Homemade Bolognese sauce is a simple pasta sauce that's easy to prepare and can be made ahead of time, making it an ideal mid week dinner dish for busy families.
Homemade Bolognese sauce is such a simple pasta sauce, and one of those dishes that many of us make regularly. Generally speaking it's one of those easy dinner dishes that the whole family will eat.
A meat sauce with some fresh cooked pasta, shave over some parmesan and voila! A family dinner that everyone enjoys without complaint.
This is the best version of Bolognese sauce that I've ever made. In fact it's not really my recipe at all, but my husband's. My husband is not the most confident cook, he doesn't cook that often. However what we as a family all agree upon is that he makes the best spaghetti Bolognese sauce. Yes, better than mine!
How to make Bolognese sauce?
Use a combination of pork & beef mince in your meat pasta sauce!
Homemade Bolognese sauce is a lot easier to make that you might think. First up, I recommend using equal portions of both beef and pork mince. This combination makes a huge difference flavour-wise.
We've tried using beef on it's own, but it doesn't have the same depth of flavour as you do when combining beef and pork.
Use high quality meat!
As with all dishes, the quality of the produce you cook with makes a huge difference to the finished dish. We buy our mince from Donald Russell as Michelle has always raved about their mince and now I know why.
In fact on the odd occasion when I've run out and don't use their mince, my family will ask "who's beef is this, it's not so good" as they can taste the difference.
Take your time to brown the mince!
This step is absolutely critical and makes the difference between a good homemade Bolognese sauce and a great spaghetti Bolognese sauce!
Take your time when browning the mince, don't be tempted to rush this stage. Place the mince into the pan in batches and brown thoroughly, before removing from the pan and starting on the next batch.
By browning the meat this way you will impart more flavour into the meat sauce.
Recipe substitutions:
Meat:
As mentioned above and in the recipe card, this recipe suggests using a 50:50 mix of both pork and beef mince. However, if you would prefer you can just use 100% beef mince instead.
The recipe also uses cubes of smoked pancetta. However, if you can't get your hands on smoked pancetta a good smoked streaky bacon would be a good substitute in this spaghetti Bolognese sauce.
Vegetables:
Onion, garlic, celery and carrot form the base of the sauce. I would try not to leave anything out here as this combination of vegetables add a good base flavour to the sauce.
I use passata which are smooth, sieved tomatoes in this easy Bolognese sauce. However, you could substitute with fresh tomatoes or tinned plum tomatoes instead.
Can I make easy Bolognese sauce in advance?
This meat pasta sauces really does benefit from being made a day in advance. As with most meat based dishes, by allowing the sauce to sit overnight it will impart more flavour into the sauce.
Make this sauce up to 2 days ahead. Simply cool the sauce once cooked, cover the pan and place it in the fridge until you are ready to eat.
What other ways can I serve this sauce?
We have served this sauce with spaghetti, however it works well with all types of pasta. Tagliatelle and linguine are great substitutions for spaghetti. However, penne or fusilli would also work with this easy Bolognese sauce.
For something a little different is also works really well with some gnocchi. Simply cook the gnocchi and stir it through the sauce and serve!
This homemade Bolognese sauce also works works really well in an oven baked lasagne dish. Simply layer the sauce between lasagne sheets, alternating with a thick béchamel sauce, cover with grated cheese and bake in the oven.
Can I freeze Bolognese sauce?
This sauce freezes really well and for that reason I tend to double the recipe up, allowing me to freeze some for a quick midweek dinner at a later date, or to make the lasagne suggested above.
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Additional recipe suggestions:
If you like this recipe then why not try some of our other great mid week dinner dishes for feeding the family:
- Ham & Broccoli Pasta Bake
- Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce
- Sticky Sausage Traybake
- Smoked Salmon Pasta
- Pork & Peanut Stir-fry
- Easy Minced Beef Chilli
- Smoked Chilli Beef
- Lemon & Paprika Chicken Kebabs
- Cajun Chicken & Roasted Vegetables
Looking for inspiration for feeding the family mid week, then take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Family Dinners. Full of useful hints, tips and recipes.
