There’s one thing extremely satisfying about letting Bolognese, the well-known Italian meat sauce, simmer on the range for hours, perfuming your complete home with its meaty aromas. Sigh! Whereas this sauce is normally served with hearty pasta, it’s also possible to work it into baked potatoes, bell peppers, or nachos! I liked this simple Bolognese recipe so a lot that I ate it with rice. (I imply, have I ever mentioned something extra Puerto Rican?!)
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Stephanie
Simple Recipe for Bolognese Sauce
Now, I’ll be the primary to say this isn’t a conventional recipe. Bolognese is the standard meat sauce of Bologna, Italy. It’s largely floor beef with a little bit of pork thrown in, stewed in tomatoes, with a contact of milk and butter added to spherical out the sauce’s acidity. American meat sauces are usually way more tomato-forward, usually with garlic, oregano, and different herbs combined in.
On this model, I mix the 2 types to make one thing that’s simple, flavorful, and completely doable for dwelling cooks. I skip the pork to maintain issues budget-friendly and lean on slightly garlic for additional depth. I additionally use canned crushed tomatoes as a substitute of recent ones to avoid wasting money and time (though you should utilize recent when you like). It’s nonetheless wealthy, cozy, and ideal after a gradual simmer—the sort of sauce that adheres lovingly to your pasta!
Bolognese Recipe
Bolognese, the dreamy (and straightforward) Italian meat sauce, pairs with greater than pasta. Work it into baked potatoes, bell peppers, rice, or nachos!
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- 4 Tbsp butter, divided ($0.56)
- 1 medium onion, diced ($0.70)
- 1/2 tsp salt, divided ($0.01)
- 2 stalks celery, diced ($0.20)
- 1 giant carrot, diced ($0.11)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced* ($0.08)
- 1 lb floor beef, 80/20** ($4.98)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.01)
- 1 cup milk ($0.18)
- 1 cup wine (purple or white)*** ($1.14)
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes**** ($1.69)
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Place a heavy-bottomed pot over medium warmth. Add butter to the pan. When the butter foams, add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sautée till translucent.
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Add the celery and carrot and sautée for 2 minutes, till they’ve softened some.
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Subsequent, add the garlic and sauté till aromatic, about 1 minute.
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Add the bottom beef and pepper. Brown the meat, breaking it up with a picket spoon because it cooks.
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As soon as the meat has browned, add the milk, wine, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir often and simmer till the liquid has evaporated utterly, about half-hour.
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Add the crushed tomatoes. Combine till included. Decrease the warmth as quickly because the tomatoes come as much as a simmer.
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Prepare dinner, uncovered, for 3 hours. Stir often. If the sauce dries out, stir in a half cup of water. As soon as it’s completed, style for salt and pepper.
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**I take advantage of an 80/20 floor beef. Lean beef doesn’t work properly for this recipe.
***I take advantage of white wine, however both purple or white will work. However when you use purple, the sauce should cook dinner for longer to mellow the flavour. White wine cooks down a lot quicker, which is why I used it on this recipe. If you happen to don’t wish to use wine, substitute it with white grape juice with a little bit of white vinegar.
****If you wish to use recent tomatoes, you’ll need to puree the recent tomatoes first and double the cooking time on the sauce.
Serving: 1cupEnergy: 280kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 13gFats: 18gSodium: 386mgFiber: 3g
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How one can Make Bolognese Step-by-Step Images
Collect your entire substances.
Sauté the greens: Place a heavy-bottomed pot (like a Dutch oven) over medium warmth. Add 4 tablespoons of butter to the pan. When the butter is foaming, add 1 medium diced onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sauté till the onion turns into translucent.
Now, add 2 stalks of diced celery and 1 giant diced carrot and sauté for 2 minutes, till they’ve softened some. Subsequent, add the two cloves of minced garlic and sauté till it turns into aromatic, about 1 minute.
Brown the meat: Fastidiously add a pound of floor beef and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Break up the bottom beef into smaller meat crumbles with a picket spoon because it browns.
Add the milk and wine: As soon as the meat has browned, add 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of wine, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir often and simmer (don’t boil) till the liquid evaporates utterly. This took me about half-hour in whole.
Add the tomatoes: Pour within the 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes and blend to mix. As soon as the tomatoes come as much as a simmer, instantly decrease the warmth.
Prepare dinner and serve: Prepare dinner, with no lid, for 3 hours. Be sure you stir it often. If the sauce dries out in any respect, stir in a half cup of water. When it’s completed simmering, style for salt and pepper and modify the seasoning. Serve this over hearty pasta like tagliatelle, pappardelle, or rotini. You can even pair it with a baked potato, stuff it right into a bell pepper, or serve it over rice or nachos!
- Use a big heavy-bottomed pot. A Dutch oven is ideal, because it retains warmth and simmers substances with out scorching them.
- Chop the onions, carrots, and celery into small cube. Making certain all greens are the identical dimension helps them soften into the sauce and creates deeper taste.
- Be affected person. This home made Bolognese is a protracted recreation. Prepare dinner at a simmer for at least 3 hours. Don’t boil.
Serving Strategies
This wealthy, hearty sauce requires some kind of pasta, however like I mentioned earlier, you’ll be able to serve it in baked potatoes or with nachos! Nonetheless, a slice of heat, buttery garlic bread on the aspect is just about non-negotiable for most individuals. If I would like one thing recent to steadiness all of it out, I’ll throw collectively a fast Greek salad, too. It’s a easy, satisfying meal that hits all the proper notes.
Storage & Reheating
Retailer the sauce in an hermetic container, ideally glass or ceramic, because it stains plastic. It can hold within the fridge for as much as 4 days and within the freezer for as much as 3 months. If you happen to’re freezing this recipe for Bolognese, attempt doing so in parts, so that you solely thaw it as soon as. Reheat on the stovetop over medium warmth, or within the microwave till it begins to steam. If microwaving it, I’d prime it with a paper towel over it so it doesn’t splatter in every single place.
Our Bolognese recipe was initially revealed 4/15/23. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be higher than ever 4/22/25.
