Easy Bolognese Sauce

This bolognese sauce also referred to as "Italian Ragu" dates all the way back to the 18th with French cooks making a stew but the earliest documented was from a chef in Bologna called Alberto Alivisi and was served with pasta.


The tomato sauce is rich with meat and simmered slowly for a few hours and a topping for your favorite pasta dish.


Over the years it's been recreated several times and adapted to individual taste and added to baked lasagna, baked ziti, or other baked pasta recipes.


This sauce freezes well and can be used in so many other ways soups, stews, casseroles, and making large batches come in really handy in a pinch.


We have also many cooking methods for the busy cook, set it and forget in a slow cooker or instant pot.


Of course if your love Italian tomato sauce you may also like to try our Traditional Sunday Sauce, it's another vintage family recipe.


Scroll down to the easy recipe card to print off and don't forget to read all our tips and suggestions.

Chunky Meat Sauce

First of all, there is no such thing as a quick bolognese sauce for authenticity, it must be slowly simmered for at least 3 hours.



Putting some vegetables in with the meat brings the flavor over the top and the sauce is worth the extra time.



When you read over the history of this bolognese/ragu sauce, several recipes over the years were adapted, some used veal, loose ground meats, or finely chopped beef.



Again read through the tips and reasons for some of the ingredients, and adapt or leave out what you don't like however if you want an authentic taste that is made in Italy, then use everything listed.



Create your own dish, call it what you want, developing recipes to your own taste is fine, this is a basic original recipe from the Central part of Rome Italy and that's where Grandma grew up and of course her recipe.



This style of pasta dish everyone loves in our family preferably with thicker cuts of pasta.

Other Cooking Methods

• Slow Cooker: place on low for only 4-6 hours, you will need to saute the meats and vegetables before adding to the sauce
• Instant Pot: sear the meats with the vegetables first use the slow cooker mode 4-6 hours on low
• Dutch Oven Method: use a heavy cast iron pot, saute the vegetables and meat in the pot, add the tomatoes bake at 200 degrees for around 3 hours, same instructions
• Stovetop: follow original instructions in the recipe card

Ingredients You Will Need(for exact measurements scroll down to the recipe card)

1. pasta of your choice
2. whole tomatoes(preferably European if using canned)
3. tomato paste
4. dry red wine
5. fresh garlic
6. whole milk
7. fresh basil
8. carrots, celery leaves, onion
9. ground pork, ground beef
10. Optional Garnish: red pepper flakes and more Pecorino Romano cheese, parsley, fresh basil leaves

Pasta Suggestions

1. rigatoni
2. bowties
3. mostaccioli
4. fusilli
5. seashells
6. tagliatelle
7. spaghetti
8. fettuccini
9. spirals
10. low carb, whole wheat, or vegetables pasta like spinach fettuccini 

Tips and Suggestions

• milk is added to cut the acidity of the tomatoes plus it gives it a smooth delicate taste
• Italian serve this in Italy with thicker pasta like gnocchi and tagliatelle pasta here in America spaghetti is the favorite
• using fresh tomatoes when in season will need to be cooked longer to reduce the water content
• saute first saute the vegetables add the meat and cook on high heat until all the pink is removed
• the best bolognese sauce needs to be simmered slowly for at least 3 hours there is no such thing as quick authentic bolognese sauce
• for sausage, flavor add fennel seeds to the sauce
• remember to remove the bay leaf at the end

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Authentic Bolognese

Here are just my two cents on that subject, in the 1800s someone made this into a stew, then another man made it into a loose ragu sauce, adaptions will always be made, so a basic recipe can be turned into whatever your family was taught by their Regions and the taste of sauce you prefer.


Over the evolution of time, things change, but some of the basic ingredients stay the same, use this as a guideline, ours is the Roman way, other Regions do their own recipe, chunkier, more meat, less milk, you get the idea?


Change is good sometimes and how the best recipes are born.


Just remember Bolognese Sauce is an easy to make tomato-based meat sauce perfect on any pasta so use whatever you like!

Enjoy the sauce with toppings and ingredients you like and tell us your version we would love to hear from you.

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Italian food, Italian tomato sauce recipes, How to make tomato sauce, recipes using fresh tomatoes, how to make meat sauce

Italian

Yield: 8

Author: Claudia Lamascolo

Easy Bolognese Sauce

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 20 M

This is a vintage recipe from the Region Grandma lived in Rome, Italy for Bolognese sauce. This style of tomato sauce dates back to the 1800s.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small carrot
• 2 sprigs of celery leaves from the stalk chopped fine or use 1 celery stalk minced fine
• 6 freshly minced garlic cloves
• 1 tiny onion
• 1/2 pounds ground beef (not too lean)
• 1/2 pounds ground pork
• 2/3 cup dry red wine
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 5 cups whole tomatoes (preferably European)
• then pureed or use around 2 -1/2 pounds of fresh plum tomatoes added to a food processor leaving a few bits
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bay leaves
• 1/3 cup milk or cream
• Garnish fresh basil leaves
• Optional: we like the taste of sausage so we add 1 teaspoon of fennel seed to the sauce. Also if you like heat in your sauce add a few shakes of red pepper flakes.
• We also like ours with grated Pecorino Roman0, chopped fresh basil, and parsley
• Pasta of choice cooked to package instructions

Instructions

1. First, mince your vegetables fine.
2. Note: I pulse my garlic carrot, celery, and onion very fine in a food chopper or food processor set aside in a dish.
3. Puree the tomatoes in the food processor set them aside in a bowl.
4. Using a heavy pot( grandma used cast iron) put the olive oil and chopped vegetables, and cook for around 2 to 3 minutes on low to medium heat stirring constantly.
5. Add the meats, saute until all the pin is gone.
6. Add the tomatoes, paste, wine salt, pepper, fennel seed if using, and bay leaf.
7. Cook on low heat for at least 3 hours not boiling.
8. Stir every half hour.
9. Around 3 minutes before the sauce is completed add the milk heat for those few minutes.
10. Remove the bay leaf and celery leaves if you left them whole.
11. Cook your favorite pasta to the package directions and serve.
12. Top the pasta with tomato bolognese sauce and fresh chopped parsley and basil.
13. We also like ours with grated Pecorino Romano cheese on top.
14. Other Cooking Methods:
15. Slow Cooker: place on low for only 4-6 hours, you will need to saute the meats and vegetables before adding to the sauce
16. Instant Pot: sear the meats with the vegetables first use the slow cooker mode 4-6 hours on low
17. Dutch Oven Method: use a heavy cast iron pot, saute the vegetables and meat in the pot, add the tomatoes bake at 200 degrees for around 3 hours, same instructions
18. Stovetop: follow original instructions in the recipe card

Calories

421.67

Fat (grams)

22.80

Sat. Fat (grams)

7.01

Carbs (grams)

29.94

Fiber (grams)

3.67

Net carbs

26.28

Sugar (grams)

19.13

Protein (grams)

21.40

Sodium (milligrams)

391.02

Cholesterol (grams)

64.78

https://www.whatscookinitalianstylecuisine.com/2015/08/easy-italian-meat-sauce-recipe.html

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Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2015. It was edited and re-published in 2021.