine...
Absolutely divine, if you love salt. I used oil-cured olives and the punchy, salty tang of the olives plus the fatty salty parmesan and the slightly salty pasta, made a bit heavier and richer with the cannellini beans... delicious.
Ok, I’m Australian, so I did add a couple of things. I basically stayed with the recipe, and it was pretty delicious. Firstly, I scorched a handful of cherry tomatoes. In a splash of olive oil. Added an anchovy. And a pinch of chilli flakes. Then followed the recipe from here, olives, garlic fennel seeds, beans, etc. I did add fresh parsley at the end , because that’s what I had in the garden, and thought it to be a good balance. I used pasta shells ,plus a little pasta water, and the beans seemed to be happy hiding inside. Very happy, and will definitely be making it again xxx
This is my go-to recipe for leftover pasta.