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    Home > Blog > Pasta & Noodles > Bolognese Sauce

    Bolognese Sauce

    by Teri Lyn Fisher · Published: Oct 6, 2021 · Modified: Aug 4, 2022

    Jump to Recipe
    A deliciously hearty recipe for Bolognese Sauce that's perfect for cozy nights in. This recipe makes enough for a group of people and also makes really great leftovers! Make it with pasta, or on some buns for sloppy joes!
    Bolognese sauce recipe in a bowl with a fork.
    Bolognese sauce with pasta in a bowl with a fork picking some pasta up.
    Bolognese sauce in a stock pot with a wooden spoon.
    Close up on bolognese sauce in a bowl.
    Bolognese sauce recipe in a bowl with parmesan.
    Bolognese sauce recipe in a bowl with pasta.

    One of the first recipes I learned to make in culinary school was a Bolognese Sauce recipe. It was a classic recipe using a variety of meats, including cubes of ham, running it through a food mill for consistency, and simmering it for hours before it was ready to serve. It resulted in a truly delicious bolognese sauce, but man was it a lot of effort.

    Our recipe today is a simplified version of the bolognese sauce recipe I made in school. It’s equally as delicious, still requires a bit of simmering time to meld all the flavors together, but is much more simplified!

    What is Bolognese Sauce?

    Classic bolognese sauce is an Italian meat sauce originating from Bologna, Italy. The biggest difference from that of an American meat sauce is the addition of milk and the use of a lot less tomatoes. The resulting sauce is much thicker and creamier.

    Bolognese sauce with pasta in a bowl with wine in the background.

    How to Make Our Bolognese Sauce Recipe

    Our Bolognese sauce recipe is really easy to make once you have gathered all your ingredients!

    Bolognese sauce ingredients all laid out on a kitchen counter.

    Process

    1. Melt together butter and oil in a large Dutch oven.
    2. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, season with salt and pepper and sauté mixture.
    3. Add beef, pork and sausage to pot, breaking down meats with a spoon and stir together. Season with salt and pepper.
    4. Cook until meats have browned.
    Onions, celery, and carrots in a stock pot sautéing with butter.
    Beef, pork, and italian sausage in a pot with onions and celery to make bolognese sauce.
    1. Add nutmeg and milk and simmer until milk reduces.
    2. Stir in tomatoes and break apart with a wooden spoon.
    Cooking down meat to make a bolognese sauce in a pot.
    Tomatoes added into a stock pot to make a bolognese sauce.
    1. Simmer sauce until thick and everything has melded together.
    2. Adjust seasonings and serve.
    A big pot of bolognese sauce with a wooden spoon in it.

    Tools You Will Need

    • knife
    • cutting board
    • dry measuring cup
    • liquid measuring cup
    • measuring spoons
    • wooden spoon
    • dutch oven

    Best Types of Canned Tomatoes to Use for Our Bolognese Sauce

    We use whole, peeled, canned tomatoes for our recipe, because we like the bits of tomatoes that remain in the sauce once it has simmered down. If you want a slightly smoother sauce, we recommend using crushed canned tomatoes, which will result in an equally delicious bolognese sauce.

    What to Serve with Our Bolognese Sauce

    Although the most common and typical way to serve bolognese sauce is tossed together with pasta, there are so many other ways to serve it up. It makes for especially delicious leftovers!

    • Baked Pasta – I know we just mentioned pasta, but we’re talking about dishes like bolognese stuffed shells and lasagna!
    • Polenta -top your creamy polenta with a big ladle of this sauce for a deliciously hearty meal!
    • Stuffed Peppers – hollow out some halved bell peppers, fill with bolognese, top with shredded mozzarella for a tasty low carb dinner.
    • Loaded Baked Potato – Fill a simple baked potato with a scoop of this bolognese sauce for a different take on baked potato.
    • Sloppy Joes – Toast up some of your favorite burger buns and fill with a big scoop of bolognese for a quick, easy and delicious weeknight leftovers dinner the whole family will love!
    Bolognese sauce with pasta in a bowl and parmesan on the side.

    Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions

    Make Ahead

    This sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Once the sauce is made, cool it and store it in an airtight container until ready to use.

    When ready to use pour sauce into a pot and simmer over medium-low heat, occasionally stirring, until heated through. If sauce is too thick, add 1/2 cup water to loosen. Adjust seasonings (salt and pepper) and serve.

    Freezing

    Cool sauce completely and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

    When ready to use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then pour sauce into a pot and simmer over medium-low heat until heated through. If sauce is too thick, add 1/2 cup water to loosen. Adjust seasonings (salt and pepper) and serve.

