This pasta bolognese recipe is a classic Italian dish that is truly a comfort meal. This recipe is made in one pot, incredibly flavorful and a recipe that your family will love!

I’ve made this recipe at least a couple hundred times— not joking. This is a dinner staple, especially during the colder months and is a recipe that family and friends rave about.

What is Pasta Bolognese?

The term bolognese sauce (known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese) is a meat-based sauce that originated in the city of Bologna— hence the name.

The sauce includes a few preparation techniques such as sweating, sautéing and braising. Most bolognese sauce recipes have onion, carrots, beef (also sometimes pork), wine, tomato paste, butter and lots of garlic. Then the sauce simmers to produce a thick sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Pasta Bolognese Recipe

• Incredible flavor
• Uses basic ingredients— most of which you probably already have
• Easy to make
• Made in 1 pot
• A recipe that your family with love

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Pasta Bolognese Ingredients

• Ground Beef: You want to use an 85% fat ground beef for best flavor. You can also use ground turkey if you prefer, just make sure that it has a bit more fat.
• Onions: We’re using white onion in this recipe. You want to dice the onion so it cooks evenly in the sauce.
• Carrots: The carrots help balance out the acidity from the tomatoes with their natural sweetness. You want to make sure that they are finely diced.
• Tomatoes: We’re using crushed tomatoes so that the sauce has some texture. In a pinch you can use tomato sauce, but I find that crushed tomatoes work best.
• Tomato Paste: The tomato paste helps thicken the sauce while giving it deep tomato flavor.
• Wine: You want to use a red wine for the sauce. The wine not only gives another depth of flavor but it also de-glazes the pan to get the flavor bits from the bottom of the pan into the sauce.
• Garlic: Adding fresh garlic enhances the flavor of the sauce.
• Oregano, Basil & Thyme: Each of these are key for flavor.
• Salt & Pepper: More flavor.
• Butter: To finish the sauce we add in butter. It helps add creaminess to the sauce while enhancing flavor.
• Pasta: You can serve bolognese over any type of pasta that you prefer. I love it over fettuccine.

Let’s Make The Bolognese

Making bolognese is a lot easier than most people think. There’s not much work involved and the trick to let it simmer. The longer it simmers, the more flavor that develops.

1. Brown the Beef: In a large pot, you want to start browning the beef over medium heat.
2. Add the Onion, Carrots & Garlic: After 5 minutes, toss in the onion, carrots and garlic to sauté them with the beef. You want the onions to sweat and become soft.
3. Add the Tomato Paste: Stir in the tomato paste (as best you can.)
4. Add the Wine: Stir in the wine and let it cook for 5 minutes to reduce. As you’re stirring, lift the bits of flavor up from the bottom of the pot.
5. Stir in the Crushed Tomatoes & Spices: Stir in the tomatoes and the spices. Make sure you combine everything together.
6. Let it Simmer: Bring the sauce to a simmer and let it cook for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. I sometimes even let it go all day.
7. Stir in the Butter: About 10 minutes before serving, stir in the butter.
8. Toss in the Pasta: Add the pasta to the sauce and make sure the pasta is coated with the sauce.

3 Success Tips For Bolognese

1. Let the Sauce Simmer: At a minimum simmer the sauce for 30 minutes but for the most flavor up to 2 hours. The longer it simmers, the more flavor that develops.
2. Finish with Butter: This is the last step to the sauce and adds a creaminess to it.
3. Toss the Sauce with the Pasta: While serving the sauce on top of the pasta looks nice, you also want to toss the pasta with the sauce. When you toss the pasta with the sauce, it helps the sauce thicken and sticks better to the pasta. That means that the sauce to pasta ratio is perfect.

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I’ve made this recipe at least a couple hundred times— not joking. This is a dinner staple, especially during the colder months and is a recipe that family and friends rave about.