Homemade Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 450 g beef steak mince
- 450 g pork mince
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 85 g smoked pancetta (cubed)
- 2 medium onions (diced)
- 3 sticks celery (diced)
- 3 medium carrots (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 250 ml white wine
- 500 ml passatta
- 1 Knorr rich beef stockpot
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan to a medium high heat. Add the steak mince and break up with a wooden spoon. Take care to brown it thoroughly as this is what gives the sauce a really meaty flavour. Remove the mince to a bowl.
- Next add the pork mince to the saucepan and repeat the process, again ensuring you brown the meat really well. Remove the mince from the pan and add to the bowl along with the steak mince.
- Now add the olive oil to the saucepan and fry the smoked pancetta until it is completely cooked and the fat rendered down, it will look a little crispy. Taking time at this stage to brown all the meat will ensure a better tasting sauce.
- Add the onion, celery and carrots to the saucepan and continue to saute over a medium heat for around 5 minutes. During this process place the lid over the saucepan as this will help soften the vegetables and also remove any crispy bits from browning the meat. After all this is full of flavour and you want it in the sauce.
- Now add the garlic to the pan and saute for a further minute.
- Pour the passatta into the saucepan. Pour the wine into the passatta box, give it a swirl and this will remove any tomato juice left there. Add this to the saucepan.
- Add the cooked meat back into the pan, along with the beef stock pot, oregano, bay leaves, black pepper and a little salt to taste (take care with the salt as the smoked pancetta is salty). Stir thoroughly to combine.
- Simmer gently on a low heat with the lid on for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking. Check seasoning before serving with the pasta of your choice.
Notes
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
Rakesh Patel says
When do you add the browned pork and beef mince back into the sofrito?
Lesley says
Thank you very much for pointing this out to us. I have now amended the recipe, the meat should be returned to the pan along with the beef stock pot and oregano.
louise Gunstone says
I love bolognese! Now that Autumn is coming in, it's a great meal to serve up for a hungry family. I also love the tip on adding both beef and pork mince. Yum.
Lesley says
Thank you Louise, I agree it’s exactly the kind of family comfort food for this time of year. Give the pork/beef mince combo a try it’s really worth it. Lesley x
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
LOVE bolognese - it's one of my favourite meals of all time. I like it every which way - with beef, pork, lamb - even chicken. But a classic beef bolognese is my favourite! Eb x
Michelle says
Its a staple isn't it in the British kitchen! Before I moved to the UK it was always spaghetti and meatballs, once here I loved the ease of the bolognese and not having to make meatballs! Michelle x
Rebecca - Glutarama says
You simply cannot beat a good bolognaise. My daughter started cooking a bit for the family recently and she makes a mean ragu too. Love the tip about using both beef and pork - good to know.
Lesley says
Thank you Rebecca, my kids love to get in the kitchen too, I think it's great to get them cooking. I love a good ragu and think they are often under-rated, yet it's probably something we eat more than any other meat sauce. You should try the beef and pork mix - it does make a huge difference to the taste. Lesley x
Monika Dabrowski says
This bolognese sounds really really good, with the smoky, rich flavours you've used. Thank you for bringing it to #CookBlogShare.
Michelle says
Thank you Monika. I love a bolognese sauce and its always something that I have in the freezer for those nights that I just can't decide what else to do! Michelle x
Helen - Cooking with my kids says
I love bolognese but have never tried mixing pork and beef mince. It sounds like it's a winner though, next time we'll try it. #CookBlogShare
Michelle says
Thanks Helen, I love the combination, the pork adds just a little lightness to it and soaks up the smokey flavours so well.Michelle x
Donna says
Bolognese is my son's absolute favourite. It's our go-to meal if we've got nothing planned, we must eat it more than anything else! Some great tips here, thanks for sharing! #CookBlogShare
Lesley says
Hi Donna, I think we are probably the same. We always double the recipe in our house so that I can freeze a portion - which very often gets made into a lasagne, another family favourite comfort dish. Lesley x
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says
Comfort food classic! I totally agree that the mixture of pork and beef makes the best bolognese sauce! It's only mid morning but I could happily have some now 🙂
Lesley says
Hi Jo, I'm sat looking out at a very wet and windy day - I could easily have eaten this for lunch! Lesley x
Hannah says
This looks absolutely delicious and so comforting - bolognese will always be the ultimate comfort food!
Lesley says
Thank you Hannah, I couldn’t agree more everyone in our house loves this recipe it’s comfort food we all enjoy. Lesley x