Tagliatelle alla Bolognese and pappardelle alla Bolognese are as good as pasta gets! Wide, or thinner, silky ribbons of fresh egg pasta tossed with a slow-simmered authentic ragù until every strand is coated. You can make the Ragù alla Bolognese from scratch on the day, or pull a meal-prepped and portioned batch from the freezer, cook the pasta, and the dish comes together in minutes!
Jump to:
- What is Tagliatelle alla Bolognese or Pappardelle alla Bolognese?
- What Does Tagliatelle alla Bolognese Look Like When You Eat It in Italy?
- Why We Love This Pappardelle alla Bolognese Recipe
- What You Need to Make Tagliatelle and Pappardelle alla Bolognese
- Adding Starchy Pasta Water to Bring It Together
- How to Make Tagliatelle and Pappardelle alla Bolognese
- FAQs
- A Note on Spaghetti Bolognese
- More Homemade Pasta Recipes
- More Ragù Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- Food Safety
What is Tagliatelle alla Bolognese or Pappardelle alla Bolognese?
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese and Pappardelle alla Bolognese are both classic Italian pasta dishes that come from Bologna, Italy, and the surrounding area.
The only difference between these two egg-rich pasta dishes is the width of the actual pasta (with pappardelle being slightly wider and occasionally a hair thicker than the tagliatelle). Often, you'll find it made with green spinach pasta, just as authentic Lasagna Bolognese is made.
Cooked egg pasta is tossed in an hours-long slow-simmered ragù (ragù alla Bolognese) made of ground beef, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, milk, beef stock, tomatoes, and wine. Just about any wide, egg-rich pasta (even fettuccine) pairs really well with Bolognese.
What Does Tagliatelle alla Bolognese Look Like When You Eat It in Italy?
Bolognese varies from restaurant to restaurant and from home to home. Some plates come heavy with sauce, others lighter. Our favorite versions are almost creamy, with an orangeish-red color from the tomato, milk, and emulsification of the fats from the addition of a little starchy pasta cooking water.
The best ragù has finely chopped beef, pancetta, and vegetables that mostly melt into the sauce, though some versions are chunkier, with the beef shredded depending on the cuts used. To recreate this style at home, finely mince or grind the beef and pancetta and add plenty of milk.
For more restaurant styles and the full recipe, with tips I've learned from locals in Bologna and across Emilia-Romagna, see my Authentic Bolognese Sauce post.
Why We Love This Pappardelle alla Bolognese Recipe
- Classic Ragù alla Bolognese is one of the easiest Italian pasta sauces you can make
- Slow-simmered braising marries all of the flavors together and tenderizes the meat
- The combination of beef and pork makes this ragù extra tasty
- Wine brings out the flavor of the tomatoes and the overall finished ragù
- Milk adds richness and color, and gives the ragù its melt-in-your-mouth feel
- The actual hands-on time for this Bolognese recipe is only about 20 minutes
- A great meal prep meat sauce that freezes perfectly
What You Need to Make Tagliatelle and Pappardelle alla Bolognese
This is a two-part dish, and both parts are simple. You need 2 ½ to 3 cups of ragù and one batch of fresh egg pasta, then you cook and toss the two together.
The ragù. Make a batch of Ragù alla Bolognese from scratch, or use a portion you have meal-prepped in the freezer. You can find the full ingredients and method over at that post (link above). It's super easy to make, but you'll need to set aside ample time for the sauce to simmer and turn into a proper ragù.
The pasta. Fresh egg tagliatelle or pappardelle is the right pairing. Make your own with my 00 flour egg pasta dough, or use good store-bought fresh pasta. If you prefer a sturdier dough, make my 100% semolina egg pasta instead. For green tagliatelle, use my homemade spinach pasta dough.
Adding Starchy Pasta Water to Bring It Together
In the photos above, you'll see what white wine Bolognese sauce looks like after cooking (thick, rich, and luscious). But when you're making pasta Bolognese with tagliatelle or pappardelle, etc., it's customary (as with most pasta sauces) to add a little starchy pasta cooking water to the sauce just before or along with the cooked pasta and tossing it all together.
When you do this with Bolognese sauce, the starchy water revives the milk solids in the ragù, turns the sauce into a beautiful color, and makes the sauce super creamy and velvety! This helps the ragù cling better to each strand of pasta.
How to Make Tagliatelle and Pappardelle alla Bolognese
With the ragù already made, the dish comes together in minutes. Here is the method.
Step 1. Make the ragù.
Step 2. Make the pasta or use store-bought fresh or dried egg pasta.
Step 3. Cut the pasta. Using a pasta bike cutter, pizza cutter, or pasta machine, cut tagliatelle or pappardelle. Allow it to rest at least 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface before cooking.
Step 4. Warm the ragù. Heat the ragù gently in a wide pan over medium-low heat while a large pot of well-salted water comes to a boil.
Step 5. Cook the pasta. Cook the fresh pasta until al dente, just 2 to 4 minutes for fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle. Before draining, scoop out some of the starchy cooking water.
Step 6. Toss everything to combine. Add the drained pasta straight to the warm ragù with a splash of the pasta water. Toss over low heat for about a minute so the sauce coats every ribbon and emulsifies. Off the heat, finish with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and a little more pasta water only if it needs loosening. Serve right away, Enjoy!
For the full homemade pasta method, from dough to cutting, see my 00 flour egg pasta post. For the ragù from scratch, see Ragù alla Bolognese.
