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Bolognese sauce is heavenly and boy is the texture something to write home about! With some love and patience, this sauce will turn out to be a work of art and TOTALLY worth the time you put into it!
It doesn’t take much to make the very best bolognese sauce as long as you carve out a little bit of time to make it! It will be such a delightful surprise to your taste buds and you will be talking about how much you love it for days after! If you love this Italian-inspired dish, then try my alfredo, shrimp, or this gnocchi!
What is Bolognese Sauce?
If you aren’t quite sure what bolognese sauce is, I am here to tell you it is something that you MUST try! Bolognese sauce is a meat sauce that originated from, you guessed it, ITALY! It’s a lot different than your traditional spaghetti sauce that is usually tomato-based. This sauce is much creamier and thicker (because milk is one of the main ingredients). In addition to traditional ingredients like garlic and onion, it also has some carrots and celery. That sounds unusual but all of these things mixed together add up to make an absolutely savory, delicious flavor with a hint of sweetness!
This sauce is fantastic over pasta but you can also make it and use it in lasagna or casseroles that call for some marinara sauce to switch things up! This sauce will take some time to make but it is actually very hands-off and super simple! My family drools over this swoon-worthy sauce and it is requested often! I love that the texture is thicker than a normal marinara sauce making it hearty and different. Cook this with some gnocchi and top with some fresh parmesan, add in some breadsticks and you will feel like you are touring Italy! You should definitely try this, you won’t regret it!!
Ingredients for Beef Bolognese Sauce
Though this requires quite a few ingredients, you will be happy to know that you probably already have most of them in your kitchen!! Put them together to make this sauce and I can guarantee that you will absolutely love the result! See the recipe card below for full ingredient measurements.
- Carrots: Chop your carrots up into small cubes. You want the flavor but not large chunks!
- Onion: The onion will add so much flavor to this sauce! Make sure to chop it up finely.
- Celery: Chop the celery up into fine pieces.
- Garlic: This recipe calls for fresh cloves of garlic. If you don’t have any, you can use minced garlic from your fridge. 1/2 tsp equals about 1 clove of garlic.
- Pancetta: Delicious and not commonly used, this will bring a great flavor and texture to this sauce!
- Ground beef: If you can, I suggest getting 80/20 ground beef!
- Ground pork: This will be in addition to the beef. Using both makes this sauce unique in its taste.
- White wine: The wine will add a lot of depth to the sauce and the alcohol will evaporate.
- Crushed tomatoes: I use canned tomatoes because they help bring a thicker consistency than diced tomatoes!
- Tomato paste: This helps to thicken the sauce.
- Chicken broth: Used as a base, it will help combine all of the ingredients.
- Whole milk: This is an absolute must as this is what makes bolognese sauce so different!
- Salt and pepper: Add these in at the end to your preferred taste!
How to Make Homemade Bolognese Sauce
This recipe takes some time but not a ton of effort! You can get this mixed and ready to simmer in about 20 minutes. The remaining time is just monitoring it! You can totally do this and you will be so glad that you did!
- Pulse vegetables: In a food processor add the carrots, onion, celery and garlic. Pulse until crossly chopped. Be careful not to pulse it too long so that it turns into mush. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Pulse the meat: Add the pancetta to the food processor and pulse until it is coarsely chopped.
- Cook pancetta: Add to a large skillet and cook the pancetta for 5-6 minutes over medium high heat or until it starts to crisp. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Cook and crumble: Add in the ground beef and ground pork. Cook and crumble until it is cooked throughout. You want the crumbles to be pretty small so it might take some extra work.
- Deglaze: Add the veggies, pancetta, white wine to the skillet. Allow it to deglaze.
- Add: Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth.
- Simmer: Let it simmer on low for 2 hours for the flavors to blend and for it to thicken.
- Milk and seasoning: The last 15 minutes of cooking add the milk. Season to taste. Serve while warm.
Bolognese Variations
Since bolognese sauce may not be as familiar to you, here are a few tips and substitutions to help you out! Keep in mind that this is just the sauce recipe which leaves it wide open for you to use on whatever you see fit! Get creative, have fun and enjoy!
