You'll want to make this traditional Italian Bolognese sauce recipe over and over again! This homemade sauce simmers low and slow for a rich, beefy sauce that's perfect to serve with pasta, within lasagna or freeze for later.
What is the difference between ragù and Bolognese sauce?
Bolognese is a type of sauce that hails from the city of Bologna in Italy. It is sometimes referred to as Ragù alla Bolognese, which means sauce dish from Bologna. Ragù, or ragout in French, just translates to "a highly seasoned dish of meat cut into small pieces and stewed with vegetables." There can be many ragù types, such as fish-based, rabbit-based, lamb-based and so much more!
Bolognese sauce is a beef-based sauce usually served over pasta. Some versions include pancetta but this version swaps it with ground pork. While there are tomatoes in the sauce, some traditionalists like this sauce more meaty and less tomato-y. I've tested this recipe quite a bit and personally love the bright, saucy flavors of the tomatoes and how they balance the ground beef and pork.
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Why You'll Love This Bolognese Sauce Recipe
- Hearty flavors. This sauce is rich and meaty and, while it simmers for hours, all of the aromatic flavors melt into one another and tastes just like an Italian nonna made it!
- Set and forget. Chopping the veggies is the hardest part of this recipe. After all the ingredients are in the pot, you'll let this sauce simmer and cook down for three hours, checking up on it every 20 minutes or so. It's the perfect sauce for a lazy day at home or to make ahead of time.
- Freezer-friendly. This sauce makes about 10 cups of sauce, with each serving being ½ cup. While you won't be able to resist making yourself a bowl of pasta after smelling this sauce cook throughout the day, do yourself a favor and freeze some! It's perfect to build a lasagna at a later date or even for those hectic weeknight dinners where you don't know what to make. You can easily thaw the sauce out the night before or warm the sauce slowly in a pot once you're ready to eat.
Ingredients You'll Need for Bolognese Sauce
- Butter. Mixing butter with olive oil is my preferred way to sauté veggies and aromatics.
- Extra virgin olive oil. Use the best quality you can find, as always!
- Carrots. Brings out a burst of sweetness in the sauce.
- Celery. Just one part of your mirepoix, or sofrito.
- Onion. A can't-miss aromatic as part of the sautéed veggies.
- Garlic. Mince the garlic finely so there are no large pieces swimming in the sauce!
- Tomato paste. This will help intensify the tomato flavors of the sauce.
- Ground beef. I used 90/10 grass-fed ground beef - not too fatty and not too lean.
- Ground pork. You can also substitute the pork with your favorite sausage - just remove the casing.
- Red wine. Cabernet Sauvignon is perfect for this recipe and it's what I use every time.
- Canned peeled, whole tomatoes. Try to get DOP tomatoes, if you can, as these will make all the difference.
- Milk. This makes the sauce creamy and rich without being too heavy.
- Parmigiano Reggiano rinds. The can't-miss ingredient in any tomato-based sauce!
- Fresh basil. Use whole stems! The leaves may break away as the sauce cooks and you can always remove the stems once the sauce is done.
- Salt and pepper. You'll season the sauce at the end to let the flavors marry together before seasoning.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Cook your veggies. Consisting of diced onions, carrots and celery, this mirepoix or sofrito will be the base of your sauce. On medium heat, sauté these veggies in butter and olive oil for about 4 minutes, until they're soft and fragrant. Add in minced garlic and cook together for about another 3 minutes. Add in the tomato paste and cook together with the veggies for another 3 minutes or until the bright red color of the paste turns to a brick-like red, making sure it doesn't burn.
- Cook the meat + add the wine. Add in the ground beef and ground pork and cook together for about 8 minutes. Some recipes call for browning the meat separately. However, I've tested browning it separately vs. cooking it in the same pot and the differences in taste are not largely noticeable. Add in the wine and cook down for about 4 minutes or until you don't smell alcohol anymore.
- Add in the tomatoes. Pour in the canned tomatoes into the pot, complete with their liquid. Add in about ¼ cup of water into each can, swirl in the can and pour this water into the pot and. This is a trick to "clean out" the cans and use up all of that tomato-y goodness!
- Adding in the rest of the ingredients. Pour the milk into the pot and add the parmesan rinds and basil. Stir everything together, set to simmer on low-medium low and cover for about 2 hours, making sure to stir the sauce every 20 minutes or so. As you stir, make sure to press the whole tomatoes to the side of the pot to burst the tomatoes and get all the juices out. The more time passes, the easier the tomatoes will be to burst.
- Taste for seasoning + keep simmering. After the two hours are done, uncover and let the sauce simmer for another hour. Once the sauce is almost done, when there are around 20 minutes left, taste the sauce for seasoning. Add in the salt and pepper, to taste. Once the sauce is done, remove the parmesan rinds and, optionally, the basil stems. Enjoy immediately (served on top of fresh pasta, maybe!) or store in the fridge or freezer to enjoy at a later date.
