white ragu

A rich and insanely flavor packed and delicious white bolognese sauce. This is the pasta dish to wow your family and friends with. Your house will smell the best it's ever smelt I promise.

Easy Ragu Bianco (delicious white bolognese sauce)

olive oil (divided)

pork

ground beef

pancetta

onion (finely diced (my onion weighed 185 grams))

carrot (finely diced)

celery (finely diced)

fennel seeds

garlic (finely diced)

rosemary (finely chopped)

sage (finely chopped)

white wine (I used a Sauvignon Blanc)

milk

chicken stock

lemon juice (plus zest to finish)

cream (optional)

rosemary

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over a medium high heat and add the ground meat. Don't worry too much about breaking it all up, I prefer to leave it alone to get some good colour on it. It doesn't need to be cooked all the way through.

When it has some nice colour on it, but still some pink in the middle, remove from pan and set aside.

Heat the other 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan/casserole pot/Dutch oven over medium heat and fry the pancetta for 10 minutes until nicely browned. Lift out with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.

Add the onion, celery, carrot mixture and fennel seeds to the pancetta fat with a good pinch of salt and pepper and gently fry until soft, about 10 mins. Lower heat if it starts to brown and add more oil if it dries out too much.

After 5 minutes add the garlic and herbs and continue cooking.

Add the ground meat and pancetta back into pot and mix through.

Add the wine and let it cook off, reducing slightly for 3 - 4 mins. The meat should be completely broken up at this stage.

Add the stock and milk and bring to a simmer.

Taste the liquid for seasoning and add a good pinch of salt and pepper if it needs. Remember it will intensify when cooked down.

Lower the heat right down and cook uncovered for 2.5 - 3 hours. It should barely be bubbling. Stir it occasionally. If your stove top isn't able to have a really low heat, it might not take that long.

It's ready when the liquid is mostly reduced and it tastes rich and delicious! Watch the video below to see how it should look when done.

Add the lemon juice and cream if serving straight away. Leave the cream out if not using straight away and add it when you reheat.

I like to add the cooked pasta straight into the bolognese and let it gently bubble for a good 3-4 minutes. Add a splash of pasta water when adding pasta in. Optional step is to sprinkle a handful of finely grated parmesan on top of the pasta in the sauce and gently toss so it melts in.

Serve with plenty of parmesan and some lemon zest and fresh rosemary on top.

Cannot recommend enough this recipe for everyone who loves a good Ragu al Bolognes. Saw it several times on Instagram and wanted to try it myself. The first time definitely won't be the last. Thanks again for your incredible inspiration and content. I really enjoy every bit of it.

AMAZING!!! This has taken over as our favorite pasta dish. My kids loved it and my husband didn’t want to stop eating it. We’re making it again and trying fresh pasta to just have more fun in the kitchen. Thank you for this delicious meal!!

The only word I can think to describe this dish right now is divine. I made it last night using ground turkey and two bites in I was sending it to friends and family who I thought would enjoy it. I may add a bay leaf and some freshly grated nutmeg next time but that’s not because this recipe is missing anything- I simply have an overflowing spice cupboard and like to experiment! I can’t wait to make it for friends, it’s worth planning a dinner party for.

Made this last night for my partner (who is a chef!) and he loved it - it had such depth of flavour and I really enjoyed the process. The tips throughout the recipe really help, so do read them! I paired this with some homemade pasta (using your recipe) and did thick parpadelle, it was delicious!!

Tried this the other night ! Yummo … so did it again two night later. So light and flavourful… nice change from a red sauce ! 5 star

I made this for the first time this week. It’s very delicious and so easy to make. My family loved it! Don’t skip the pancetta!

This dish was perfection. My first time making white bolognese but it certainly won’t be the last!

Made this last week and I’m still thinking about it - cozy but lighter than a regular bolognese? All ages of my family dove in (6-44) — a feather in any mother’s cap!

Made this last week and I loved it so much I”m already making again for Christmas Eve dinner!

Just made a batch of this and everyone was happy; even the teen who only eats small portions - he had to servings tonight. 