- Meat substitutions: Pancetta is sometime difficult to find at your local market. If you can’t find it at your grocery store, you can use proiscuitto, bacon, salted pork or smoked susage as a substitute.
- Wine: The alcohol in this dish will burn off but if you don’t have wine or are uncomfortable using it, you can substitute it with a bit of beef broth. Just keep in mind that this will slightly alter the taste.
- Crushed tomatoes: If you don’t have any crushed tomatoes available, you can dice up some tomatoes instead. The taste will remain the same but the consistency, however, will be slightly thinner.
Storing Leftovers
This sauce is great because it can be made ahead and stored or you can store or freeze any leftovers you may have! Because this recipe takes a bit longer, I love to double or triple the recipe and freeze it for later!
- Refrigerator: Store this in an airtight container and it will last in the fridge for 4 days.
- Freezer: This sauce will expand when frozen so keep that in mind when you are storing. Place it in an airtight container or a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. (Don’t forget to write the date on your container so that you know when you put it in the freezer!)
- Reheat: This is the easy part (and why I suggest at least doubling your recipe). You just take the sauce out and let it thaw in your fridge. Then, you can cook it on the stovetop or microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until heated through!
More Italian Recipes to Try!
The flavor and texture of this bolognese sauce is SO yummy and it makes me want to try ALL the Italian recipes! Here are a few that are so delicious that you will think that you have been transported to Italy. You will love them and I know your family will go crazy over them! Happy eating!
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The Very Best Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 small carrots chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 8 ounce pancetta
- 1 pound ground beef 80/20
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 29 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 4 ounce tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a food processor add the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic. Pulse until crossly chopped. Be careful not to pulse it too long so that it turns into mush. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Add the pancetta to the food processor and pulse until it is coarsely chopped.
- Add to a large skillet and cook the pancetta for 5-6 minutes over medium-high heat or until it starts to crisp. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Add in the ground beef and ground pork. Cook and crumble until it is cooked throughout. You want the crumbles to be pretty small so it might take some extra work.
- Add the veggies, pancetta, white wine to the skillet. Allow it to deglaze.
- Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth.
- Let it simmer on low for 2 hours for the flavors to blend and for it to thicken.
- The last 15 minutes of cooking add the milk. Season to taste. Serve while warm.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Poorly explained directions. Cook the vegetables or not? Many people have asked and no responses. Simmer with the top on or off? I don’t buy that this is a 4.8 out of 5 ratings. I should have stuck with my own version of bolognese and not attempted this. I posted a question earlier and it hasn’t appeared. Perhaps it takes 24 hours or maybe it won’t appear at all. At the end of the day, this was very bland even after using quality DOP certified SanMarzano tomatoes. A site like this now forces me to read all of the instructions, ingredients and reviews prior to making. I’m guessing this won’t be posted.
Hi Bob! I’m so sorry you are having troubles with this recipe, I would love to help out. I talk about adding the pulsed vegetables and letting them cook and deglaze on the stove in step 5. You simmer it on low uncovered. Anytime something needs to be covered or cooked with a lid on then I will specify that in the recipe. Also, there is a button at the top of all of my pages that says “Jump to Recipe” which allows you to skip down to the recipe card! This makes it so you get right to the ingredients and instructions. I’m so sorry this didn’t turn out for you! Let me know if you have any additional questions.
Do you simmer covered or uncovered? Might want to add that to the instructions. In order to thicken, I would think uncovered. I’m making now so I will leave uncovered for a while and see what happens.
This simmers without being covered.
If he’s made bolognese from his own recipe he would surely know you cook the vegetables first. Duh Bob.
I love this recipe!! It’s delicious and so easy!! Thank you!
I made this last night and made some fresh noodles for the first time and OMG… so gooood!!!!! I even forgot to put the milk in but I don’t think it even needed it. Amazing and it’s going to be a regular special meal in our home from now on!
I’m going to try this out but I am shocked about chicken stock and not beef stock? my mind is thinking beef, pork and now also chicken how does that mix haha! Has anyone ever tried beef broth instead?
I did by accident last time, i feel chicken stock has a lighter touch to it that goes really well in the recipe!
