Homemade Bolognese Sauce with Pappardelle Pasta

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What could be more comforting and delicious than this homemade bolognese sauce with pappardelle pasta? Wide noodles make the perfect vehicle for this rich, savory authentic Italian meat sauce.

We are excited to share this easy pappardelle bolognese recipe with all of you! It is almost guaranteed that you will want to make this recipe over and over again!

This pappardelle with bolognese sauce consistently gets five-star ratings from everyone in my family. Do you have any idea what a miracle that is?!?

Alternative titles to this post included:

1. No Joke Pasta Bolognese ~ No Joke! If you even attempt to eat it before the four-hour simmer mark the spirits of a thousand Italian grandmas will descend on you with their wooden spoons blazing.
2. Swear Jar Bolognese ~ Make sure any children in the house are out of earshot when you taste this sauce for the first time. Expletives will arise without warning or apology. And you will owe some big bucks to the swear jar.
3. Better Than a Sweater Bolognese ~ Sweaters merely create a barrier between you and the chilly air. This sauce warms you from the inside out AND makes your house smell like heaven.

What is Bolognese Sauce?

Bolognese sauce is a meat-based sauce in Italian cuisine. It originated in the city of Bologna. It is best paired with broad, flat pasta shapes, such as pappardelle or wide fettuccine.

Tagliatelle bolognese is also a common version of this recipe. We prefer the thickness of pappardelle noodles.

Why is this the Best Bolognese Recipe?

There are a lot of bolognese sauce with pasta recipes out there. This one incorporates bits and pieces from my favorites and is a truly authentic bolognese recipe.  

I love the addition of fresh herbs, bay leaves and tomato paste for some extra umami.

What is Pappardelle Pasta?

Pappardelle is very large, broad, flat pasta noodles, similar to fettuccine. This type of pasta originated from the region of Tuscany. We think it is the best pasta for the bolognese.

Ingredients for Bolognese Sauce

• butter
• onion finely diced
• carrots peeled and finely diced
• celery stalks finely diced
• garlic minced
• tomato paste
• pancetta diced
• ground beef
• ground pork
• white wine
• whole milk
• low-sodium stock chicken or beef
• whole tomatoes peeled San Marzano tomatoes and their liquid
• bay leaves
• flat-leaf parsley chopped
• kosher salt
• black pepper freshly ground
• pappardelle pasta cooked according to package instructions

How to Make Bolognese Sauce

1. Melt butter in a large heavy pot or dutch oven over medium-high flame.
2. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, tomato paste and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
3. Saute, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. If the onion or garlic starts to brown reduce heat.
4. Add pancetta and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are fairly soft.
5. Add the beef and pork about a third at a time, allowing most of the liquid to evaporate before incorporating more.
6. Cook, stirring frequently until all the pink is gone from the meat, all the liquid is evaporated and you can feel brown bits starting to stick to the bottom of the pot.
7. Deglaze the pot with the cup of white wine. Make sure you get up all those bits.
8. Then lower the heat so it doesn’t start sticking again.
9. Add milk, broth, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, a crack of freshly ground black pepper and bring to a boil
10. .Reduce heat to as low as possible maintaining a very lazy simmer.
11. Add bay leaves and parsley.
12. Simmer on low, half-covered, for four hours, stirring occasionally.
13. Remove bay leaves.
14. If the sauce has not completely thickened yet, increase the heat slightly and simmer another 15 to 30 minutes with the lid off.
15. Serve with pasta and a healthy dose of freshly grated parmigiana reggiano.

Tips for making the best Bolognese Sauce

• Use a big enough pot that the various liquids will be able to almost entirely evaporate.
• In the end, the sauce should be mostly meat with a little bit of very thick tomato sauce holding it together.
• Do your best to dice the onion, carrots, and celery (the soffrito) as evenly as you possibly can. Go for the ¼ inch dice. This is pretty much the only "work" involved in this recipe and the more exact you are the better it will be.
• There's no Parmigiano Reggiano in the actual sauce but if you don't grate some on top before digging in you're senselessly depriving yourself. This is comfort food, after all.

Is bolognese sauce gluten-free?

Yes, this bolognese sauce is gluten-free. To keep this recipe completely gluten-free, serve it with gluten-free pasta.

Can I make a bolognese ahead of time?

Yes! In fact, we recommend making bolognese sauce ahead of time. Bolognese tastes even better the next day as the flavors intensify and develop.

Trust us one this, make your bolognese ahead of time!

How long will bolognese pasta last in the fridge?

Another bonus to this recipe is that this recipe makes a large serving of pasta and meat sauce. There will definitely be leftovers.

