easy bolognese

Hearty and comforting, this meaty, easy bolognese sauce recipe takes less time to make than it does to disappear into hungry tummies.

Easy Bolognese

olive oil

carrots

celery,

onions, finely minced

beef (80/20)

lb pork

25 oz jar store-bought marinara

heavy cream

salt

tsp black pepper

lb wide pasta noodles,

Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat

Add in carrots along with celery and onions and sauté until they're just tender, about 3 minutes

Add the ground beef and ground pork, and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as you stir

Pour in the jar of store-bought marinara sauce along with salt and pepper and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens

When the Bolognese sauce has reached your desired consistency, stir in the heavy cream.Remove from heat, and serve over your favorite pasta—we like to use pappardelle or tagliatelle—and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese

Easy Bolognese Recipe

Delivering everything there is to love about classic pasta bolognese in 60 minutes or less, this hearty Easy Weeknight Bolognese is made with ground turkey, tomatoes, wine, loads of aromatics, &amp; a simple secret ingredient eliminates the hours of simmering typically associated with scratch-made bolognese sauce without compromising any rich flavor.

The BEST Weeknight Bolognese

tablespoons olive oil

carrots,

yellow onion, diced

turkey

garlic,

cup tomato paste

cup dry white wine,

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

sage

thyme

2 bay leaves

1 parmesan rind

chicken stock

cup half & half

cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano

kosher salt & ground black pepper,

Prep

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prep the veggies, dicing the carrot, celery, &amp; onion. Gather &amp; measure remaining ingredients according to Ingredients List, above, placing them within an arm&#8217;s reach of the stovetop for a smooth cooking process.

Brown the soffritto: 

Add the olive oil to a Dutch oven (or large, heavy-bottomed pot with lid) over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot &amp; shimmering, add the carrots, celery, &amp; onion. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply browned &amp; fragrant, 15-20 minutes. If the veggies begin to brown too quickly, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low. Once browned, push the soffritto mixture to the outer edges of the pot.

Brown the turkey

Season the ground turkey all over with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Add to the center of the pot, such that it&#8217;s surrounded by the soffritto mixture. Reduce heat to medium. Let the turkey brown 2-3 minutes without touching it, then turn it over &amp; brown the second side 2-3 minutes before using a wooden spoon to break it apart into bite-sized pieces. Stir to combine with the soffritto mixture. 

Build the bolognese sauce: 

Add the garlic &amp; tomato paste to the Dutch oven, stirring to coat the ground turkey soffritto mixture. Cook 2-3 minutes, until browned &amp; fragrant, then build the bolognese sauce. Deglaze the pan by slowly pouring in the white wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that may have formed on the bottom of the pan. Once the wine is almost completely cooked off, add in the rosemary, sage, thyme, bay leaves, parmesan rind, pasta sauce, &amp; chicken stock or water. Stir to combine. Bring the bolognese to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover &amp; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Cook pasta: 

Meanwhile, as the weeknight bolognese simmers, cook the pasta. Add the pasta to the boiling salted water from Step 1. Cook to al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Once cooked, carefully dip a liquid measuring cup into the pot to reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, and set aside. Carefully drain the pasta. 

Finish the pasta bolognese: 

Remove the lid from the pot with the bolognese sauce, increasing heat to medium-high to maintain a steady simmer. Stir the half &amp; half and grated parmesan into the bolognese. Cook 1-2 minutes, allowing everything to meld together. Add the pasta straight into the pot, tossing to coat it in the bolognese sauce. From here, adjust as needed so the bolognese sauce evenly coats the pasta – if the mixture is too thick, toss in a little of the reserved pasta water; if the mixture is too loose, toss in an extra handful of parmesan cheese, etc. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, allowing the pasta to meld with &amp; absorb some of the sauce.

Serve 

immediately, topped with additional grated parmesan, chopped basil or parsley, &amp;/or a sprinkling of crushed red pepper, as desired. Enjoy!

bolognese is one of my all time favorites, I love it as an alternative to the much more acidic tomato dominated southern Italian dishes that dominate most Italian food menus, whether at home or in a restaurant, but my go to recipe does take more time than I sometimes have so this is a wonderful shortcut, thank you!

Loved this recipe! Great flavor without having to simmer for hours.

This was so good. My fiancé likes an extra saucy bolognese, and this definitely hit the spot! Flavors were incredible, reminiscent of bolognese that my mom used to make. Thanks for a great recipe!

Easy and extremely flavorful  weeknight meal. You will want to eat the whole pot so wear your stretchy pants.

Oh my goodness. I have no other words. Even my husband, after his first bite, just simply said “oh, wow.” Easy, delicious, comforting weeknight dinner. I can’t wait to make this again!

I gave this one a try with beef mince, red wine and beef stock (what I had handy) and it turned out great.  Amazing flavour versus time ratio.

Excellent recipes, well illustrated, easy to follow. Thank you

Jess, thank you for this recipe. This was so amazing! I used ground beef because it needed to be cooked and the meal was just perfect. Tasted like I was cooking for hours.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/ESGotbPn.mp4

An Easy Weeknight Bolognese recipe – Everything there is to love about classic pasta bolognese in 60 minutes or less! Made with ground turkey, tomatoes, wine, loads of aromatics, & a simple secret ingredient that eliminates hours of simmering without compromising any richness. The result? A bold, rich, & deeply flavorful turkey bolognese sauce that begs to be tossed into a pile of pasta for the perfect weeknight pasta bolognese dinner. Stovetop, Slow Cooker & Instant Pot instructions provided!

Top 2 easy bolognese recipes from across the web

The most viewed easy bolognese recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Easy Bolognese

The BEST Weeknight Bolognese

Top 2 easy bolognese recipes from across the web

The most viewed easy bolognese recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Bolognese

The BEST Weeknight Bolognese

The most viewed easy bolognese recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine