Spaghetti Bolognese
I will give you a simple and delicious spaghetti bolognese recipe. A great-tasting meal with flavorful Bolognese sauce seasoned with spices available in every kitchen. Making the meat sauce is easy.
Bolognese Vs Meat Sauce
Bolognese sauce and meat sauce are the same. However, Bolognese is derived from the word Bologna a city in Italy. There is a slight difference between American meat sauce and Italian meat sauce. The Italian meat sauce has milk, wine, a mixture of beef and pork, and sometimes a mix of beef and Italian sausages.
Ingredients to make spaghetti Bolognese
Ground beef – I have used lamb meat for this recipe, and it came out good. If you are going for beef, chuck is excellent in meat sauce.
Onion – Go for purple or yellow onion; they have great flavor and release a slight sweetness which balances the acidity released from the tomatoes.
Garlic – In this recipe, I have used large cloves of garlic; hence I used four; if you have medium-size garlic cloves use 6; if the garlic clove is small, go for 9 cloves.
Fresh tomatoes – I avoid canned tomato puree; it has an after taste that can ruin the flavor of the meat sauce depending on the brand you are using; hence, I have pureed 2 large tomatoes. Pick dark red tomatoes that are just ripe and not hard.
Tomato paste – Some people prefer to use ketchup, which is fine but keep in mind that some brands add a lot of sugar to their ketchup. You don’t want the Bolognese sauce to come out sweet.
Olive oil.
Butter.
Water or beef stock – When you add the water or beef stock to the meat in the last step, make sure it’s boiling.
Cooked spaghetti.
How to make spaghetti Bolognese the regular way (more than an hour)
We cook the meat sauce for an hour and a half to two hours to reduce and get thicker in texture. The thick sauce clings to the spaghetti and has more flavor to it!
- In a pan, add the olive oil and butter. When the butter melts, add the chopped onion and fry until translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds. To the same pan, add the meat and brown it.
- To the meat, add the shredded carrot and cook for 3 minutes. Add the black pepper, paprika, and bay leaves, mix for three minutes.
- Add the tomato puree to the previous mixture, mix for 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste, salt, oregano, or the Italian seasoning—Cook for 7 minutes.
- Pour the beef stock or water and let the meat sauce cook for one hour and a half to two hours.
- To the sauce, add the cooked spaghetti and mix for a few seconds. Turn off the heat and cover the pan. Allow the flavor to come together for 15 to 20 minutes and then serve with shredded parmesan cheese.
How to make spaghetti Bolognese the quick way (30 minutes)
Usually, if the meat sauce is not cooked for a long time, it doesn’t thicken, and when served with spaghetti, it won’t cling to it plus, you will have a watery sauce and not thick and creamy. But if you do not have that much time to cook the meat Bolognese sauce, follow the step below!
- After adding the onion, add one and a half tablespoons of all-purpose flour and fry until the onion is translucent.
- When adding the tomato puree, make sure to keep on stirring to prevent the lumps from forming. Do the same when adding the beef stock or water.
- Cook the sauce for 30 minutes or until it thickens, then add the cooked spaghetti and mix well.
How to store the leftover spaghetti Bolognese
It is best to sprinkle a tablespoon of olive oil on the spaghetti Bolognese and then transfer it to an airtight container. Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days, and it can stay in the freezer for up to 2 months.
What to serve with this Spaghetti Bolognese?
You can serve Garlic knots or Focaccia bread with spaghetti Bolognese. And in my opinion, the best dessert to serve after this delicious meal is Tiramisu.
Please Review and Rate
If you have tried this Spaghetti Bolognese recipe and liked it, please give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment below with your experience!
Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 gram or 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 large minced garlic
- Puree of 2 large tomatoes
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 large carrot shredded
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano or Italian seasoning
- 3 cups of boiling water
Instructions
- In a hot pan, add the olive oil and butter. When the butter melts, add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for a few seconds.
- Add the ground beef and brown it; there shouldn’t be water in the pan.
- To the browned beef, add shredded carrot and cook for 3 minutes. Season the meat with black pepper, paprika, and bay leaves, mix for three minutes.
- Pour the freshly made tomato puree, cook while stirring for 5 minutes, then add the tomato paste, salt, oregano, or the Italian seasoning—Cook for 7 minutes.
- Add the boiling beef stock or water to the beef mixture. Allow the meat sauce to cook for one hour and a half to two hours. Keep checking and stirring the sauce.
- To the sauce, add the cooked spaghetti and mix for a few seconds. Turn off the heat and cover the pan. Allow the flavor to come together for 15 to 20 minutes, and then serve the Spaghetti Bolognese with shredded parmesan cheese.
One of my husband’s favourite meals! Wonderful that you cooked everything from the scratching without using any prefix.
I hope you give it a try Angie, it is a great-tasting dinner indeed 😊