    Bolognese sauce with pasta and a fork in a bowl.

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    Bolognese sauce with parmesan and pasta in a bowl.

    Bolognese Sauce

    5 from 7 votes
    PRINT RECIPE Pin Recipe
    A deliciously hearty recipe for Bolognese Sauce that's perfect for cozy nights in. This recipe makes enough for a group of people and also makes really great leftovers! Make it with pasta, or on some buns for sloppy joes!
    RECIPE BY Teri & Jenny
    Prep Time: 10 mins
    Cook Time: 1 hr 53 mins
    Total Time: 2 hrs 3 mins
    Servings: 6 servings

      INGREDIENTS  

    • 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 medium onion diced
    • 2 carrots peeled and diced
    • 2 celery stalks diced
    • 1 garlic clove minced
    • 10 ounces lean ground beef
    • 4 ounces ground pork
    • 4 ounces sweet Italian sausage casings removed
    • pinch nutmeg
    • 1 1/3 cups whole milk
    • 1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
    • salt and pepper to taste

      INSTRUCTIONS  

    • Place Dutch oven over medium heat and melt butter and oil together.
    • Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Sauté together until onions become translucent and vegetables soften, about 8 minutes.
    • Add ground beef, pork and sausage and break up using a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Cook mixture together, while stirring frequently, until meat loses its raw color, about 5 minutes.
    • Add nutmeg and milk and stir together. Simmer until milk reduces by 50%, about 10 minutes.
    • Stir in canned tomatoes, including juices, and break tomatoes up with wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Lower heat to medium-low and simmer sauce for about 1 1/2 hours, occasionally stirring. If sauce becomes too dry, add ½ cup water and stir together.  
    • Adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve sauce with pasta of choice.

      NOTES  

    Best Types of Canned Tomatoes to Use for Our Bolognese Sauce

    We use whole, peeled, canned tomatoes for our recipe, because we like the bits of tomatoes that remain in the sauce once it has simmered down. If you want a slightly smoother sauce, we recommend using crushed canned tomatoes, which will result in an equally delicious bolognese sauce.

    Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions

    Make Ahead

    This sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Once the sauce is made, cool it and store it in an airtight container until ready to use.
    When ready to use pour sauce into a pot and simmer over medium-low heat, occasionally stirring, until heated through. If sauce is too thick, add 1/2 cup water to loosen. Adjust seasonings (salt and pepper) and serve.

    Freezing

    Cool sauce completely and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
    When ready to use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then pour sauce into a pot and simmer over medium-low heat until heated through. If sauce is too thick, add 1/2 cup water to loosen. Adjust seasonings (salt and pepper) and serve.
    Calories: 328kcal Carbohydrates: 11g Protein: 19g Fat: 23g Saturated Fat: 10g Cholesterol: 80mg Sodium: 409mg Potassium: 664mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 7g Vitamin A: 3844IU Vitamin C: 15mg Calcium: 123mg Iron: 3mg
    CUISINE: Italian
    KEYWORD: bolognese, bolognese sauce, pasta sauce
    COURSE: dinner, Main Course

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    October 6, 2021 / 6 Comments

    About Teri Lyn Fisher

    Teri Lyn Fisher is half of Spoon Fork Bacon. She is also a food and cosmetics photographer. She is a big fan of hot dogs. #sfbTERI

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    October 6, 2021 / 6 Comments

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    1. Kyle

      February 14, 2022 at 8:11 am

      5 stars
      This looks amazing! Do you recommend adding white wine to this? Also, could we use panchetta istead os sausage?
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        February 17, 2022 at 9:56 am

        I don’t think the sauce needs wine, but you can certainly add some. I would add it before the nutmeg and milk and let it cook off a bit. You can also sub in pancetta, but i would just watch the additional salt you add.

        Reply
    2. Mike

      October 22, 2020 at 8:02 pm

      5 stars
      Just made this tonight! Yum! Very tasty dish. I used bucatini which worked great

      Reply
    3. Jordan

      October 22, 2020 at 7:48 pm

      5 stars
      This was so good and so easy to make! I’m definitely making sloppy Joe’s with the leftovers tomorrow!

      Reply
    4. Tatiana

      October 22, 2020 at 7:22 pm

      I accidentally put too much nutmeg how do I fix this in the future :(

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        October 22, 2020 at 7:42 pm

        oh bummer! In the future, you can add some more milk into the mixture (to dilute the nutmeg flavor), depending on how much more nutmeg was added. From there you may need to add a little more tomato to the sauce as well. Adding a little bit of tomato paste instead of more whole peeled tomato would work too!

        Reply

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