Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Such an incredible depth of flavor. Each step is just building layer upon layer of savory goodness and if you take a quick look at the ingredients, you can just imagine how amazing this tastes. Texture: Thick and rich and meaty. So satisfying. Ease: Certainly not as easy as buying premade sauce. This requires a good amount of prep work, dirties quite a few dishes, and takes hours. This is a special occasion or Sunday supper recipe but the nice thing is that it keeps well in the fridge or freezer so it can be made ahead of time. I promise, it’s so worth it!! Appearance: Like heaven on a plate. Pros: The best sauce ever. Cons: Sometimes the best things take the most work. Would I make this again? Absolutely. I portioned off and froze the leftovers. This would also make a great lasagna sauce for a Christmas Eve lasagna!This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
As we fast approach the first official day of winter, I have been in the mood for warm, savory, and satisfying food. Who wants to eat a salad during this time of the year? Not me. I want a serving of something rich and hearty, something like this bolognese sauce.
Yes, homemade bolognese sauce takes a long time. But there’s something relaxing about standing in front of a warm stove, stirring a pot full of delicious goodness that fills your kitchen with enticing aromas and lots of love. Making this sauce made me reminiscence about a fantasy Italian grandmother that I never had. If I did have one, though, I imagine she’d like this sauce. It’s the best bolognese sauce I’ve ever had, and probably the best pasta sauce ever.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy, and deep Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat and add the ground beef and ground pork. Season with salt and pepper and cook until browned.
As you can see, my meat is practically steaming because my Dutch oven was a tad bit too small but I made it work.
Remove the meat to a paper towel-lined plate and add in the pancetta or bacon. I couldn’t find pancetta at my local grocery store so I settled for bacon instead of making two grocery trips. Cook until crisp then transfer to the same plate as the meat. This is when your kitchen will start to smell amazing!
Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Next add in the wine and simmer until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Now your kitchen will smell completely heavenly, don’t be surprised if people start popping their head in to see what you’re making.
Add everything else, including the milk, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, cheese rind, and the meats. Season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a simmer then reduce to medium-low heat and cook, partially covered, until the sauce thickens, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You can also make this whole recipe in a stovetop-safe slow cooker insert, or transfer to a slow cooker insert at this point, and cook in the slow cooker on high for 3 1/2 hours.
See how much liquid has evaporated? The sauce is nice and thick and rich with lots of flavor now. Serve over pasta with grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy!!
The Best Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divded
- 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
- 1 1/4 pounds ground pork
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 4 ounces pancetta or bacon, sliced
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup (3 oz) tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 cup milk
- 2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes, passed through a food mill*
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 bunch fresh thyme, tied together with kitchen string
- 1 Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
- 1 pound fresh pasta, such as fettuccine, tagliatelle, or pappardelle, cooked until al dente and drained
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving
Instructions
- In a large, heavy, deep lidded Dutch oven or pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, ground pork, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the pancetta/bacon and cook until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to the paper towel-lined plate.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the milk, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and cheese rind and stir until combined. Add in the meats and season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer then partially cover and reduce to medium-low. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You can also transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and cook for 3 1/2 hours. Discard bay leaves, thyme, and cheese rind. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with pasta and grated cheese.
Delicious! Had to go to work so put it in the slow cooker on low until I got home – about 4 hours. Then added cashew milk (I’m lactose intolerant) and cranked up the heat for a couple of hours. Wow! Makes a lot of sauce so I’ll be filling the freezer. I made this in anticipation of making Bravo’s Mama’s lasagna which uses a combination of marinara, Bolognese and alfredo sauces. I also find that using my food processor for the onion, carrot and celery (sofrito) speeds up the process as well. So glad I found your recipe.
If we transfer to slow cooker should it be on high or low? Can’t wait to try this!
I was wondering if I could use something other than milk in this recipe ???
This sounds so amazing. I am going to be trying it on top of carrot noodles! Thanks for sharing.
Sorry, NO canned tomatoes in a true Bolognese (definitely some paste…), this recipe panders to the American palate for thick tomato sauces (just like from a jar). Authentic Bolognese is gloriously full of meaty flavor with a lactic background (from the milk). I just returned from a trip to Emilia Romagna and had many variations on Bolognese and NONE contained large amounts of tomatoes. The recipe is great as Sunday Gravy, full of meat and tomato flavor, but do NOT confuse this with Bolognese.
O.k.so I made this yesterday…. And holy cow…this morning I put it away to freeze (what’s left) and may I say thank you…hubby is in heaven… Love love loves it!!! I’ll be making it again.I hope to have a rind by then too…I also blended 1/2 of it to make it a touch smoother. Thank you for the recipe… You’ve made a very happy hubby over here!!!!
Yay!! Love this comment 🙂 I’m so happy you and your hubby enjoyed the recipe – interesting note about blending 1/2 of it.
Quick question. Did you drain the grease out of the Dutch oven from the meat and the pancetta between steps, or did you leave it all in and cook everything in it?
Wow! this was yummy, easy and quicker that other recipes I’ve tried. Favor was intense even at a 2 hour simmer. Everyone said it was definitely a keeper recipe.
So happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
While searching for the “best bolognese sauce”, I came across your recipe. I have previously used a food network recipe and thought I would try something new. Well, I just wanted to let you know we made this tonight and had it with gnocchi — delicious! I liked that this sauce was ready to eat a lot sooner than my other recipe. We had the time and let it simmer for 4 hours instead of 2 as you recommend, and when we came home after being out for a bit the house smelled amazing! Needless to say this will be our go-to bolognese sauce recipe from now on!
Looks so great, Tessa!! This would be a perfect holiday meal!
Yep, nothing better than a simmering bolognese! Sadly, since my husband had colon cancer, he doesn’t like a red sauce anymore. I may need to make a batch for my lunches to get my red sauce fix on!
LOVE bolognese sauce!! Love your step by steps, great tutorial!
Thanks Jenny!! Merry [almost] Christmas 🙂