Spaghetti bolognese
Instructions
Bolognese:
For serving:
Recommended information
Serving suggestion
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Tips
If you want to boost the savouriness of the dish, a trick is to add Parmesan rinds as it simmers. This will add a bit more saltiness to the sauce and bring its umami undertones forward. Remember to remove the rinds along with the bay leaves to avoid the unpleasantness of biting into either.
Tips
A dash of sugar or a bit of honey will cut through and offset the acidity of the tomatoes and wine if you feel that your bolognese has become too tangy. Though it may seem counterintuitive to add sweet ingredients to a savoury dinner dish, it is a wonderful cooking tip to balance the flavours.
Tips
The best way to eat this flavourful meat-based sauce is with a type of pasta that will capture as much of it as possible and soak up all of its goodness. For this reason, we recommend using fresh pasta like spaghetti, fettuccine, or tagliatelle.
Questions about spaghetti bolognese
With an easy spaghetti bolognese recipe like ours, making the classic Italian dish from scratch is simple. To learn more about the popular Italian pasta dish, read our answers to the most frequently asked questions about it below.
Spaghetti bolognese is a pasta dish with a slow-cooked, meat-based sauce made with a sofrito (carrot, onion, and celery mix), minced beef, small pieces of pancetta, tomato purée, milk, and white wine. Though this bolognese sauce is typically served with flat pasta like tagliatelle in Italy, where it is known as ragù bolognese or simply ragù, it is known as spaghetti bolognese throughout the world because serving it with thin spaghetti at some point gained popularity. However, traditionally, it would be served with a pasta type like tagliatelle that has a greater surface area to hold the delicious sauce.
It is hard to beat the experience of enjoying a bowl of authentic spaghetti bolognese. To cook the sauce, sauté the base ingredients, sofrito, pancetta, and minced beef, before adding wine, beef stock, tomato purée, and seasonings. After bringing it to a boil, let it simmer. After a half hour or so, add milk to enrich the sauce and let it simmer a while longer. Toss freshly boiled pasta with the meat-based sauce, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and garnish with fresh herbs like parsley for a hearty, yet bright, meal.
The best spaghetti bolognese recipe will recommend cooking the sauce for at least 1 hour and preferably up to as much as 6 hours. Allowing the sauce to simmer at very low heat for hours lets the ingredients marry and the sauce reduce which deepens the flavours and makes it even tastier. It also ensures a thick, rich consistency that makes it stick better to the freshly cooked pasta with which it is served.
As a traditional spaghetti bolognese recipe would, we also suggest serving it with freshly grated cheese on top. For example, a hard, salty one like Parmesan, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino, or Grana Padano. Cheeses like these types help enhance the umami flavour of the dish and add saltiness in a tasty, more understated way. Garnishing the hearty pasta dish with herbs like parsley will brighten it by adding a bit of freshness. Serve with a light, green salad on the side or crusted bread if you want to make the meal heartier.
Any leftover spaghetti bolognese you may have will last for 3-5 days in the fridge. Transfer the dish to an airtight container with both pasta and sauce together, preferably while it is still warm. This will trap more moisture in the spaghetti and meat sauce which reduces the risk of it drying out upon being reheated. Store the grated cheese and herbs for garnishing separately to retain their freshness and flavour.
Freezing spaghetti bolognese is a good idea if you make extra or do not have time to enjoy the leftovers before they go bad. In the freezer, it will keep for up to 3 months. Transfer both pasta and sauce to an airtight container, preferably while the pasta is still warm and moist. Then wait for it to cool before popping the container into the middle of the freezer. Freeze it without grated cheese or fresh herbs on top.
Spaghetti bolognese may be reheated in a few different ways. In the microwave for ease, on the stovetop to reinvigorate its flavour with a bit of butter and liquid, and in the oven, if you have a large portion. You may also be wondering how to reheat spaghetti bolognese that has been frozen. Simply, defrost and reheat it in the microwave at 30-second increments. Stir it to distribute the heat evenly and stop when it has been thoroughly heated.
