Best bolognese sauce

This is a staple pasta sauce that everyone should have up their sleeve. Simple ingredients married perfectly and simmered to perfection to create a rich and luscious bolognese. Serve it with any pasta shape you like and just imagine it as the base of a lasagne. You will love this sauce I promise.

Best Bolognese sauce

This has been on my mind to create for so long, on the back of the popularity of my white pork ragu. I wanted to create a similar method but with ground meat, which is so much more accessible. The ingredients are otherwise the same except for the addition of tomato paste for some added depth. There is debate around any Italian recipe but the traditional version does contain milk like I have used. Don't let the cook time put you off, it's mostly hands off!

Ingredients for the best bolognese sauce

Ground beef and pork - It's very traditional for a bolognese to be a split of beef and pork. The pork adds flavour but also fat which is a vital ingredient to any meat sauce! You could definitely use all beef if you would prefer.

Pancetta - I use the thick slabs of pancetta and then chop into small pieces. You could substitute with bacon but it won't have quite the same flavour.

Soffritto - This is the onion, carrot and celery mixture and is the base of any good sauce! I like to chop them really fine in a food processor.

White wine - Traditionally a bolognese is made with white wine and milk, not red wine. I prefer the flavour white wine brings to a sauce. Red wine isn't an option to sub in my opinion.

Chicken stock - The same as in my white pork ragu, chicken stock is my preferred option here.

Lemon - If you have made any of my recipes you know that I love adding lemon at the end of my sauces. It adds such a fresh note and just lightens it up. If you haven't ever added lemon zest to the top of a meat sauce, please give it a try, it's magic!

Tips for making the sauce

• Prepare all your ingredients before you start to cook. I like to chop my ingredients and have everything in separate bowls all ready to go. It makes the cooking process so much easier and cleaner.
• Take the time to cook everything properly. This is mostly a hands off cook so take the time at the start to cook things like I state in the recipe. Take the time to render the pancetta fat, to soften the vegetables slowly, it will make a difference in the final result.
• Use fresh herbs, you can't beat the flavour.
• When you leave it alone to simmer it should be on a really low heat. It should be so low that it doesn't even look like a simmer just the odd gentle bubble.
• I always say that any meat sauce like this should be made the day before. Flavours develop so well with time so make it the day before if you can. You'll notice when you pull it out of the fridge it would have solidified. It softens up when gently heated, and that is why I also add a touch of cream when reheating plus a splash of pasta water is always welcome.
• I always add the cooked pasta directly to the sauce and let it gently bubble away for a minute or two. This helps to coat the pasta in the sauce and can help thicken up loose sauces too. NEVER serve pasta naked with the sauce on top!

Why pasta water is your best friend!

You'll hear me harp on about the magic that is pasta water in 99% of my recipes. It really is a key ingredient in every sauce I make. The starch left behind in the water acts as a thickening agent and helps sauces cling to the pasta. I couldn't make a sauce without it. I never EVER drain my pasta in a colander, I always transfer it directly to the sauce using a spider strainer. That way the pasta pot full of water is left there for you to ladle in as you need. if you have seen my reels on instagram you'll notice my sauces are SAUCY. Pasta soaks up liquid so quickly so I add enough pasta water to make it quite liquidy. By the time I serve into bowls and take to the table it hasn't dried up. You'll get to know what the right consistency is with some practice, you can't go wrong though I promise!

What is the best pasta to use for bolognese?

There are so many rules in Italian cooking and I can sometimes be guilty of ignoring them! Obviously Spaghetti Bolognese is what we all know, so any dried spaghetti will work perfectly. For my best bolognese sauce I have used my homemade orecchiette and also a dried spaghetti too. Use whatever you fancy! If you feel like making some fresh pasta then make sure you check out my homemade pasta dough. My homemade pappardelle or hand rolled gnocchi sardi would be perfect, or a dried rigatoni shape - anything!

Can I freeze a bolognese sauce?

Meat sauces like this are perfect for freezing! Simply wait for it to cool completely then transfer to a container to freeze for up to three months. Pop a label on the top of what it is and the date, sometimes I find containers in my freezer and I have no idea what they are! I wouldn't suggest freezing leftovers that already have the pasta mixed in.

Want some other sauces to try?

If you loved my best bolognese sauce and haven't tried my white pork ragu then add it to the top of your list! Maybe you need something quick and easy after this one though?! Check out my favourite cacio e pepe with olives and basil or my very popular creamy tomato pasta sauce.

Made this recipe and loved it?

I would love love LOVE if you could leave me a review down below and let me know what you thought! I love to hear any changes or adaptions you have made too. Also if you put a photo on instagram, please tag me so I can see, it makes my day!

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