Bolognese Sauce Recipe

A flavorful Bolognese sauce recipe that is made from scratch and tastes better than pasta sauce in a jar. This tomato-based sauce is simmered slowly with a combination of ground beef chuck and minced pork. The sauce is creamy and rich in flavors. It's absolutely delicious!

Jump to:

• Homemade Bolognese Sauce
• What is Bolognese:
• What This Bolognese Meat Sauce Made Of:
• The Best Ground Meat to Use for Bolognese Sauce:
• The Best Wine to Use for Bolognese Sauce:
• What Tomato is Best for Bolognese Sauce
• How to Cook Bolognese Sauce from Scratch:
• Best Pasta for Bolognese Sauce:
• Storing the Leftover
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Homemade Bolognese Sauce

Store-bought pasta sauce is convenient but they are usually loaded with fillers and preservatives. Today, I am going to share my favorite Ragu Bolognese sauce recipe. This Italian meat sauce is so easy to make, and it has tons of flavors. It's also a great recipe to use those fresh tomatoes you have grown in your backyard.

This bolognese is a staple sauce that you can use on pasta, ground beef Italian meatballs, lasagna, manicotti, or even a casserole! Best of all, you can store the leftovers in the freezer for later use, especially on busy weeknights!

What is Bolognese:

Bolognese is a classic sauce in Italian cuisine. It is also known as ragù alla bolognese, or ragù, which has its origins in Bologna, Italy.

What This Bolognese Meat Sauce Made Of:

The bolognese is made of a combination of ground beef chuck, ground pork, and pancetta simmered in a tomato-based sauce.

The tomato-based sauce is consisting of San Marzano tomatoes, sofrito, garlic, milk, oregano, tomato paste, broth, red wine, and rosemary.

The Best Ground Meat to Use for Bolognese Sauce:

I use a combination of ground beef chuck and pork with 20% fat. If you are not a big fan of pork, feel free to use only ground beef. Ground veal is also the perfect meat choice for Bolognese.

The Best Wine to Use for Bolognese Sauce:

Wine is commonly used to add flavor to sauces and for deglazing. In this recipe, I used dry red wine.

However, white wine is more of a traditional ingredient for Bolognese. So, feel free to use either dry red or white wine according to your liking and availability. Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Merlot are good dry red wine choices that are easy to find. 

What Tomato is Best for Bolognese Sauce

I highly recommend using plum tomatoes to make bolognese. You can use fresh plum tomatoes or canned San Marzano. San Marzano is a type of plum tomato but it's longer, thinner, and has a taste that is stronger, sweeter, and less acidic. It also has fewer seeds than the typical plum tomatoes.

How to Cook Bolognese Sauce from Scratch:

This meat sauce is so easy, and will never fail. Even those without cooking skills can make this at home. The cooking process is a bit long, it takes about an hour up to an hour and a half of simmering time but it's worth it!

So here are some important steps to follow to make this Ragù alla bolognese:

• First, you want to lightly cook the sofrito (onion, celery, and carrots) with pancetta for about 8 minutes.
• Second, add the garlic, and rosemary and stir for about 2 minutes.
• Next, brown the ground beef and minced pork. This usually takes about 8-10 minutes of cooking time.
• After that, add the tomato paste and red wine and let it simmer until the liquid is reduced in half.
• Lastly, add the tomatoes, milk, oregano, broth, and simmer at low heat for about an hour or an hour and a half or until you reach the desired thickness.

Best Pasta for Bolognese Sauce:

It's important to pair the correct type of noodle with a particular type of sauce. In this case, use thicker kinds of pasta for thicker Bolognese sauce, such as tagliatelle, pappardelle, or rigatoni.

Storing the Leftover

Properly stored, cooked bolognese sauce can last up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. Be sure to let the leftovers cool down completely before putting them in an airtight container, or ziplock bag and storing it in the fridge.

Check Out More Delicious Pasta Recipes

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• ONE-POT PENNE PASTA
• CANNED TUNA PASTA
• WHITE SAUCE PASTA
• GARLIC BUTTER SHRIMP SCAMPI
• FETTUCCINE ALFREDO WITH CHICKEN SAUSAGE AND KALE
• BRATWURST PASTA RECIPE (IN A BUTTERY BEER SAUCE)

📖 Recipe