I’ve messed around with several recipes but I added this one to my book!
I made it & my husband LOVED IT!! As did I best sauce for any pasta meals 😋 Definitely gotta give a try easy to make an well worth the wait!! LOVE IT
Does it matter what kind of white wine? Sadly I am not a wine connoisseur and only know red from white due to the color. Someone please advise what kind I should use.
Hello! When cooking, I always like to use a white wine with a high acidity level like sauvignon blanc or chardonnay. You can also substitute the white wine with apple cider vinegar or chicken or vegetable broth.
I used white cooking wine which worked amazingly well I myself am not big on wine but the white cooking wine worked fantastic for me
I used Pinot Grigio and it was perfect
You cook the veggies first, then the meat. 🙂
there is a picture of cooking the carrots, onions and garlic. But the instruction make you believe you ad them raw into the beef after its cooked. So do you cook the onions carrots and garlic before adding to the meat like you do with the Pancetta?
Fantastic flavor. I love this recipe. The thing I like most is there’s not a bunch of added herbs that can sometimes overpower the sauce. This is a go to recipe for me! (I added mushrooms because we love them in our sauce)!
The mushrooms sound delicious! I will have to try that!
Great idea!! I’m definitely going to be trying it with mushrooms 🍄 I love them as well sautéed with the onions garlic carrots & celery I sautéed my veggies 😋 with Olive Oil from Greece Thanks for the great tip 2 add mushrooms 🍄 😀 😊
Could you please explain #7 in your instructions.
“The last 15 minutes of cooking add the milk. Season to taste”
There is no instruction of cooking time for all the ingredients together except after you add the milk then you state cook for 2 hours.
Another reviewer asked the same question but no response. Sorry the instructions are not clear.
Thank you.
Hello! Sorry, I edited that to be more clear. You cook the pancetta for 5-6 minutes. Then, you cook your ground beef and ground pork until they are cooked all the way through. Add all of the other ingredients except the milk and simmer for 2 hours. Add the milk when there are 15 minutes of cooking time left and then serve it warm.
after all the meats are cooked you add your veggies,white wine,tomatoes,tomatoes paste, chicken broth, and let simmer for 2hrs you must stir it to get all the bits off the pan you do have to watch it the last 15mins you add regular milk an salt & pepper or what spices u like I just used salt & pepper an I also sautéed my veggies in Olive Oil it gave it a much richer taste & I used Greek olive oil which is not called for but it turned out AMAZING!!!
Drain the day off thr meat or no?
Bolognese sauce, as understood by the Italians (see Marcela Hazan) is a meat sauce with some tomatoes. You can see from the picture that this is a tomato sauce.
Hi I am making this now. To clarify I never saw instructions to drain the fat from the beef and pork and when you said deglaze I assumed you leave the fat? What spices does everyone add to taste?
Season to taste always refers to salt and pepper. All other seasonings will be listed. This is the same for every recipe.
I was wondering if I should drain the at as well. I added fresh basil, oregano and parsley because that is what I had on hand but open to suggestions.
Wow! It looks so yummy. I’ll try this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Made this today. Delicious! A keeper! Plenty of flavor, will be making this again!
Can you use heavy cream instead?
after all the meats are cooked you add your veggies,white wine,tomatoes,tomatoes paste, chicken broth, and let simmer for 2hrs you must stir it to get all the bits off the pan you do have to watch it the last 15mins you add regular milk an salt & pepper or what spices u like I just used salt & pepper an I also sautéed my veggies in Olive Oil it gave it a much richer taste & I used Greek olive oil which is not called for but it turned out AMAZING!!!
The meat/tomato ratio seems off to me. I would think 1/2 pound of beef and 1/2 pound of pork would be sufficient, although you are adding quite a bit of liquid with the wine, chicken stock and milk. Just to be clear – the milk goes in at the END of the 2 hours of simmering, correct?
I have made many of your recipes and they have all been quite good – your best in our house is Swedish Meatballs.
Can I make this in the slow cooker?
Yes, that would be great!
Sounds so yummy 🙂 The direction is quite easy that everyone makes it. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.