Beef Bolognese (My Way)

Plated bowl of beef Bolognese with pasta, parsley and parmesan cheese.

5 from 2 votes

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.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $20

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 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt
½ tsp Black pepper
3 tbsp Tomato paste
½ tsp Chili flakes - Optional
1 cup Red wine
1 cup Beef stock
2 cups Crushed tomatoes - From one 28oz can
2 Bay leaves
2 tbsp 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 tsp 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

Refer to the post above for step-by-step recipe photos.

Ingredient 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.

Looking for other pasta sauce recipes, try my Marinara sauce, Basil Pesto and Sicilian Pesto.

Nutrition