The BEST Bolognese Sauce Recipe

User Reviews

5.0

351 reviews
Excellent
  • Prep Time

    30 mins

  • Cook Time

    3 hrs 30 mins

  • Total Time

    4 hrs

  • Servings

    8

  • Calories

    543 kcal

  • Course

    Main Course

  • Cuisine

    Italian

The BEST Bolognese Sauce Recipe

The best ever bolognese sauce is slow simmered and made with both milk and wine to create a super tender meat sauce. Note that this recipe makes enough sauce to coat 1 to 1.5 pounds of pasta.

I Made This!

263 people made this

Save this

210 people saved this

Ingredients

Servings
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 yellow onion , roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 celery stalk , roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 carrot , peeled and roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes in juice , about 3 cups
  • 8 ounces pancetta , cut into ½-inch chunks
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 pound 80/20 blend ground chuck beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup whole milk , 2% milk fat can be substituted
  • 2 cups beef or chicken broth
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Add to Shopping List

Instructions

  1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, add the olive oil and butter over medium heat. In a food processor, pulse the onion, celery, and carrot until finely chopped. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and golden, about 5-7 minutes.
  2. While the vegetables are cooking, add the tomatoes with their juice to the food processor and pulse 5-7 times until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the food processor, then add the pancetta to the bowl. Pulse until the pancetta is a coarse paste. Set aside.
  3. Add the ground chuck, pork, and pancetta to the Dutch oven, along with the red pepper flakes. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat apart as it cooks, just until lightly browned so the meat loses its raw edge. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 10 minutes until the paste begins to brown, stirring when needed so it doesn't burn.
  4. Add the wine and cook until the wine is almost all absorbed, about 10 minutes, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Add the milk and cook until it has evaporated, which will take about 30 minutes, stirring and breaking up the meat more as it cooks.
  5. Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaves, and kosher salt. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to the lowest setting so it cooks with barely a bubble breaking the surface occasionally. Cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours until the meat is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened to become rich and dark in color. Toward the end of cooking, a layer of oil will likely rise to the top. Spoon off the oil or fold back into the sauce as desired. The longer you cook the sauce the better it will become. If the sauce seems to dry out, add ¼ cup hot water at a time as needed.
  6. Serve the sauce over wide egg or pasta noodles such as pappardelle, tagliatelle, fettuccine, or rigatoni. Serve topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese/

Notes

  • While it's most popular served over long, wide noodles, this versatile sauce is delicious served over just about any pasta. 
  • Leftover sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months. 

Nutrition Information

Show Details
Calories 543kcal (27%) Carbohydrates 5g (2%) Protein 25g (50%) Fat 45g (69%) Saturated Fat 17g (85%) Cholesterol 114mg (38%) Sodium 863mg (36%) Potassium 540mg (15%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 1563IU (31%) Vitamin C 3mg (3%) Calcium 67mg (7%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 543 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories 543kcal 27%
Carbohydrates 5g 2%
Protein 25g 50%
Fat 45g 69%
Saturated Fat 17g 85%
Cholesterol 114mg 38%
Sodium 863mg 36%
Potassium 540mg 11%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 1563IU 31%
Vitamin C 3mg 3%
Calcium 67mg 7%
Iron 2mg 11%

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

Genuine Reviews

User Reviews

Overall Rating

5.0

351 reviews
Excellent

Write a Review

Drag & drop files here or click to upload
Other Recipes

You'll Also Love

Best Bolognese Sauce Recipe

Italian
0.0 (0 reviews)

The Best Bolognese Sauce

Italian
5.0 (6 reviews)

BEST EVER Bolognese Sauce

Italian
5.0 (255 reviews)

Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce (Pasta Meat Sauce)

Italian, American
5.0 (327 reviews)

Best Turkey Bolognese Recipe

Italian
0.0 (0 reviews)

The Best Vegan Bolognese

Italian
5.0 (18 reviews)

Best Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese

Italian
5.0 (15 reviews)

Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce Recipe

Italian
5.0 (6 reviews)

Beef Bolognese Sauce Recipe

Italian
5.0 (93 reviews)

Amazing Bolognese Sauce Recipe

Italian
5.0 (3 reviews)

Authentic Bolognese Sauce Recipe

Italian
4.8 (30 reviews)

Bolognese Sauce Recipe (Instant Pot)

Italian
5.0 (345 reviews)

Bolognese Sauce Recipe

Italian
5.0 (48 reviews)

Bolognese Sauce

Italian
4.3 (12 reviews)