If you love the classic Italian sauce with beef, you need to try this Lamb Bolognese sauce. It uses all of the traditional ingredients you’d expect, like pancetta and soffrityo and layers of wine and tomato, but instead of ground beef it uses lamb. Tossed with tender pappardelle pasta and finished with a splash of cream, it’s rustic, hearty, and just a little unexpected.
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I first learned to make authentic Bolognese Sauce at a cooking class in Bologna. We learned the importance of slow-simmering and how it gives the sauce depth that can’t be rushed. That original version with ground beef will always be a favorite in my house, but I love how the richness of lamb gives the sauce a whole new flavor. With every twirl of pasta, you get a velvety, savory bite that makes the long simmer completely worth it.
Table of Contents
Lamb Bolognese Ingredients
- Pancetta: If you can find this Italian-style cured pork belly, buy it. It’s not smoky the way that American-style bacon is, but it adds a nice amount of fat for cooking the vegetables and a distinct salty, delicately seasoned flavor. That said, bacon makes a fine substitute. And you can make knock-off Homemade Pancetta with plain pork belly if you’re feeling adventurous.
- Carrot: Look for firm, bright orange carrots. You can peel them or just scrub them well and leave the skins.
- Onion: I like to use yellow onion for this, but a sweet onion or even a white onion work too.
- Celery: Use the inner ribs of celery to avoid thick strings.
- Ground Lamb: Make sure your ground lamb looks and smells fresh.
- White Wine: I typically use a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc that I’d gladly sip on while the sauce simmers.
- Crushed Tomatoes: Look for an Italian brand of canned tomatoes that uses San Marzano tomatoes. Maybe it’s all of the Italian sunshine, but those tomatoes are hard to beat.
- Heavy Cream: It’s worth using actual cream to finish this sauce. Don’t substitute half-and-half or milk as they’re more likely to curdle.
- Pappardelle: I think these wide, flat noodles are ideal for this sauce. But any long pasta works well.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Look for real-deal Parmigiano Reggiano cheese with its name stamped on the rind. Grana Padano is also excellent and a bit less expensive.
- Fresh Parsley: Look for a deep green, perky bunch of Italian flat-leaf parsley.
How to Make Lamb Bolognese
Start by crisping up the pancetta in a large pot (this adds so much flavor). Stir in the carrot, onion, and celery and let them soften.
Add the lamb and cook until lightly browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Drain fat and add wine; boil until nearly evaporated. Stir in tomatoes with juice and simmer for 30 minutes.
While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, saving some pasta water before draining. Off the heat, stir in a little cream to round out the flavors. Toss the pasta with the sauce, loosening it with pasta water if needed. Serve with plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano and parsley.
6 Recipe Tips
- Cut pancetta and vegetables to a similar size: Do your best to cut the vegetables and pancetta into uniform, small cubes so they cook evenly.
- Render the Pancetta Slowly: Cook the pancetta over medium heat or even a bit lower to allow the fat to slowly render.
- Simmer Low and Slow: Adjust the heat up and down to keep the sauce at a low simmer, not a rapid boil. Slow cooking allows the flavors to develop, and high heat can cause the sauce to reduce too quickly and stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Save Some Pasta Water: Scoop out some of the pasta water before you drain the pasta. It’s magic for loosening the sauce or moistening leftovers when you reheat.
Recipe Variations
- Try Red Wine Swap: You can use dry red wine instead of white for a deeper flavor. If you’d rather not use wine at all, substitute with an equal amount of beef or chicken broth.
- Pasta Choice: While I love pappardelle here, other sturdy pasta shapes like tagliatelle, fettuccine, or even linguine work just fine.
- Make the Sauce Ahead: This sauce actually tastes even better after a day in the refrigerator. I often make it a day ahead when we’re having friends over for dinner. Just reheat gently and add a splash of pasta water if needed.
- Garnish Ideas: I love a little Parmigiano Reggiano and parsley, but a drizzle of good olive oil or pinch of red pepper flakes is nice too.
Complete Your Italian Feast
Start with Blue Cheese Crostini to whet appetites while the Bolognese simmers. Serve the pasta alongside a simple Butter Lettuce Salad, its crisp freshness balances the hearty main dish. For dessert, serve Chocolate Panna Cotta, which can be prepared ahead, or finish with a quick Affogato for an effortless Italian-inspired ending.
More Delicious Italian Recipes
Lamb Bolognese
Video
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 lamb
- 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 carrot, onion, celery; cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ground lamb, breaking up with a wooden spoon; cook and stir until lightly browned, 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 the wine mostly evaporates.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes with juices and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
- While the sauce simmers, put water on to boil for your pasta. (Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water for loosening the sauce if necessary. You'll want the pasta to be ready just after you've stirred cream into the sauce.)
- Remove sauce from heat and stir in heavy cream.
- Season sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add hot cooked pasta and gently toss to coat. Add reserved pasta water a little at a time if necessary to loosen the sauce.
- Divide pasta and sauce among serving bowls. Top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and minced fresh Italian parsley if desired and serve.
Notes
- You can substitute thick sliced bacon if you can’t find pancetta, just note that it will add a smoky flavor to the sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this over the weekend and OMG!!! I am just starting to love lamb again after too many bad experiences with mutton so I was a little concerned that this might be a little gamey but it turned out absolutely delicious!
So happy you loved it, Jennel! I totally understand being hesitant about lamb after bad mutton experiences – that can really put you off! Ground lamb in a bolognese is such a great way to enjoy it because the long simmer with tomatoes and aromatics mellows everything out. Thanks for giving it a try!