The Most Exquisite Bolognese Sauce

In this recipe for The Most Exquisite Bolognese Sauce — a richly flavoured Italian meat ragù — you will find some of the best techniques and tricks to ensure the most classic, meltingly-tender Bolognese.

Hi all, how is everyone holding up? Myself, my family, my friends, we are all shaken and rattled, but OK. I sincerely hope you are as well. While we weather this unprecedented crisis, I thought I’d share this Bolognese recipe to help you use all that dried pasta you stocked up on. Using mostly pantry staples, it is the perfect dish to feed a crowd or to stretch for a couple of days worth of meals.

What Is Bolognese?

Bolognese is a rich, meaty tomato ragù that is a signature dish from Bologna, Italy. In the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, bolognese is typically served over egg tagliatelle noodles, or other thick noodles (but almost never spaghetti). Deeply rich and meaty, as opposed to saucy, it is the trait that distinguishes this ragù from a spaghetti meat sauce.

Not surprisingly, there are thousands of variations of Bolognese. And not surprisingly, these variations are the cause of much heated debate; garlic or no garlic, the proportion of tomato sauce, white or red wine, did the ragù really originate in Bologna, etc, etc. The fundamentals of a good Bolognese, however, mostly stay the same.

To be sure, a good Bolognese sauce is a labour of love. But if you have most of the ingredients on hand, and find yourself with a little extra time right now, it is truly a simple sauce to make and the pay-off is huge. This is my version, tested and retested for decades—it’s always a huge win and I know you’re going to love it.

Ingredients And Notes

It may seem like a long list of ingredients, but note that most of them are staples you likely already have in your pantry.

• The meat: I use only ground beef to make my Bolognese. If you prefer, you can use a mix of beef and pork or sausage. Like all small businesses currently suffering from this crisis, try and support your local butchers by buying a better-quality meat than at the supermarkets, if at all possible.
• Heavy cream: I recommend you marinate the ground beef with a few tablespoons of cream. This both helps tenderize the meat and enable a shorter cooking time.
• Butter & olive oil: For my Bolognese, I use only a good-quality olive to sauté the vegetables. To finish the sauce, however, just a tablespoon of butter will add a little extra silkiness and wonderful flavour to the sauce.
• Pancetta: A good Bolognese sauce benefits from the saltiness and smokiness of a cured meat such as pancetta or bacon. I prefer to use pancetta but use bacon if that is easier for you to come by or if it is what you have on hand.
• Garlic: As with many Italian dishes, the addition of garlic can cause quite the rufus. I love garlic, and garlic is good for you, it’s going in my Bolognese. Leave it out if you wish to earn brownie points from a Northern Italian.
• Onions, carrots and celery: Also known as the sofritto, these three ingredients are non-negotiable in a Bolognese. I like to pulse the veggies in a food processor to save a little time on the chopping.
• Tomato sauce: Bolognese is not heavy on the tomatoes. In fact, some traditional recipes omit it altogether relying solely on tomato paste. I prefer my bolognese sauce with 1 can tomatoes. If we weren’t all trying to avoid supermarkets right now, I would insist you use only San Marzano tomatoes. But given the circumstances, use the best you can find or whatever you have on hand.
• Tomato paste: The concentrated paste adds nuance and body to the sauce. To intensify the flavour of the paste, I like to brown it a little in the pan before adding the liquids. This sort of caramelizes and sweetens the paste which adds more flavour to the sauce. Freeze any leftover paste in tablespoon-sized servings for later use.
• Chicken stock: Not all recipes include stock in a bolognese. I feel like the ragú benefits from the liquid to keep it from drying out so I always include. Homemade is always best, but again, given the circumstances, store-bought is fine.
• Wine: Dry white wine is traditionally used in a bolognese sauce. Go ahead and use red if that is what you have.
• Milk: In Bologna, dairy is used to round out the acidity of the tomatoes in the Bolognese sauce. If avoiding dairy, you can try using leave it out but the sauce will not be as silky.
• Nutmeg: As with milk, nutmeg is used to tone down the acidity of the tomatoes in the ragú.
• Parmesan: A good Parmesan from the Reggiano region is no longer hard to track down no matter where you live. It probably goes without saying, but please refrain from using the green bottle stuff which will ruin your beautiful Bolognese. I like to add a little parmesan to the sauce once it is done cooking. More to serve with the pasta, is always a good idea.
• The pasta: The consensus seems to be “use any pasta except spaghetti for Bolognese”. I’m not arguing that one. I love it with a tubular-shaped pasta that catches the meat sauce, or a noodle that is thick enough to stand up to the thick sauce such as tagliatelle or pappardelle.

