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To me this is the absolute best Bolognese Sauce! It’s an authentic recipe we learned in Bologna, Italy, the birthplace of this meaty, deeply flavorful, slow simmered sauce of pancetta, ground beef, onion, carrot and celery (soffritto), wine, tomatoes and a splash of cream. It’s easy to prepare and just requires a little patience to let the sauce bubble away, developing it’s rich flavor.
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What pasta goes best with Bolognese sauce?
Italians are serious about pairing sauces with the correct pasta shape and Bolognese Sauce is traditionally tossed with flat, broad pasta shapes like tagliatelle, fettuccine, or (my favorite) pappardelle. The rich sauce clings to the wide surface area making every bite sing with flavor! And if you’d like to make homemade pasta, this food processor pasta dough is quick and easy.
Pappardelle Bolognese recipe straight from Bologna, Italy
We left our pasta making class at La Veccia Scuolo with pappardelle that we’d made by hand, an authentic recipe for Bolognese Sauce and a strong resolve to make it in our tiny apartment kitchen. It turned out to be the easiest grocery shopping experience of our entire trip to Italy.
We stop at a salumeria and say to the shopkeeper, “Bolognese?” His eyes ignite, “Si, si, si,” he says. He turns and chooses one of the three pancettas he has for sale. He meets my eyes and makes a cutting motion with his knife. “Si,” I answer, I would love to have him dice it for me. Next we go to the butcher. “Bolognese?,” we say. His eyes ignite, “Si, si, si,” he says. He wraps up just enough ground beef. Now down a small alley we choose a produce stand. “Bolognese?,” we say. Her eyes ignite, “Si, si, si,” she says. She turns and fills a small paper bag with one small onion, one carrot, one rib of celery.
We’ve been making this Bolognese recipe ever since.
FAQ
As with many cherished recipes in Italy (like ragu sauce), the definition of ‘authentic’ varies by region and even by kitchen! But the basic components of Bolognese Sauce include a small amount of fatty pork, a generous amount of ground beef, soffritto, white wine, tomatoes, tomato puree, or tomato paste and milk or cream.
Some variations on this meat sauce recipe may include ground pork, ground veal, or Italian sausage swapped in for some or all of the ground beef, using dry red wine in place of white, adding a bay leaf while the sauce simmers, or cooking the pancetta and soffrito in a bit of good extra-virgin olive oil. Feel free to experiment to make this recipe your own. And it’s not just for tossing with pasta, it works wonderfully in lasagna as well.
Some recipes call for long simmering the meat in whole milk, but I prefer to add a splash of cream to the sauce just before serving. It makes the sauce velvety smooth and creamy and tames any acidity from the wine and tomatoes.
This recipe takes about 90 minutes to cook, but the active time is 15 minutes or less. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon, but easy enough for a weeknight (try my Lamb Bolognese recipe too). You could also layer it between Homemade Lasagna Noodles in my Lasagna with Cottage Cheese.
How to make Bolognese Sauce
Step 1: In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook and stir the pancetta until the fat starts to render.
Step 2: Add onion, carrots and celery (soffritto); sauté until the vegetables are soft.
Step 3: Add ground beef; cook and stir, breaking it into smaller pieces until browned all over. Drain and discard any excess fat. Add wine; stir and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, until wine has mostly evaporated.
Step 4: Add tomatoes; stir and simmer 30 minutes.
Step 5: Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions so that it’s al dente when the Bolognese Sauce is done or shortly after.
Step 6: Stir cream into Bolognese Sauce and scoop pasta directly from the cooking water into the sauce; gently toss to coat. Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese (ideally Parmigiano-Reggiano) and minced Italian parsley if desired.