We mad homemade fettuccine to go with it. Great success.

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

This easy Ragu Bianco recipe will actually blow your mind. You might even permanently swap your beloved tomato based bolognese for it. A white bolognese sauce truly is one of my favorite things, it is so rich and flavorsome. The meat is slow cooked in white wine, milk and stock with pancetta, herbs and lemon to give it max flavour and deliciousness.

Easy Ragu Bianco

This is my absolute favourite kind of ragu. Pork shoulder is braised in white wine and milk rather than the usual red wine and tomatoes. It creates the most tender, flavoursome and just outrageously delicious ragu ever!

White Pork Ragu

olive oil

pancetta (chopped)

onion (finely chopped)

celery (finely chopped)

carrots (finely chopped)

garlic (minced)

thyme leaves (roughly chopped)

rosemary leaves (roughly chopped)

sage leaves (roughly chopped)

dry white wine

bay leaves

Salt and pepper

lemon juice

Pasta of your choice

Lemon

Preheat your oven to 160 fan (320 fahrenheit)

Season the pork with salt and pepper and heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium - high heat (or I do it in two pans at once to save time). Brown the chunks on all sides and set aside. Keep any fat that has rendered to pour into the onion mixture.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy bottomed oven proof saucepan and fry the pancetta for 10 mins until browned, lift out onto a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.

Add the onion, carrot, celery, fennel seeds and a good pinch of salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until soft, around 10 minutes. Lower heat if it starts to brown and add more oil if it dries out. After 5 minutes add the garlic and herbs and continue cooking.

Add the pork and pancetta to the pan and mix.

Add the wine and simmer to reduce the wine by at least half - 5 - 7 mins.

Add the stock, milk, bay leaves, another good pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. (I think this ragu suits being on the salty side but do whatever feels right to you!)

Cover and cook in the oven for two hours. The pork should fall apart, if not then cook for another 30 mins and check again. 

A big note here is that the sauce may look broken and split, this is just the nature of this kind of ragu! I promise once you pull the meat apart and mix it all together it will be fine.

Remove the pork and shred pieces with two forks and then return to pan and give it a good mix. If there are some large pieces of fat that haven't rendered feel free to discard some of them.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a big squeeze of lemon juice.

I like to let it cool down then place in the fridge as I prefer to make it a day or two before eating.

If eating straight away, cook your pasta in a pot of boiling salted water then mix with the ragu.

Add 1/4 cup of cream as an option as a finishing touch, this is particularly helpful if you are reheating from the fridge as it helps bring it all together.

Serve between heated plates or bowls and top with lemon zest and parmesan. ENJOY!

I just made this to have two days from now with company coming over. I may have put too much pork and now it’s very meaty with very little sauce. What would you recommend I do to thin it out? I have not added the cream yet.

Not the first time I made this! 
Sooo tasty!

Love,
Sandra

Honestly wow. I have followed you for so long. Have done so many of your recipes and they are all great. However this one is next level.

This is the type of dish you order at a restaurant and go back for time and time again. 

I think if you don't generally cook the length of time would put you off, I love to cook, but honestly this was so so so easy. You would impress everyone with this dish. 

Made one batch for post baby in a few weeks. Going out to buy more ingredients for a second batch tomorrow, because quite simply one batch will not do. 

New fav for me, I know my husband and my 2 year old will love it too. I can tell this is something I'm going to cook for years to come. 

Round of applause burnt butter you smashed it out of the park again. Only wish I had made it sooner!

So so delicious!! Had to hide some in the  freezer to stop us eating it all ! Thanks Em x

This is unbelievable. I convinced my in-laws to do a non traditional menu for a holiday meal so I could make this for them. I’ve put it on pasta and polenta and green salads.

So easy, super delicious and a lovely change from more traditional tomato based ragu.

So delicious! Made it for Christmas and my family loved it

Top 2 white ragu recipes from across the web

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Easy Ragu Bianco (delicious white b...

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Top 2 white ragu recipes from across the web

The most viewed white ragu recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Ragu Bianco (delicious white b...

White Pork Ragu

The most viewed white ragu recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine