Bolognese Sauce Recipe – Italian Special
Our family-favorite homemade Bolognese Sauce is filled with rich savory ground beef and juicy crushed tomatoes. Serve it over pappardelle pasta for the ultimate Italian comfort food! For the full batch of sauce, you will need 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of pasta.
- Prep Time1 hr
- Cook Time1 hr 20 min
- Total Time2 hr 20 min
Bolognese Sauce Ingredients :
- 1.5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus 2 Tbsp more to toss pasta
- 1.13 cups chopped onion, from 1 medium onion
- 0.75 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 0.75 medium carrot, peeled and shredded
- 2.25 garlic cloves, minced
- 0.75 lb ground beef, 20% fat, or use a mixture of beef and pork
- 0.38 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 0.19 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 0.75 cup dry white wine, or red wine
- 21 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 1.13 cups hot water, plus more as needed
- 1.5 Tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste, or 4 Tbsp regular tomato paste
- 0.19 cup parsley, finely chopped (or fresh basil), plus more to serve
- 0.38 cup whole milk
How to Make Bolognese Sauce Recipe :
In a 6-quart Dutch oven or pot over medium heat, add oil and butter. Add onion and stir until it is softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add celery and carrots and stir until golden, another 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.
Add ground beef, 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Cook the beef, breaking it up with a spatula until it’s browned and begins releasing fat and juices, about 5 minutes.
Add white wine, turn up the heat, and continue stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
Add crushed tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups hot water, tomato paste, and parsley and stir to combine. Stir in the milk and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to the lowest simmer, partially cover and continue cooking for at least 1 1/2 hours and preferably 2 hours or until the meat is very tender, stirring occasionally.
Add more hot water 1/2 cup at a time only as needed to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
When the meat is tender and you’ve reached the consistency of sloppy joes, add more salt to taste and serve.
