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One Pot Pasta Bolognese

Recipe video above. For One-Pot-Pasta Cynics (and Italian cooking pursists), there's a special message for you at the top of the post! :)This recipe is everything you love about Spaghetti Bolognese - the rich, thick tomato sauce, full flavoured (never bland!), made from scratch WITH the pasta in one pot! Excellent big batch cooking, keeps well. Tomato passata (aka tomato puree) is the key here for an instant thick, rich sauce rather than cooking down crushed tomato.Pasta types - long, short or tiny, but read recipe note 4 for adjustments.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Servings: 5 - 6
Calories: 552 kcal
Course: Main Course , Dinner
Cuisine: American , Italian-American Fussion

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 onion , finely chopped
  • 500g / 1 lb beef mince (ground beef) , I use lean
  • 700g / 24.5 oz tomato passata (tomato puree) (Note 1)
  • 3 cups beef broth (or stock cubes + water, Note 2)
  • 2 tsp Italian mixed herbs (options, see Note 3)
  • 1/4 - 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) , adjust to taste
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3/4 tsp each salt and pepper
  • 350g / 12 oz Spaghetti , uncooked (other pasta - Note 4)
For serving
  • parmesan

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Saute onion & garlic: Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Cook garlic and onion for 2 minutes until translucent.
  2. Cook beef: Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go.
  3. Add tomato: Once beef has all changed from red to brown, add tomato passata.
  4. Rinse out bottle: Pour some beef stock into the empty bottle, shake, then pour into the pot.
  5. Add everything else: Add remaining beef stock and all remaining ingredients except spaghetti. Give it a good stir, then let it come up to the boil.
  6. Add spaghetti: Add pasta, fanning it out around the pot. Leave for 30 seconds to start softening, then start pushing it in under the liquid.
  7. Cook pasta: Once fully submerged, cook for 12 minutes, stirring every minute or so, and more towards the end. At about the 8 minute mark, lower the heat to medium otherwise the base might catch (but ensure it is still bubbling gently - you don't want pasta just bloating in warm water).
  8. Remove from stove, toss well: Take it off the stove once the pasta is JUST cooked, the tiniest bit firmer than you want, and when still saucy. Toss it for about 30 seconds or so - the sauce will reduce further, the pasta will finish cooking.
  9. Serve immediately, garnished with parmesan.

Notes

  • General notes:
  • Tomato passata - pureed, strained pure tomatoes, sometimes labelled Tomato Puree in the US. Readily available in Australian supermarkets nowadays, alongside pasta sauces. More info about passata here.
  • Key ingredient in this recipe for a rich, smooth sauce in this speedy Bolognese recipe. Usually, we use crushed tomato and let it simmer for a while (or hours!) so it breaks down.
  • Beef stock - alternative is to use 3 crumbled beef stock cubes or 3 tsp powder plus water.
  • Italian herb mix - this is a handy shortcut, using a premix. Anything labelled "Italian herbs" or "herb mix" is fine here. Or make your own with equal portions of dried parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme (if you have at least 3 of these). More options for similar flavour combos:
  • Still worth making if you have none of these :) Herbs just add an extra touch of tastiness!
  • Pasta options:
  • Long - fettuccine, linguine, bucatini- thicker pasta will take longer to cook.- follow recipe as written but then adjust at end by adding BOILING water 1/2 cup at a time and continuing to cook/stir until pasta is cooked through.
  • Short - ziti, penne, macaroni, spirals, rigatoni- requires less tossing to cook pasta through evenly and ensure they don't stick together, so use less liquid- reduce to 2 1/2 cups of beef stock and add an extra pinch of salt
  • Tiny - orzo/risoni, ditalini, kiddie novelty pasta like alphabet- Use this One Pot Bolognese Risoni recipe
  • Storage / make ahead: Keeps well because it's nice and saucy, so it doesn't go dried out and stodgy the next day. Refrigerate up to 4 days, then reheat in microwave. Will freeze ok but if you're looking for a pre assembled Bolognese type thing to freeze, I highly recommend Baked Spaghetti Bolognese (it's made for freezing).
  • Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 generous servings, including pasta.
  • If you scale recipe down, use a large saucepan and break long pasta in half
  • Dried Thyme only - 1 tsp
  • Dried thyme 1 tsp + rosemary 1/4 tsp
  • Dried thyme 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp oregano
  • Fresh - sprig of rosemary + 3 sprigs thyme, plonk in and fish out before serving.
  • Just fresh thyme (not just rosemary - too strong)

Nutrition Information

Calories 552cal (28%) Carbohydrates 71g (24%) Protein 35g (70%) Fat 14g (22%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Cholesterol 65mg (22%) Sodium 798mg (33%) Potassium 1511mg (43%) Fiber 6g (24%) Sugar 11g (22%) Vitamin A 824IU (16%) Vitamin C 19mg (21%) Calcium 76mg (8%) Iron 6mg (33%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 5- 6

Amount Per Serving

Calories 552

% Daily Value*

Calories 552cal 28%
Carbohydrates 71g 24%
Protein 35g 70%
Fat 14g 22%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 65mg 22%
Sodium 798mg 33%
Potassium 1511mg 32%
Fiber 6g 24%
Sugar 11g 22%
Vitamin A 824IU 16%
Vitamin C 19mg 21%
Calcium 76mg 8%
Iron 6mg 33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.