Why I love this bolognese sauce recipe
This is a recipe I’ve been making forever. It’s always a hit, and I will probably never get sick of it. I love that it has all the flavor of a slow cooked bolognese sauce recipe, but it comes together is such a short amount of time. I’ve also adapted it to be dairy free.
Does bolognese sauce have dairy? Traditionally, bolognese sauce calls for milk. I have never included it in my recipe (even before we went dairy free), so I can’t really call this an authentic bolognese sauce. But, I think it’s delicious all the same.
If you want to add a splash of dairy free cream at the end, you totally can. If you do, I recommend this almond cooking milk.
→ If you like this recipe, you should try these: tomato artichoke penne / penne arrabbiata / butternut squash pasta / shrimp fettuccine / pasta carbonara
Frequently asked questions
The main difference between spaghetti meat sauce and bolognese is the mirepoix and the wine/milk (this recipe doesn’t contain milk). Traditional meat sauce doesn’t have celery or carrots added, and doesn’t have to have wine/milk.
Yes. Bolognese should be relatively thick, but if you prefer it to be thinner, you can easily add an extra cup or so of crushed tomatoes. Just be sure to add enough extra salt (an extra pinch should do the trick).
You definitely can! In fact, when I have enough ingredients, I like to make a double batch and freeze half for a quick weeknight dinner (although, this recipe is really quick enough to make during the week, too).
This recipe would go great with:
Penne Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 16-ounce package penne pasta
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced, about 1 cup
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried basil
Instructions
- Sauté the veggies. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven to medium-high. Add the carrot, celery, onion and garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are translucent and tender, stirring occasionally.
- Brown the beef. Once the veggies are soft, add the ground beef and seasong with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes, breaking the meat up as it cooks.
- Simmer the sauce. Add wine, crushed tomatoes and basil. Stir to combine and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the sauce for 20 – 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cook the pasta. In a large pot of salted, boiling water, prepare pasta according to package directions for al dente.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Recipe adapted from Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes.
Does the pasta need to be mixed in with the other ingredients while cooking? If not, why do the instructions start off with cooking the pasta?
Yes. Toss the pasta with the sauce at the end 🙂
I don’t like the taste or smell of alcohol. What can I use instead of wine?
You can just leave it out!
Making this tonight, it looks really good. I don’t see garlic in the list but it says to add it later. You need to put how much. I’ll be using about 6 cloves – we love us some garlic!