Five-Ingredient Pasta with Bolognese Sauce
User Reviews
5.0
132 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
10 mins
-
Cook Time
10 mins
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Total Time
25 mins
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Servings
8 servings
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Calories
351 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Italian
Five-Ingredient Pasta with Bolognese Sauce
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It's easy to make the BEST Pasta with Bolognese sauce at home- the kind where the sauce clings to every piece of pasta and has the most delicious Italian taste, with a few tricks and only five ingredients!
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Ingredients
- 16 oz. rigatoni or other pasta shape
- 24 oz. marinara sauce I used Rao's
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil I like California Olive Ranch
- 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese finely grated, plus more for serving
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
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Instructions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil (see notes).
- Cook pasta until just before it's al dente (about 2 minutes before the time designated on the package).
- Meanwhile, cook ground beef in a large deep skillet until fully cooked. As you are cooking it, break it into very small pieces. I used a potato masher to make sure it got broken up enough.
- Move the beef to one side of the skillet and tilt it in order to separate the grease/liquid. Remove the grease with a spoon and discard.
- Add the marinara sauce to the ground beef. Stir, cover, and simmer until heated through.
- When pasta is done just before it's al dente, reserve 1-2 cups of the pasta water and drain the rest. Don't drain too thoroughly- it's OK, and actually a good thing, if it has some of the water clinging to it.
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet with the sauce (you can also move it directly from the water using a slotted spoon). If the skillet is too small, you can add the pasta back into the pot in which it cooked, and add the sauce to it.
- Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce in the skillet or pot and keep heat on medium low. Add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, stirring to coat. Add more pasta water as necessary to help the pasta finish cooking to al dente- it will help the sauce thicken and stick to every piece of pasta (I used about 3/4 cup total).
- Turn off the heat. Stir in olive oil (2 tablespoons) and pecorino romano cheese (1/4 cup). Taste and add salt if necessary.
- Serve immediately with extra pecorino romano and garnished with fresh parsley, seasoned with fresh ground black pepper.
Notes
- Salting the pasta water: I always err on the side of a lot of salt here, but you should add salt according to your taste preference. A good guideline from America's Test Kitchen is 1 tablespoon table salt per 4 quarter of water. This will be more if you use kosher (see this post all about salt for more info!).
- You can use parmesan as a substitute for pecorino Romano, if you prefer.
- If you choose to use whole wheat pasta, be aware that because it is less starchy, it will be more difficult to get the sauce to cling to the pasta as well.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
351kcal
(18%)
Carbohydrates
47g
(16%)
Protein
22g
(44%)
Fat
8g
(12%)
Saturated Fat
2g
(10%)
Cholesterol
38mg
(13%)
Sodium
524mg
(22%)
Potassium
604mg
(17%)
Fiber
3g
(12%)
Sugar
5g
(10%)
Vitamin A
381IU
(8%)
Vitamin C
6mg
(7%)
Calcium
61mg
(6%)
Iron
3mg
(17%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 351 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 351kcal | 18% |
| Carbohydrates | 47g | 16% |
| Protein | 22g | 44% |
| Fat | 8g | 12% |
| Saturated Fat | 2g | 10% |
| Cholesterol | 38mg | 13% |
| Sodium | 524mg | 22% |
| Potassium | 604mg | 13% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 5g | 10% |
| Vitamin A | 381IU | 8% |
| Vitamin C | 6mg | 7% |
| Calcium | 61mg | 6% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
132 reviews
Excellent
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