Easy, delicious, and even better the next day, this Beef Bolognese recipe is my ultimate go-to dinner. Enjoy it with your favorite pasta, or layer it in lasagna Bolognese. This recipe is not traditional or even authentic but rather my own take on the classic.
Looking for other pasta recipes, try my mushroom pappardelle and Sicilian Pesto Pasta.
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Ingredients
This recipe comes together with some pretty standard pantry and fridge staples.
- Ground Meat: I am using Lean ground beef for this recipe. Some grocery stores and butchers will also have ground veal, which you can use in combination with ground beef. But I find that ground beef which is accessible and affordable works great. I have quite a few ground beef recipes on my website. I encourage you to try my Beef Kofta, Meatball Soup and Beef Sambousek (fried meat pastries).
- Aromatics: I am using onions, carrots and garlic as the aromatic base for the ragu. If you have celery you can use some as well.
- Wine: A little red wine adds depth of flavor. The alcohol content will mostly burn off in the cooking process, but if you don’t want to use wine, you can simply add more stock in its place.
- Stock: This is a beef ragu after all, so use good quality beef stock or broth.
- Canned Tomatoes: I recommend buying canned whole tomatoes and then crushing them yourself. If you can find canned San Marzano tomatoes, use those! Or if you made my Marinara Sauce, you can use that instead!
- Vinegar: You’re going to have to trust me on this! I like adding a little sherry or red wine vinegar to the ragu towards the end of the cooking process to help balance out the flavor. I use vinegar as a flavor enhancer in my Short Rib Ragu as well.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make this Beef Bolognese Sauce Recipe
I have made this recipe countless times and can probably do it blindfolded! That being said, I encourage you to read through all the steps first to get situated. This isn’t a difficult recipe, but there are a few important steps at the beginning you want to make sure to get right.
Step 1. Process. To a small food processor, add the roughly chopped carrot, onion and garlic cloves. Pulse until you have a very fine consistency. You can also chip finely by hand.
Step 2. Brown the meat. To a large heavy-bottomed pot set on high heat, add the olive oil and ground beef. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Fry the ground beef until it is completely cooked through and any liquid has evaporated. This should take about 8-10 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits. Continue to fry to get some color on the beef, another 2-4 minutes.
Step 3. Add aromatics. Add the vegetable mixture to the cooked beef. Mix well and continue to fry until fragrant, 5-8 minutes.
Step 4. Add seasoning. Add the tomato paste and chili flakes. Mix well to incorporate. Continue to fry for another 4-5 minutes. This helps the tomato paste develop flavor.
Step 5. Add liquid. Add the wine, stock, and crushed tomatoes. Mix well. Add the bay leaves. Bring the sauce up to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer with a lid partially covering the pot for 45 minutes to an hour. Check on the sauce every once in a while making sure it’s not scorching the bottom of the pan.
Step 6. Season. When the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat. Add the vinegar and chopped parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Expert Tips
- Building flavor. I recommend taking your time with each step. You are building up the flavor as you go. This is the same process I outline in my other longer braises like in my beer-braised short ribs and pulled lamb. Build those flavor layers!
- Coarse ground meat. If you are buying your meat from a butcher, ask them for a coarser grind. This will give you a heartier finished sauce.
- For a party. If you are making this recipe for a dinner party or gathering, I recommend you make the ragu the night before. In my experience, this recipe tastes even better the next day!
- Pasta choice. Traditionally, pasta Bolognese is served with a long pasta shape like spaghetti, tagliatelle or pappardelle. But this recipe is not authentic, it is my take. So feel free to use any pasta shape you have on hand. The sauce is also perfect for layering in lasagna.
- Save the pasta water. If you find that your Bolognese sauce thickened up too much, you can use a splash of water to help thin it out when you mix in the cooked pasta.
- Stir the pasta, don’t just plop the sauce on it. You want to make sure all your pasta is coated with sauce. Transfer the cooked pasta to the Bolognese pot and stir carefully to get the pasta well coated.
- Garnish: Fresh herbs (chopped parsley or basil), parmesan cheese and a drizzle of good quality olive oil take this recipe up a notch.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! This is a perfect make-ahead recipe. I would even leave it in its pot and refrigerate it as is for up to 2 days before needing to serve it.
Storing leftover beef Bolognese ragu is simple. Use a glass airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. I don’t recommend using plastic containers; they will get stained. If your Bolognese is already mixed with pasta, follow the same storage instructions but I would recommend eating the leftovers within 2 days.
Cooked beef Bolognese can also be frozen for up to 6 months.
Companies that can tomatoes use the best ones for their “canned whole tomatoes” and the lower quality ones for diced and crushed canned tomatoes. I prefer to buy good quality canned whole tomatoes and crush them myself.
Other Pasta Sauce and Ragu Recipes
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Recipe Card
Beef Bolognese (My Way)
Equipment
- Dutch oven - Recommended
- Small food processor - Optional, Affiliate Link
Ingredients
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Yellow onion
- 6-8 Garlic cloves
- 2 lbs Ground beef - Use lean or 80/20
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- 3 tablespoon Tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon Chili flakes - Optional
- 1 cup Red wine
- 1 cup Beef stock
- 2 cups Crushed tomatoes - From one 28oz can
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 tablespoon Sherry or red wine vinegar - See note
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Process. To a small food processor, add the roughly chopped carrot, onion and garlic cloves. Pulse until you have a very fine consistency. You can also chop by hand.
- Brown the meat. To a large Dutch oven set on high heat, add the olive oil and ground beef. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Fry the ground beef until it is completely cooked through and any liquid has evaporated. This should take about 8-10 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits. Continue to fry to get some color on the beef, another 2-4 minutes.
- Add aromatics. Add the chopped carrot, onion, and garlic to the cooked beef. Mix well and continue to fry until fragrant, 5-8 minutes.
- Add seasoning. Add the tomato paste and chili flakes. Mix well to incorporate. Continue to fry for another 4-5 minutes. This helps the tomato paste develop flavor.
- Add liquid. Add the wine, stock, and crushed tomatoes. Mix well. Add the bay leaves. Bring the sauce up to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer with a lid partially covering the pot for 45 minutes to an hour. Check on the sauce every once in a while making sure it’s not scorching the bottom of the pan.
- Season. When the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat. Add the vinegar and chopped parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Notes
- Ground Meat: I am using Lean ground beef for this recipe. Some grocery stores and butchers will also have ground veal, which you can use in combination with ground beef.
- Wine: A little red wine adds depth of flavor. The alcohol content will mostly burn off in the cooking process, but if you don’t want to use wine, you can simply add more stock in its place.
- Stock: This is a beef ragu after all, so use good quality beef stock or broth.
- Canned Tomatoes: I recommend buying canned whole tomatoes and then crushing them yourself.
- Vinegar: You’re going to have to trust me on this! I like adding a little sherry or red wine vinegar to the ragu towards the end of the cooking process to help balance out the flavor.
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