Our Favorite Bolognese
- PREP 15min
- COOK 3hrs 45min
- TOTAL 4hrs
Our tried and true bolognese recipe with ground beef, milk, white wine, and tomato. With a bit of patience and our simple tips, you can make a mouth-watering, rich, creamy, and tender sauce.
For more detailed explanations of key recipe ingredients and more tips, see our article above.
Use a flat, ribbon-like pasta like tagliatelle or pappardelle. We love how all the folds hold onto the bolognese sauce. It’s beautiful, too. We also love rigatoni. You can also make spaghetti bolognese and use spaghetti noodles.
You Will Need
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup finely minced onion (4 ounces or 1/2 medium onion)
3/4 cup finely grated carrot (3 ounces or 2 small carrots)
3/4 cup finely minced celery (4 ounces or two stalks)
1 pound ground beef, 85% to 90% lean
1 cup whole milk
1/8 teaspoon finely grated nutmeg
3/4 cup (6 ounces) dry white wine, notes below
2 cups canned whole tomatoes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 pound tagliatelle or pappardelle, or try rigatoni
Directions
Make Bolognese
Heat olive oil and butter in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, and carrots, then cook, occasionally stirring them around the pan, until they begin to soften and the onions look translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the ground beef, one teaspoon of fine salt, and ¼ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper to the pot. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat into small chunks, and cook until the meat is no longer red, but before it begins to caramelize. The salt encourages the beef to release moisture, don’t be surprised if there is liquid in the bottom of the pot.
Stir in the milk and the nutmeg. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring every so often, until the liquid evaporates, leaving a mostly dry pot, about 30 minutes.
Stir the meat around the pot, and then pour in the wine. Simmer, stirring every so often, until the wine mostly bubbles away, 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the tomatoes. We prefer canned whole tomatoes. Open the can, measure 2 cups of the whole tomatoes with juices, and then use a fork or your fingers to break the whole tomatoes into smaller pieces. Of course, they will cook down and break apart even more in the pot, but giving them a head start is a good idea. A 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes has about 3 cups, so you will have some tomato leftover.
When the wine has simmered away, stir in the tomatoes. When the tomatoes begin to simmer, reduce the heat so it is barely simmering. We are looking for the occasional bubble popping at the surface. Cook uncovered at a very low simmer, stirring the sauce every 20 to 30 minutes for 3 hours.
If the sauce looks dry, stir in ¼ to ½ cup water. I have done this 2 or 3 times during the cooking time before and it does not water down any flavor. As the sauce cooks, taste it every so often to see how it is progressing. I usually throw in a couple of extra pinches of salt.
Toward the end of the cooking time, it is typical for the sauce to look separated (with fat on top). This is excellent and just what we are looking for.
To serve the bolognese, toss it with cooked pasta, and then dust the top with fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Tossing with Pasta
To serve with pasta, before draining the pasta, save a cup of the pasta water. Then toss the pasta with the sauce over low heat. Next, add some of the pasta water and toss for about a minute. This helps the bolognese stick to the pasta and make everything more “saucy.”
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Bolognese can be made 4 days ahead. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Freeze for up to three months.
- Wine: Use wine that does not taste sweet. If you can, find a dry white Italian wine, possibly from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, since this is where we find the city of Bologna. Otherwise, look for pino grigio, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, or other dry white wine.
- Wine substitute: Use a light broth like vegetable broth or chicken broth. Adding a few dashes of vinegar (white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar) would also add a bit of acidity to help mimic the wine.
- Instant Pot / Slow Cooker: For the best results, makes this recipe on the stove. It is not as suitable for pressure cookers and slow cookers. Your patience will be rewarded.
- Recipe inspired by Marcella Hazan and Bon Appetit
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. We included 1 teaspoon of salt.
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