Nutritional values
Nutritional value, per
9208 Kcal
| Fibre | 14 gram fibers |
| Protein | 684 |
| Carbohydrates | 732.7 |
| Fat | 390.3 gram |
Ingredients
Bolognese:
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Pancetta (Italian, salt-cured pork belly), cut into thin slices
|
100 g |
|---|---|
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Olive oil
|
1 tbsp |
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Onion (approx. 75 g), finely chopped
|
1 |
|
Carrot (approx. 75 g), cut into very small pieces
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1 |
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Celery stalks (approx. 50 g), cut into very small pieces
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2 |
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Minced beef (about 12% fat)
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400 g |
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Dry red wine or white wine
|
100 ml |
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Beef stock
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300 ml |
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Concentrated tomato purée (approx. 100 g)
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100 ml |
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Bay leaves
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2 |
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Coarse salt
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1 tsp |
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Freshly churned pepper
|
|
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Semi-skimmed milk
|
100 ml |
Garnish
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Fresh herbs
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|---|
Serve with:
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Fresh pasta, for instance, spaghetti or fettuccine
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500 g |
|---|---|
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Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
|
100 g |
Other recipes
Traditional Italian spaghetti bolognese
The perfect spaghetti bolognese has deliciously well-balanced, complex flavours. It is a dish that makes clear the meaning of the saying 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts'. It is the combination of wonderful ingredients like tomato purée, carrots, onion, celery, wine, pancetta, and beef that make this Italian favourite so tasty.
It is great for just about any occasion ranging from dinner parties, date nights, and family get-togethers, and, since it only gets better if you let it simmer, you can make it during the day whenever it suits you without having to have it done at a specific time; simply let it simmer until you are ready to enjoy it. It also freezes well so you might as well make a big batch and save some for a rainy day.
Looking for more delicious pasta dinners? Check out our recipes for cacio e pepe, spaghetti carbonara, or classic lasagne to discover more Italian favourites.
The secret to the authentic flavour
A traditional spaghetti bolognese with carrots, onion, and celery, a combination known as sofrito, is packed with flavour. A flavourful, slow-simmered sauce needs time to marry and deepen. Allow time for your bolognese sauce to cook for at least 1 hour. If you have time, though, cooking it for 2-3 hours or even 4-6 hours will only make all the nuances and facets of its flavour profile more pronounced.
The minced beef, pancetta, and cheese provide lovely savoury flavours that are complemented and balanced by the sweetness that is brought out in the vegetables as they are left to simmer. The tang and acidity of the tomato purée and wine cut through the richness of the stock and milk-based sauce and ensure a well-rounded eating experience.
Choose the best wine for spaghetti bolognese
Make a decadent, fancy spaghetti bolognese with red wine to add a bit of acidity and ensure moist and tender minced beef. You can also choose to use white wine; it will do the job just as well and it is what was once traditionally used for Italian spaghetti bolognese. Using wine helps the different ingredients release their flavours but does in no way make it taste like alcohol.
In general, dry wines add the most depth. As such, we recommend opting for bold red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Côtes du Rhône, and Zinfandel or crisp white wines like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and an unoaked Chardonnay.
Avoid products sold as 'cooking wine' as these typically contain a high quantity of added salt which may overtake the dish. A final tip is to use a wine that you enjoy drinking as this gives you a perfect wine pairing to enjoy with your decadent meal, accentuating the sauce’s flavours beautifully.
If you enjoy cooking with wine, we highly recommend giving our coq au vin recipe a try as well. We promise that this French classic will not let you down.
Use salty Parmesan cheese and pancetta
The saltiness that the Italian pancetta and Parmesan cheese add truly rounds it off. Their salty flavour reduces any lingering bitterness from the tangy tomatoes and wine and allows the aromas of the other ingredients to shine through so you can truly enjoy all the depth they have to offer.
Glancing over the ingredients list, you may have wondered if you can substitute the pancetta for bacon. Although doing so will not ruin the spaghetti bolognese, we do not recommend it if you want to stay true to the traditional Italian flavours. While pancetta and bacon are made from the same cut of meat, the pork belly, they do not bring the same flavours to the dish as the former is salt-cured and the latter is smoked. Using bacon rather than pancetta in spaghetti bolognese will, as such, add a smokiness that does not suit the overall flavour profile nearly as well as the milder pancetta.
Shake up the classic
If you enjoy a bit of heat, you might like to try a spicy spaghetti bolognese with fresh chilli pepper and pungent garlic. You can also try dried chilli powder or smoky cayenne pepper if you want to make more thorough changes to the flavour profile or add rosemary or thyme for depth and earthiness.
A mushroom spaghetti bolognese might also be for you if you want to enhance the taste of umami. Making a classic spaghetti bolognese with mushrooms like button/cremini mushrooms or portobello mushrooms will give the sauce more body and a chewier texture.