Rich and meaty Bolognese Sauce is perfect to serve over your favorite pasta. Bolognese Sauce is a meat based Italian sauce made with vegetables, wine, milk, and a combination beef and pork. For easy weeknight dinner, prepare this sauce ahead of time and freeze it in portions.
If you love classic Italian Sauces, try my Alfredo Sauce, classic Pasta sauce, or Vodka Sauce.
What is Bolognese Sauce?
My family still asks “what is Bolognese sauce, again?” almost every time I make it. Simply put, Bolognese is an Italian meat sauce often served with thick, flat pasta like fettuccine. Many people also know it as “ragù” or “ragù bolognese.”
This sauce originated in the Bologna region of Italy and over time, as it became popular in other parts of the world, it became more known as Bolognese sauce. The Bolognese Sauce we are more familiar with has a thicker tomato base than the original ragù but is still packed with meats, traditional vegetables, and milk.
Bolognese is not a quick sauce you can whip up on a Monday night, it does demand a couple of hours of slow cooking to be the best. Even though it will take a while to cook, I guarantee that every minute of effort put into the sauce is worth it. It will become your favorite way to eat pasta after the first bite.
Great news is that you can make the sauce ahead of time and freeze some of it to use later in the week or on a busy day.
Ingredients In Bolognese Sauce
Meats – Use a combination of ground beef and ground pork in the Bolognese sauce. Pick ground beef that has a little fat content in it, like the 85/15 meat to fat ratio. I do not drain off the liquid as the meat cooks because that liquid has so much flavor in it.
Vegetables – Bolognese sauce starts with what’s called “soffritto,” which is a trio of onions, celery, and carrots that is at the base of many sauces and soups.
Tomatoes – Even though original ragù had a light amount of tomato sauce, Bolognese sauce that we know today has a heavy base of tomatoes and tomato paste. Use both crushed tomatoes and tomato paste to give a deep tomato flavor, acidity, and some sweetness.
Wine – To compliment the beef, I prefer to use red wine in this sauce. White wine can easily be substituted as well and to be honest, the flavor difference is so fine, many people won’t even notice the substitution.
Milk – I recommend using milk over cream because it is not added to make the sauce creamy but rather give it a different texture and help tenderize the meat.
Herbs – Classic Italian cuisine herbs gives this sauce amazing flavor. Add garlic, oregano, parsley, and some fresh basil to finish the sauce.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Bolognese Sauce
Bolognese sauce is made through a combination of sauteing, sweating, and slow cooking and it will take a couple of hours to cook. I recommend using a Dutch oven for better and even cooking.
Start by sauteing onions, carrots, and celery until it’s soft (1) and add the meats. Break down all the clumps as meat cooks (2). Once meat is mostly browned, add red wine (3) and let it simmer for a few minutes.
Add beef stock, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper (4) to the meat and mix it all well (5). Bring it to a simmer and lower the heat to low. Close the lid and let is slow cook for about an hour (6).
After an hour, add milk and basil (7), close the lid and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour (8).
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this Bolognese sauce should be completely gluten free. As always, double check all the packaging of the products you are using.
You can serve it with gluten free pasta, zucchini noodles, sauteed vegetables, or spaghetti squash.
Traditionally, this sauce is served with thick, flat pasta like fettuccine or tagliatelle. Of course, you can choose your own pasta based on personal favorites and what your kids will agree to try. I’ve made Bolognese sauce with rotini on many occasions because I like the way the twisted pasta catches the meat sauce so well.
Try this meat sauce over tortellini , and ravioli for the extra cheesy bite. It would also be fantastic over gnocchi.
For healthier options, serve Bolognese sauce with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
While both sauces are tomato based hearty meat sauces, they are in fact difference. Ragu refers to the broad term of an Italian tomato based, rich meat sauce made with ground meat and vegetables. The Bolognese Sauce comes from the Bologna region on Italy and has a thicker tomato base than the original ragù but is still packed with meats, traditional vegetables, and milk.
Storing Suggestions and Shelf Life
Store sauce in a glass jar (or two jars) with an air-tight lid, in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Food spoils faster when bacteria is introduced. To lower chances of bacteria getting in, do not put spoons or anything else in when getting sauce out, but pour some sauce out of the jar instead. Keep the lid on and open the jar as little as possible.