Our bolognese pasta will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. We promise it is even better as leftovers!

Can you freeze pasta bolognese?

Yes! Yes, you can freeze bolognese. We love making big batches of this sauce and freezing it to use later. This makes our life so easy.

1. Prepare Bolognese Sauce.
2. Let sauce cool completely.
3. Transfer sauce to freezer-safe airtight containers or freezer bags.
4. Squeeze out any excess air.
5. Freeze for up to 3 months.
6. When ready to use, let Bolognese Sauce defrosts in the refrigerator overnight.
7. Gently heat over the stove while you boil the pappardelle pasta.

Make Bolognese Sliders

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Slice the tops off of a package of Hawaiian rolls and carefully set them aside until ready to use. Keep the package the rolls come in!
3. Lay the bottom halves of the rolls back in the cardboard tray they were packed in. Carefully add meaty bolognese sauce to fill each roll.
4. Top with cheese if desired. Gouda cheese is a great choice.
5. Place the top halves of the rolls back on the sliders and brush with garlic butter sauce.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted.

Side Dishes for Pasta

• Fresh Vegetable Salad
• Garlic Butter Bread
• Green Bean Almondine
• Tomato Cucumber Feta Salad
• Sprouted Bread Recipe

Comfort Food Pasta Recipes

• Slow Cooker Lasagna
• One Pot Spaghetti
• Chicken Tetrazzini
• Italian Wedding Soup
• Pasta Carbonara Recipe
• Sugo Recipe

📌 Pin this bolognese pasta recipe to save for later!

Bolognese Sauce

Recipe Author: Isabel Laessig

Packed with flavor and simmered to mouthwatering perfection, my bolognese sauce recipe will change how you think of meat sauces for life!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings 8

Calories 652 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• ▢ ¼ cup unsalted butter - ½ stick
• ▢ 1 medium onion - finely diced
• ▢ 2 large carrots - peeled and finely diced
• ▢ 2 large celery stalks - finely diced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic - minced
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• ▢ 4 ounces pancetta - diced
• ▢ ¾ pound ground beef
• ▢ ¾ pound ground pork
• ▢ 1 cup dry white wine
• ▢ 2 cups whole milk
• ▢ 1 cup low-sodium stock - chicken or beef
• ▢ 28 ounce whole tomatoes - peeled San Marzano tomatoes and their liquid. Tomatoes can be crushed by hand or cut up.
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ ¼ cup flat leaf parsley - chopped
• ▢ kosher salt
• ▢ black pepper - freshly ground
• ▢ 1 pound pappardelle pasta - cooked according to package instructions.

Instructions

 

• Melt butter in a large heavy pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add in the pancetta. Stir frequently until crispy.
• Remove the pancetta and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, tomato paste and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
• Saute, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. If the onion or garlic starts to brown reduce heat. Cook until fairly soft, then add in the pancetta again.
• Add the beef and pork about a third at a time, allowing most of the liquid to evaporate before incorporating more.
• Cook, stirring frequently, until all the pink is gone from the meat, all the liquid is evaporated and you can feel brown bits starting to stick to the bottom of the pot.
• Deglaze the pot with the cup of white wine, scraping up all the browned bits. Then lower the heat to medium-low so it doesn't start sticking again.
• Add milk, broth, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, a crack of freshly ground black pepper and bring to a boil. Crush the whole tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon (or cut them up before adding them).
• Reduce heat to as low as possible maintaining a very lazy simmer. Add bay leaves and parsley.
• Simmer on low, half covered, for four hours, stirring occasionally.
• Once the cook time is up, remove bay leaves.
• If the sauce has not completely thickened yet, increase heat slightly and simmer another 15 to 30 minutes with the lid off.
• Serve with pasta and a healthy dose of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

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4.82 from 11 votes

Notes

• This is one of those sauces that cannot be made quickly. You absolutely must let it simmer for at least four hours to ensure that the flavors have completely melded together and the texture is thick and rich.
• Make sure to leave the lid just slightly off so that some steam can escape. This ensures that the sauce will thicken versus just continuing to boil.
• I've made this sauce with venison before and it was absolutely to die for!
• Make sure to cook the vegetables up in the fat from the pancetta. This will flavor them as they cook.
• Using high quality tomatoes really makes a difference here!
• For extra umami flavor, rehydrate a packet of dried porcini mushrooms, then dice them and add them into the sauce. Use a little of the liquid alongside the broth.

Nutrition

Calories: 652kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 28gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 139mgSodium: 380mgPotassium: 876mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 3725IUVitamin C: 15.5mgCalcium: 166mgIron: 3.9mg