One of the most beloved recipes I have posted — the kind you’ll come back to again and again.
A wonderful Bolognese pasta that you can, and should, make in one pot. All you need to do is make the rich, flavorful Bolognese sauce and, once it’s ready, add the pasta and cook together.
You can use any pasta you like here, although smaller types and/or spaghetti work best for this recipe.
Check out the reel for the full process:
Pasta Bolognese
PrintIngredients
For a large pot (serves a family of 5–6)
- 3–4 tablespoons oil
- 1 large white onion or 2 medium onions
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 celery stalks (including the leaves)
- 1 large carrot, peeled (optional)
- 1 lb (500 g) ground beef (take out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking)
- 3–4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 28 oz (800 g) crushed tomatoes (2 cans) or 4–5 fresh tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon honey, maple syrup, or sugar
- 1½ cups boiling water + 2 additional cups (see instructions)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano or 10 basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon (or more) crushed chili or hot paprika
- 1 heaping tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 package pasta (small pasta or spaghetti)
Instructions
- Finely chop the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic into small cubes. (If you have kids who don’t like the texture of onion or garlic, you can grate them instead — this way they won’t be noticeable in texture or appearance, but you’ll still get the flavor. If grating, be sure to use the juices as well.) - In a wide pot, heat the oil and sauté the onion, celery, and carrot over medium heat until softened. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. - Add the meat and increase to high heat. Cook, stirring, until the meat changes color and all the liquid evaporates completely. This takes about 15 minutes — be patient. This step is important so the meat sears and caramelizes instead of cooking in its own liquid and becoming soft and pale. - Add the crushed tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes, diced small), tomato paste, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper, and both types of paprika. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. - Add 1½ cups boiling water and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour. The longer it cooks, the deeper the flavor will be. If you see that the sauce is lacking liquid (it should be fairly loose), add another 1/2 cup boiling water as needed. - Once the sauce is ready and tastes good, add 2 cups boiling water and the pasta. Cook everything together, covered, until the pasta is tender. Stir occasionally and add more water if needed — it depends on the type of pasta you use. It’s better to have some sauce left when the pasta is ready than for it to be dry. How do you know how much water to add? Start with 2 cups and cook until the pasta absorbs the liquid. If the pasta isn’t fully cooked and there’s no more sauce, add another 1/2 cup boiling water and mix.
Pasta Bolognese
Notes
- If there’s one recipe where it’s worth using good-quality tomatoes, it’s this one. The better the tomatoes, the better the Bolognese will taste — especially crushed tomatoes, which can sometimes be acidic depending on the brand. - Take the meat out of the fridge 15 minutes before cooking. Meat at room temperature sears better and releases less liquid. - This recipe works very well with ground chicken too (and especially with ground chicken thighs). - Instead of crushed tomatoes, you can use 4–5 ripe red tomatoes, diced small.
