My Favorite Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese Sauce combines ground beef and pork for a hearty sauce that’s perfect on a cold winter day!  

I really do love a good pasta dish; especially one with a nice warm, rich sauce.  This one definitely fits the bill and is super yummy!!  It’s the first in a series of my favorite pasta dishes I’m going to be sharing this fall and winter.  I know, I know, lots of carbs in pasta, but before you stop reading,  like a lot of people I also try to cut down on (not cut out) carbs, so I typically use whole wheat or high fiber pasta when making pasta dishes.

For me, pasta is great comfort food; on a cool fall night or cold winter day, there is nothing like a bowl of pasta with a lovely warm sauce and a nice glass of wine!!

At this time of year, I often spend Saturday or Sunday afternoon making a sauce, and maybe a soup or chili too.  This gives me options for quick lunch and dinner during the week.  Pasta sauce generally keeps pretty well, though I do recommend keeping the sauce separate from the pasta until you’re ready to eat.   This recipe makes about 6 servings, depending on whose eating and how hungry they are, and it freezes really well.  So if you are just feeding two people you can split the leftover sauce into two containers, freeze one and save the other for lunches later in the week!

This is my version of a classic Bolognese sauce; instead of using just ground beef which is what I see in a lot of recipes, I added ground pork and some pancetta – have you noticed that I LOVE pancetta?!?

I prefer to heat individual servings of pasta and sauce; you’ll see this done this way in most restaurants.  It helps to get all the pasta coated with sauce and ensures everything is nice and warm when you serve it.  You can skip this step and just add the sauce to the warm pasta, however once you try it I think you’ll agree it’s worth the few extra minutes before serving.  It’s also a good trick if you are using sauce that was previously made.

I like to serve this with either the Chardonnay from the sauce or if you prefer red wine, a nice light Pinot Noir.  Enjoy!!

My Favorite Bolognese Sauce

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Kathryn | FoodieGirlChicago
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 75 minutes
• Total Time: 95 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Main Course
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

This Bolognese Sauce combines ground beef and pork for a hearty sauce that’s perfect on a cold winter day!

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Ingredients

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 oz thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely diced carrot, about 1 large carrot
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 1 cup finely diced yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup Chardonnay
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

For serving: – all measurements in this section are per the number of people you are serving

• 1/2 cup Barilla Protein Plus Penne
• 1 tablespoon Italian Parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan or other hard cheese

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Instructions

For the sauce:

1. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook for 4 minutes.
2. Add carrots and celery; cook for one minute.
3. Add onion and sauté for an additional minute. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute more.
4. Add pork and ground beef, cook until crumbly. Add spices; cook 1 minute until fragrant.
5. Add Worcestershire, wine, chicken broth and stir. Add tomatoes and stir until all ingredients are mixed.
6. Bring sauce to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.
7. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce.

To serve

1. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the penne according to the package directions. When you drain the pasta, reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
2. When you are ready to serve, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1/2 cup of sauce, about 3/4 cup of pasta and 2 tbsp of pasta water. Let heat for a few minutes, mixing occasionally.
3. Transfer to a warm bowl or plate; top with cheese and Italian parsley and serve immediately.
4. Repeat process for each person being served.

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Notes

If you want to make the sauce ahead of time, stop after the sauce portion and store sauce. When ready to serve, heat the amount of sauce you need in a sauce pan (or the microwave) until warm, and the proceed with making the pasta and serving.

Updated.  Originally published October 2015.