Bolognese Meat Sauce

4.50 from 4 votes

A simple bolognese meat sauce made with beef for a tasty weeknight meal. It's easy to prepare and will make your house smell amazing as it simmers.

Prep Time15

Cook Time2 23

Total Time2 38

Servings: 8

Calories: 292

Author: Sauce Fanatic

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 celery stalk minced
1 small carrot peeled, grated
2 anchovy filets roughly chopped
1 pound ground beef chuck 80/20
¾ cup dry white wine
½ cup tomato paste
1 large bay leaf
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup half and half
salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion becomes soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
Add the celery, carrot, and anchovy. Cook for about 5 minutes while stirring.
Add the ground beef. Sautee stirring frequently, breaking up any large clumps, until meat is browned, about 10 minutes.
Add the wine and cook while stirring until the wine has completely evaporated, about 12 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and bay leaf. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste begins to brown.
Add the chicken stock and half and half. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours or until mixture thickens and resembles sloppy joe sauce.
Remove the bay leaf and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Finish bolognese with grated parmesan.

Video

Notes

Anchovies: They won't make the sauce tasty "fishy". Instead, they bring out the flavor of the meat. Use 2 fillets from a can of anchovies packed in oil.

Serve: This recipe makes enough sauce to serve with 1 pound of fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle, or dry rigatoni.

Make ahead tip

Use right away or cool to room temperature, then refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Nutrition