It’s better to divide the sauce among two jars so that the same jar is not opened several times for different recipes.
You can also freeze half of the sauce and save for later.
Freezing Instructions
It’s always best to cool foods as quickly as possible before freezing. The faster it cools and freezes, the less chance for developing bacteria and subsequently, longer shelf life.
The best way to cool the sauce is to place the pot into a larger container filled with ice. To help it cool faster and evenly, make sure to stir the sauce often as it cools.
Once it’s cooled, you can portion sauce into several freezer bags or freezer containers with air-tight lid. Get all the air out and close completely. Label the bag or the container with date and name.
Place the bags flat on a cutting board and plate it in the freezer. Cutting board will help keep bags flat and straight as the sauce freezes.
Once sauce it frozen, you can remove the cutting board and stack the bags.
If using freezer containers, don’t stack them until the sauce it frozen to make sure each container freezes evenly.
To thaw sauce, pull out individual bags or container out of the freezer and into the refrigerator. Slow-thaw in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.
Some More Comforting Italian Recipes To Try
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Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Vidalia onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 celery ribs
- 1 lb ground beef 85/15 meat to fat ratio
- 0.5 lb ground pork
- 6 garlic cloves
- 8 oz tomato paste
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tbsp dried parsley
- salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 2 tbsp minced fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat Dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil.
- Saute onions, carrots, and celery until softened.
- Add beef and pork and break down all the lumps as meat cooks.
- Once meat is mostly browned, add red wine and let it simmer for a few minutes.
- Add beef stock, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper to the meat and mix it all well. Bring it to a simmer and lower the heat to low. Close the lid and let is slow cook for about an hour.
- After an hour, add milk and basil, close the lid and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour.
Video
Notes
- Gluten Free Options: Bolognese sauce should be completely gluten free. As always, double check all the packaging of the products you are using.
You can serve it with gluten free pasta, zucchini noodles, sauteed vegetables, or spaghetti squash. - Storing: Store sauce in a glass jar (or two jars) with an air-tight lid, in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Food spoils faster when bacteria is introduced. To lower chances of bacteria getting in, do not put spoons or anything else in when getting sauce out, but pour some sauce out of the jar instead. Keep the lid on and open the jar as little as possible. It’s better to divide the sauce among two jars so that the same jar is not opened several times for different recipes.
- Freezing: there are detailed freezing instructions for this sauce in the post. Make sure to check that if you plant to freeze it.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in May 2019.
Deb Algar says
I only added 1/4 milk as I like a more rustic sauce than a creamy sauce and it turned out wonderful!
LyubaB says
So glad you liked it!
Autumn L Starr says
Hi, I loved the flavor. I had trouble with that. I had a lot of liquid that made it runny, and it didn’t stick to the pasta. Any advice?
LyubaB says
You can cook it down some more to make it thicker by simmering it more but watch it because you do still want it to be a sauce. You could also use rigatoni or corkscrew pasta that will catch more of the meat.
sue says
Isn’t there nutmeg in the traditional sauce?
LyubaB says
I don’t know if it’s traditional or not some people do and some people don’t add it. If you’d like you could grate a little nutmeg over it.
Jinki says
How much salt and pepper do you put in?
LyubaB says
Since everyone has a different preference on how much I just salt and pepper this to taste.
Thomas Manley says
Hi Lyuba, I have had this recipe pinned to my board for some time now, and I get many people liking it and copying it to their boards. I have made this several times now since I like veggies in the sauce and a thicker sauce for pasta. The only change I do add is a tablespoon of sugar to cut some of the acid from the tomatoes. I do have a problem with acid reflux. Great recipe and enjoy your corner on Pinterest. 🙂
Tom
Crissy says
This sauce is incredible! We followed every instruction, just adding a bit of sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes! After two hours it was wonderful! I would suggest adding a salt amount for the recipe! Wonderful sauce!
Chris says
Do you rough chop the carrots and celery??
I’m in the midst of making it and there are still chunks of carrot and celery… Lol but in your photo, doesn’t seem to be chunks of veg. Help! 🙂
Kelly says
Loved it!! I have four kids a husband and a father in law to feed. They all approve:)
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked the recipe, Kelly! Thanks for stopping by to let me know!
Mick says
Is there any particular red wine that is best to use