Substitutions for Bolognese Sauce
- Protein. This recipe uses a mix off ground beef and ground pork. You can definitely just use beef or just use pork, if you prefer. While the mix of the two protein types lends a balanced flavor, feel free to use what you have. You can also substitute the pork for your favorite sausage, with its casings removed.
- Wine. I like using a Cabernet Sauvignon in this recipe but you can use any red wine that you like to drink. I'd recommend staying away from a very fruity red wine, however.
- Milk. Use whole or 2% milk for this recipe. I don't recommend plant-based milks (oat, soy, almond, etc) as they may be too sweet or not creamy enough.
Equipment
- Large pot. You'll want a large enough pot to accommodate all the ingredients in this recipe.
Storage and Reheating Bolognese Sauce
Once the sauce cools to room temperature, store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the sauce in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
The best way to reheat this bolognese sauce sauce from the fridge is in a pot over medium heat. You can also defrost the sauce in a microwave-safe container in 30 sec intervals. To defrost frozen bolognese sauce, the best way to do that is to defrost in the fridge the night before. Alternatively, place the block of frozen sauce in a pot over medium heat and slowly reheat until the sauce is warmed through.
Top tip
Make sure to stir the Bolognese sauce every 20 minutes or so! You'll want to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot while the sauce simmers.
FAQ
You don't have to use pork in Bolognese sauce but it does offer a great flavor to this sauce. You can substitute the pork for your favorite sausage, with the casings removed, or omit pork altogether and substitute it for more ground beef.
The flavors of the ingredients can vary from the beginning of the cook time to the end. For example, the Parmigiano Reggiano rinds may bring out the saltiness of the sauce towards the end of the cook time. If you added salt at the beginning, then the sauce may be too salty at the end, thanks to the salty cheese rinds. It's best to wait until the sauce is almost done and then add the salt and pepper so you can better notice the flavors and adjust accordingly.
Absolutely! Once the Bolognese sauce comes to room temperature, store in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge the night before or slowly on a pot over medium heat.
Tagliatelle or spaghetti are some of the most popular pasta types to serve Bolognese sauce with. It's also perfect for lasagna or baked pasta dishes, like cavatelli or rigatoni al forno (in the oven).
Not technically. Ragù, or ragout in French, translates to "a highly seasoned dish of meat cut into small pieces and stewed with vegetables." However, Ragù alla Bolognese, the traditional name of Bolognese sauce, translates to sauce dish from the Italian city of Bologna. Ragù can be made of many types of proteins (like fish, rabbit, lamb, etc) but traditional Bolognese uses some sort of beef and pork.
The hearty flavors in Bolognese sauce develop over time, so a low and slow cook time is the way to go for this type of sauce. This is a perfect set-and-forget kind of sauce just make sure to stir every 20 min or so!) for a lazy day in or to prep ahead of time.
Did you try out this recipe? I'd love to know how it went! Leave me a comment and rating below or tag me on Instagram at @AFabulousBite!
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Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 carrots peeled + diced
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground beef (I used 90%/10%)
- 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon or preferred dry, red wine
- 84 oz canned, peeled, whole tomatoes 3 cans of 28 oz each
- ¾ cup water ¼ cup water in each opened tomato can; see recipe for instructions
- ⅔ cup milk see note below
- 100 grams Parmigiano Reggiano rinds about 2 rinds
- 4 large sprigs fresh basil
- salt to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté sauté the carrots, celery and onions in the butter and extra virgin olive oil over medium heat for about 4 minutes or until soft. Add in the minced garlic, cooking for another 3 minutes. Add in the tomato paste and cook with the rest of the veggies for about 3 minutes or until the color of the paste changes from bright red to brick red.
- Add the ground pork and ground beef into the pot and cook for about 8 minutes. Then add in the red wine and cook down for about 4 minutes or until you don't smell alcohol anymore.
- Pour in the canned, whole tomatoes - including the juices in the can. Then add a bit of water (about ¼ cup) into the cans and swirl. This is a trick to "clean out" the cans and use up all of that tomato-y goodness! Pour out the water into the pot and stir everything together in the pot.
- Pour the milk into the pot and add the Parmigiano Reggiano rinds as well as the fresh basil. Stir everything well, cover and lower the temperature to low-medium low so the sauce simmers for two hours. Make sure to stir the sauce every 20 minutes or so, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. As you stir, try to squish the tomatoes to the side of the pot so the juices burst - they will be easier to burst as time goes on.
- After two hours, uncover the pot and let simmer for another hour - still stirring every 20 minutes. Once there are about 20 minutes left before the hour is up, taste for seasoning and add the salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Notes
- Milk. Use whole or 2% milk for this recipe. I don't recommend plant-based milks (oat, soy, almond, etc) as they may be too sweet or not creamy enough.
- Storing + Reheating. Once the sauce cools to room temperature, store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the sauce in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. The best way to reheat this bolognese sauce sauce from the fridge is in a pot over medium heat. You can also defrost the sauce in a microwave-safe container in 30 sec intervals. To defrost frozen bolognese sauce, the best way to do that is to defrost in the fridge the night before. Alternatively, place the block of frozen sauce in a pot over medium heat and slowly reheat until the sauce is warmed through.
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