How To Make Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese is not a complicated recipe and my version does not stray far from the classic preparation. It always begins with onions, celery, carrots, and sometimes garlic, cooked in butter or drippings from pancetta or bacon.

Traditionally, it is made with ground beef, sometimes with the addition of pork or chicken liver as well. I stick to just beef which is further flavoured with white wine (or red), tomatoes, tomato paste, and stock.

Milk is also a key ingredient which sounds a little odd, but does a lovely job of tenderizing the meat, softening the tomato flavor, and giving the Bolognese its distinct creamy texture. From here, the meat sauce, also referred to as ragú in Italy, is left to simmer looooong and slow until the sauce thickens and becomes lusciously rich and very delicious.

A Genius Trick To Make The Most Exquisite Bolognese

So here’s the thing, if I’m going to share a classic recipe that already has countless versions online, it’s for two reasons: to remind you it’s worth making and to offer a fresh twist on a timeless favorite.

In this version of Bolognese, I use a simple yet game-changing technique to cut the traditional cooking time in half while ensuring ultra-tender meat. Let me explain. A pet peeve of mine is that ground beef often turns tough and rubbery when seared—a step essential for building flavor—no matter how long it simmers.

Then recently, I read about a genius trick on the Food52 website that takes a little planning, but could not be simpler and actually works. The ground meat is soaked in a few tablespoons of cream or yogurt for a few hours or overnight. That’s it. It works the same way as tenderizing chicken in yogurt before cooking it and it is truly genius.

The technique was inspired by none other than James Beard who adds heavy cream to his burgers before cooking them. Jenn de la Vega took this trick a little further and used it to soak her ground meat for a few hours. The meat breaks down becoming softer, and more tender before it even hits the pan. The result? Buttery-soft and ultra tender meat that browns beautifully and cooks in less time.

Though fascinating to me, I won’t get into the science behind how or why it works on this post. If you would like to learn more about it, read the full article here. Just know that applying this trick to a Bolognese sauce not only reduces the cooking time significantly (from 3-4 hours to maybe 1 1/2 – 2), but also delivers the silkiest, most luscious ragú imaginable.

Yes, you’ll need to plan ahead to marinate the meat, but Bolognese is a weekend dish anyway—so why not make it exceptional?

With ALL this being said, I know planning ahead can sometimes be difficult. If you forget to marinate the beef ahead of time, don’t let that stop you from making this bolognese. Just add a little more cooking time, and it will still be exquisite.

Oven or Stovetop

I prefer to cook stews in a low-heat oven. The oven offers better heat distribution and it also requires less babysitting. In the recipe notes I include stovetop instructions as well, in case it is the method you prefer.

Recipe Tips:

• Use a food processor. The veggies should be finely chopped so you can use a use a food processor to make things easier. Just be careful not to process into a paste—a few pulses should suffice.
• Don’t omit the milk. Adding milk to the ragú further tenderizes the meat, and gives the whole dish a silky texture.
• Don’t boil the sauce. Boiling the sauce could cause the milk to become grainy. Keep the ragú over a very low simmer at all times.
• Use white wine. Some recipes will call for red wine, but using white wine ensures the sauce isn’t overly rich and heavy.
• Double the meat sauce for meal prep. A bolognese sauce will freeze beautifully so your future self will thank you.

What To Serve With Bolognese

I like to serve my Bolognese pasta with a simple leafy green salad. If you have time to make it, this Catalan-Style Spinach would also be divine alongside this bolognese.

Storage, Reheating and Freezing tips

To store: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

To reheat. Heat sauce in a saucepan over low heat until warmed through. Note: I find the sauce dries out quite a bit when refrigerated. If you reserved some pasta water, add some to loosen the sauce while it reheats. You can also use chicken broth.

Freeze. The beauty of a bolognese sauce is that it freezes beautifully. Transfer the sauce to a freezer-safe container or resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.