Bolognese Sauce
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Ingredients
- 4 ounces pancetta cut in to 1/4 inch cubes
- 1 medium carrot cut in to 1/4 inch cubes
- 1 small small onion cut in to 1/4 inch cubes
- 1 large rib celery cut in to 1/4 inch cubes
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
- 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with juice ideally San Marzano
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta or tagliatelle, cooked according to package directions
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste, optional
- minced fresh Italian parsley to taste, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat; add pancetta. Cook and stir until fat starts to render, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the soffritto of vegetables: carrot, onion, celery. Cook and stir until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef; break up with a wooden spoon and stir until lightly brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and discard excess fat. Add wine and bring to boil; reduce heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes, or until most of the wine evaporates.
- Add crushed tomatoes and their juices; stir. Simmer 30 minutes more. This is a good time to put water on to boil for your pasta. (Cook pasta according to package directions, timed to be ready just after you've stirred cream into the sauce. And reserve some of the pasta water for loosening the sauce if necessary.)
- Remove sauce from heat and stir in heavy cream.
- Season ragu with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add hot cooked pasta to sauce and gently toss to coat. Add reserved pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce.
- Divide pasta and sauce among serving bowls. If desired, top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and minced fresh Italian parsley; serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love bolognese! Yours looks absolutely delicous! Making bolognese is such a beautiful process.
Thank you so much.
I’ve never been to Bologna but after reading this post I wonder why I went elsewhere in Italy. It’s definitely on my list for next time. Your pasta looks amazing.
Thanks, Maureen!
I love bolognese! Pinned the recipe earlier this week and will try it today! Looks delicious!
Thanks so much! xx
Marissa, bolognese ragù is one of my fave things to make and eat!!! love love love and pappardelle is my fave pasta. . like you said, it takes some time but def well worth the wait!
I love pappardelle too! I’m happy just to eat it tossed with some butter and sprinkled with Parmesan.
Gah! Marissa, you just totally made me hungry with this post! I love love love bolognese! And it’s too early to eat it (it’s 7 a.m.), but I’m going to try this recipe this week!
Thanks, Kristi! xo
What a beautiful bolognese! Slow cooked meals are so wonderful…the smell of anticipation in the kitchen. And I bet a bolognese cooked in Italy is even more scrumptious!
Thank you, Kate. Yes! Eating it in Italy made it especially good…
Well, my stomach is hardcore growling now. Is it lunch time yet?!
Thanks, Joanne!
I love pasta bolognese. Whenever I see it on the menu at a restaurant – I order it! Your version looks like it came from a fancy restaurant! 🙂
That’s so sweet of you, Julia!
I love the sound of your bolognese Marissa! Ahh to be in Italy now…that would be nice! But at least you can be there in spirit with these dishes 🙂
Thanks, Lorraine! xo
My lord in heaven!! This looks phenomenal and the pappardelle goes perfectly with it.
Thanks so much!
Bolognese is my favorite thing EVER. I don’t even need pasta, just the bolognese. This looks amazing!
I’m the same way – I would gladly eat just the sauce with a side of broccoli and call it dinner. 🙂
I too could skip the pasta and just eat the bolognese. However I would like some crusty bread to soak up the juices. Have you ever made this with vegetable “pasta?” Use a mandolin to make squash pasta (add touch of nutmeg to sauce). Or, zucchini, broccoli, and asparagus ribbons? The possibilities are endless 🙂
No, I haven’t tried that, but it’s a fantastic idea, Felisha!
This looks incredible! I’ve lived in Italy for awhile and this recipe looks amazing – I can almost it taste it! Great photos from La Vecchia Scuola too!
Thank you! We had so much fun in that pasta making class!
What a work of art!!! Who was the one responsible for teaching you to make such a dish?! 🙂
Thanks so much!
I bow to you. Thank you. For making a REAL bolognaise. It’s amazing isn’t it? Soffrito and pancetta – two little steps that make all the difference! You have great taste Marissa, utmost respect for you!!
Wow, Nagi. You always say the nicest things. Thank you my friend!
I am so loving this pancetta bolognese – I’d skip the pasta and just slurp the sauce by itself!!!
I hear ya, Shashi! 😉