Bolognese is an easy-to-make meat sauce that is perfect for any type of pasta!
This zesty sauce has ground meat, onion, and garlic, simmered until thick and rich.
This recipe freezes and reheats well, making it the perfect weeknight meal!
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
Bolognese differs from typical spaghetti sauce with the addition of celery and carrot plus a little bit of milk. While it may sound unusual, these ingredients add a distinct flavor, a bit of richness, and some sweetness.
- Flavor: This thick pasta sauce is zesty and full of flavor.
- Technique: Let the milk and wine simmer until almost evaporated. If you’re using a smaller pot, this can take a bit longer.
- Prep note: This recipe freezes well so feel free to double it—cook once, eat twice!
- Budget tip: You can use any ground meat for this recipe; buy what’s on sale.
- Swaps: I highly recommend wine in this recipe but if you don’t have wine, beef broth is a suitable replacement.
- Serving suggestions: This sauce is excellent over pasta—pappardelle is my favorite. You can also use it for homemade lasagna or baked ziti!
Ingredient Tips for Bolognese
- Vegetables: Onions, carrots, and celery are known as mirepoix, and they add flavor to bolognese. If you’d like other veggies, chop them finely and add them in.
- Meat: I use a combination of ground beef and pork because I love the flavor—feel free to use all beef if it’s what you have on hand. Ground veal or Italian sausage are also delicious additions.
- Tomatoes: Canned whole tomatoes have a thicker consistency compared to diced tomatoes so I prefer them in this recipe. If possible, San Marzano tomatoes are the best choice for flavor. Canned diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes can be used, but may change the consistency slightly.
- Wine: Any dry red wine is great, but honestly any red will do. I usually use cabernet or merlot. Wine adds a lot of depth to this sauce so I highly recommend adding it.
- Milk: An unusual but traditional ingredient in an authentic bolognese sauce.
How To Make Bolognese Sauce
This bolognese sauce takes time to make but it really is easy! Once the prep work is done this recipe just simmers away until thickened.
- Cook Veggies & Meat: Brown the chopped veggies and the meat, then drain off any fat.
- Add Wine/Milk: Add the wine and let it simmer away. Next, add the milk and allow that to simmer away too.
- Simmer: Add remaining ingredients (per recipe below) and allow it to simmer until thick.
While the sauce simmers, cook pasta according to the directions. Add salt and pepper and parmesan, serve and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this bolognese over long pasta such as pappardelle or tagliatelle. Serve this dish with the sides you’d add to spaghetti and meatballs.
- SALAD Round the meal with an easy tossed salad or Italian Salad for a perfect Italian feast any night of the week!
- BREAD homemade garlic bread is a must.
Storing Leftover Bolognese Sauce
Bolognese is a great sauce to make ahead since, like chili recipe, the flavors “meld and marry” and just get better.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months in a sealed container, leaving about an inch for expansion. A tightly sealed zippered freezer bag works as well. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until hot.
More Italian Inspiration
Did you enjoy this Homemade Bolognese Sauce? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 rib celery finely diced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound lean ground pork
- 1 ¼ cups red wine or beef broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 can whole tomatoes with juices, 28 ounces each
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- pappardelle or long pasta, for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook onion in oil over medium heat until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add garlic, carrot, and celery, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add beef and pork. Break it up with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains. Drain fat.
- Add the wine and simmer uncovered until evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add milk and simmer uncovered until evaporated, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Break tomatoes up with a spoon. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 ½ cups of pasta water and drain the pasta well.
- Toss pasta with sauce, adding pasta water to thin it out if needed.
- Serve hot with parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- Fridge – store in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap for up to 4 days.
- Freezer – store in an airtight container, leaving about an inch for expansion, or in a zippered freezer bag for 2 – 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Pasta, Sauce
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Made it today. As a total beginner I’m still stunned how good it turned out.
Thank you!
Followed the recipe almost exactly since I am……..the Jon Snow of cooking
So glad you loved it Mark!
My favourite bolognese recipe! I alter it ever so slightly to suit my taste etc (just like I will with every recipe)but this recipe never fails me!
I made this tonight. tasted great! doubled the batch but I am going to wait to make the pasta tomorrow and heat up some of the sauce. the sauce will intensify by tomorrow. how much past do I actually make? a pound for one batch of sauce? thanks
Hi Stephanie, you will need about 2oz dry pasta per serving. This recipe serves 6 so I would suggest 12 oz pasta per batch.
This recipe is awesome! It took some work, but the flavor is delicious. It’s good enough to share with my friend’s wife!!! Will make again!
This was fairly simple to make (just time consuming) and SO GOOD! Will definitely make again.
Easy, instructions well written and turned out perfectly!
Just made this tonight and it was fabulous! I had read about traditional Italian bolognese having milk and I always thought that was weird and it would curdle, but I followed your directions to reduce it down and it worked really well! Thank you!
This is delicious! I’m making it again tonight for company with some homemade pasta.
I’m in the process of making this for the first time. Should all of the wine have evaporated before adding the milk? After 10 minutes, there was still wine left and mixing in the milk made it look curdled. Help, please!
Hi Joyce, in step 4 we add the wine and simmer uncovered until evaporated. It should take about 10 minutes but may take a few minutes longer if your stove is not as hot as ours was. But yes you do want it to be evaporated before adding the milk.
Little late but making this today and I turned the stove fan on and it seems to help evaporate the wine and milk better , I don’t know if this really will help but try it if you have a stove fan
Amazing, all I added was red pepper flakes for a lil heat. Great recipe
The is was so good! Restaurant quality! Will make it again!
Delivered
Super disappointed. Felt there would have been more flavor. Even after doctoring it up it was bland. Only one member of my family liked it. Bummer.
Thank you for trying our recipe. I am so sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you.
going to have to agree here, very bland. It took way too long to cook. I even added extra spices. I am disappointed because I tripled this recipe for my big family and only 2/6 liked it.
Tripling the recipe says to add 1 tsp of Italian spices, I probably added more like 4 TBSP, it still wasn’t enough. This recipe requires a little bit more depth of flavor.
Thanks for trying our recipe, Tabitha.
I’ve made this recipe twice now and while it tastes great, it is very runny. Does this happen to anyone else?
Hi Susan, did you leave the lid on the whole time it was simmering? To thicken this sauce, I would simmer it uncovered until it reaches desired consistency.I hope that helps!
So good…
First time making this kind of sauce. I used sweet Italian sausage meat instead of pork.
Didn’t drain the fat… for more flavor
Added more Italian seasonings… fresh basil and oregano.
It came out awesome.
Thank you from a happy Italian family.
Easy and very tasty
So easy
I followed the recipe but added more fresh garlic and garlic powder and additional Italian Seasoning and basil as I felt it was a little bland. It was good but it lacked depth.
Never ever drain the meat. Fat is flavor!
I drain the fat from the beef, but I don’t rinse it. Personal preference!
Made this for Christmas lasagna and it is delicious!! I only had 1lb ground Italian sausage, 2% milk and used beef broth, but it doesn’t matter! Sooo soooo sooooooooo good! Will definitely make this again!!