FAQs
Tagliatelle and pappardelle are the same fresh egg pasta cut to different widths. Pappardelle is the wider ribbon, often a hair thicker, while tagliatelle is the narrower classic ribbon of Emilia-Romagna and Bologna. Pappardelle is more associated with Tuscany. Both are flat egg ribbons that hold a slow-simmered ragù well, which is why either one works for Bolognese.
You can use either one, since they are the same dough cut to different widths. In Bologna, tagliatelle al ragù is the traditional pairing, so tagliatelle is the most classic choice. It's also most often thinner and silkier than what you associate with the pappardelle noodle. Pappardelle's wider ribbon carries a hearty, chunky ragù well. Use whichever you prefer or have on hand, since the method in this recipe is the same for both.
Tagliatelle is pronounced tah-lyah-TEH-leh, and pappardelle is pah-par-DEH-leh. Bolognese is boh-loh-NYEH-zeh, with a silent g that takes on a soft ny sound, the same as in gnocchi. It is never pronounced boh-luh-naze or boh-luh-naze-ay.
White pappardelle Bolognese, or pappardelle Bolognese bianco, is the dish made with a white wine Bolognese instead of the classic red. The ragù is lighter and more delicate, letting the brightness of the tomato and the savor of the meat come through. You make the pasta and toss it exactly the same way, only the ragù changes. The full white wine bolognese recipe version lives on my Authentic Bolognese Sauce post as a variation.
Yes. Good store-bought fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle works just as well when you are short on time, and dried egg pasta works great too. Fresh pasta cooks in just 2 to 4 minutes, while dried takes 1 to 2 minutes longer, so follow the package timing and cook until al dente before tossing it with the warm ragù.
A Note on Spaghetti Bolognese
In Italy, spaghetti Bolognese is not a real dish. Ragù is served on egg ribbon pasta like tagliatelle and pappardelle, which hold the sauce in a way that thin spaghetti cannot.
If you're set on making spaghetti Bolognese anyway, try it with real homemade egg pasta, either 00 flour egg pasta or semolina egg pasta (in the photo above), so you at least get the authentic dough Italians actually use. A semolina-and-water-only dough gives you none of the same texture or flavor. I explain the full story in the Authentic Bolognese Sauce post.
More Homemade Pasta Recipes
Or check out this Gnocchi Bolognese and Pappardelle al Ragù d'Anatra (duck ragù).
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Authentic Tagliatelle and Pappardelle alla Bolognese
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 Servings (depending on serving size)
Description
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese and pappardelle alla Bolognese are as good as pasta gets: wide, or thinner, silky ribbons of fresh egg pasta tossed with a slow-simmered authentic ragù until every strand is coated. Make the Ragù alla Bolognese from scratch on the day, or pull a meal-prepped and portioned batch from the freezer, cook the pasta, and the dish comes together in minutes.
Ingredients
For the fresh egg pasta (or substitute about 1 lb store-bought fresh or dried egg tagliatelle or pappardelle pasta and skip to the sauce):
- 300g 00 flour
- 3 large eggs, preferably organic with rich yellow yolks (150g)
- a splash of water if needed
For the dish:
- 2 ½ to 3 cups homemade Ragù alla Bolognese
- sea salt, for the pasta water
- ¼ cup or more of reserved starchy pasta cooking water
- grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, for serving
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Instructions
- Make the dough. Mound the flour and make a well, add the eggs, and work the flour in until a shaggy dough forms (or use a stand mixer or food processor). Knead 10 to 15 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding flour or a little water as needed. (Full method and photos: link to 00-flour egg pasta post.)
- Rest the dough, covered, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Roll and cut. Roll into sheets to about setting #6, then cut into tagliatelle, or a little wider for pappardelle. Dust with flour and form into nests.
- Warm the ragù gently in a pot over medium-low heat while the water comes to a boil.
- Cook the fresh pasta in salted water for 2 to 4 minutes until al dente. Reserve a little starchy pasta cooking water before draining.
- Add the drained pasta to the warm ragù with a splash of pasta water and toss over low heat for a minute so the sauce coats the ribbons and emulsifies.
- Off the heat, finish with Parmigiano and a little more pasta water only if it needs loosening. Serve immediately, and Enjoy!
Notes
- Green tagliatelle variation: for spinach tagliatelle, use the homemade spinach pasta dough.
- Prefer semolina? Make a 100% semolina egg pasta instead.
- Make-ahead: the ragù keeps in the fridge and freezes well. Find out all you need in my Authentic Bolognese Sauce post.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Rest Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Pasta
- Method: Braised & Simmered
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 to 4 ounce serving
- Calories: 622g
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 586mg
- Fat: 34g
- Saturated Fat: 13g
- Unsaturated Fat: 21g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 2.1g
- Protein: 23g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
Food Safety
- Cook the Bolognese ragù made with ground beef and pork to a safe internal temperature of 160°F (71°C).
- Do not taste raw egg pasta dough, since raw eggs and flour can carry Salmonella.
- Refrigerate leftover cooked pasta and ragù within 2 hours, and eat within 3 to 5 days.
- Keep cooked pasta and sauce out of the temperature danger zone (40 to 140°F / 4 to 60°C).
- Reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C) before serving. Store uncooked fresh pasta in the refrigerator for no more than 24 hours, or freeze it for longer.
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