Classic Tagliatelle alla Bolognese (and pappardelle alla Bolognese) is as good as pasta gets and it’s incredibly easy to make! A rich slow-simmered beef, pork, and tomato Italian ragù with extra flavor from soffritto and the addition of white wine, milk, and beef stock tossed together with wide ribbons of chewy egg-rich pasta — this is one of the most delicious Italian pasta sauces of all time. This Bolognese sauce recipe is based on the official Italian Academy of Cuisine’s original recipe so you know this is the real deal, Italian Bolognese. Double, triple, or quadruple this sauce to freeze it or to make the best homemade Lasagna alla Bolognese. If you’re looking for a Bolognese recipe that uses red wine (instead of white), you can find that post over here.
Where Does Bolognese Sauce Come From?
The birthplace of the original recipe for Ragù alla Bolognese can be traced back to the end of the 1700s. The chef of the Cardinal of Imola (just outside of the city of Bologna) cooked the first real Bolognese ragù. and served his tomato-based meat sauce with a plate of maccheroni pasta. By the 1800s, recipes for tomato-based ragù start to show up in a few cookbooks from the Emilia-Romagna region, but the official Ragu alla Bolognese was officially registered by the Italian Academy of Cuisine at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce on October 17th, 1982.
What is Tagliatelle alla Bolognese or Pappardelle alla Bolognese?
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese and Pappardelle alla Bolognese are both delicious 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 the pappardelle being slightly wider than the tagliatelle). Pasta is tossed in a 3-hour 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 pairs really well with Bolognese (see below).
Below in Photos — This is What Pasta Bolognese Looks Like When you Order it In Italy
What Does Tagliatelle alla Bolognese Look Like When You Eat it In Italy?
Of course, Bolognese dishes vary from restaurant to restaurant and home to home, but the above photos will help give you a better idea of what you can expect when you order Bolognese in Italy. Some restaurants will have a lots of sauce covering the pasta, while others will be slightly less so. For the most part, the sauce is creamy and has an orangeish-red color from the addition of tomatoes and milk. The ragù itself will have finely chopped bits of beef, pancetta, and vegetables that seem to mostly melt into the sauce. If you want to mimic this authentic style be sure to finely chop the beef and pancetta before cooking it and add plenty of milk. The next time I make this dish, I’ll finely chop the meat and vegetables first so you can see the difference it makes in the appearance of the final ragù.
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 delicious 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 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 about 20 to 30 minutes
- A great MealPrep and make-ahead pasta sauce that freezes perfectly
- Adding a little starchy cooking water to the sauce means the ragù clings to every inch of thepappardelle and tagliatelle
What’s The Difference Between Bolognese Sauce & Spaghetti Sauce You Ask?
The short answer — everything (take a look at the photos just below of a vegetarian spaghetti sauce, Bolognese ragù, and beef and tomato sauce). The difference between Bolognese and typical American-style “Spaghetti sauce” is the ingredients, length of required cooking time, and even the type of pasta they’re paired with. Below are the specific differences:
- Bolognese isn’t considered a sauce here in Italy, but rather a ragù. “Ragù” is a general term or umbrella category used to designate any meat sauce cooked over low heat for many hours. Each ragù varies from region to region and uses various local ingredients. For instance, in this recipe “ragù alla Bolognese” means ragù from Bologna (or ragù made in the Bologna style). Whereas a sauce or “sugo” (like spaghetti sauce) can be cooked in 30 minutes or less.
- Spaghetti Sauce in its most basic form consists of olive oil, tomatoes, onion, garlic (sometimes celery, carrots, or parsley are also added), and ground beef (unless you’re making a vegan spaghetti sauce). Tomatoes make up the majority of this sauce as compared to the other ingredients.
- Bolognese Ragù consists of pancetta, ground beef, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, wine, milk, beef stock, and just a little tomato as compared to the beef stock and the rest of the other ingredients.
- In Italy, Bolognese ragù is served with egg pasta like in lasagna Bolognese, or with tagliatelle, wide ribbons of pappardelle, gnocchi, and maccheroni (which isn’t like the macaroni we Americans grew up with even though we have that here kind too). These pasta shapes are paired with this ragù because they’re better equipped to hold chunky sauces. Which leads us to the next order of business…
- Spaghetti alla Bolognese doesn’t exist in Italy because the pasta is too small to hold up well to the chunky richness of a true Bolognese. Also, spaghetti is not made using eggs which is considered a must when serving Bolognese pasta of any kind. But when you make pasta at home you get to make it exactly how you want it — even with spaghetti if you want♡.
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese Ingredients (Tagliatelle w/Bolognese Ingredients)
Authentic Italian Bolognese sauce is incredibly easy to make but needs ample time (in this case 3 hours) to simmer into a delicious ragù that melts in your mouth. After that, all you need is some chewy egg tagliatelle or pappardelle pasta and dinner can be ready in about 5 minutes. Double, triple, or even quadruple the Bolognese ragù recipe to portion and freeze for easy weeknight meals.
- ground beef
- pancetta
- tomatoes
- carrots
- onions
- celery
- garlic
- dry white or red wine (nothing sparkling or sweet)
- milk
- beef broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- Tagliatelle or Pappardelle egg pasta (or your favorite pasta)
Adding Starchy Pasta Water to Bolognese Sauce Changes Its Appearance
In the photos above, you’ll see what Bolognese sauce looks like after cooking — thick, rich, and luscious and it gets layered into Lasagna alla Bolognese just like this. But when you’re making tagliatelle or pappardelle alla Bolognese, it’s customary (as with most pasta dishes) to add a little starchy pasta cooking water to the sauce just before the actual pasta gets added and tossed. When you do this with Bolognese, the starchy water revives the milk solids in the ragù and turns the sauce into the customary orangeish-red color it’s famous for. Plus, it makes the sauce super velvety!
How to Make The Best Tagliatelle or Pappardelle alla Bolognese
When you’ve got about 3 hours you know you’ll be around the house, Bolognese ragù is the perfect recipe to make. Once the ragù is made, just add your favorite egg pasta like tagliatelle or pappardelle, and twirl. There’s very little actual hands-on time to make the ragù (only about 20 to 30 minutes), but you’ll need to give it a stir every now and then and also make sure it maintains a low simmer.
- Render the fat from the pancetta. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and add the pancetta and cook for approximately 15 minutes to allow some of the fat to render.
- Sauté the vegetables. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and smashed garlic and sauté for 8-10 minutes, or until soft and onions are translucent. Season with salt to taste
- Cook the beef. Add the beef breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes, and be sure to season with salt.
- Deglaze the pan with wine. Add wine while scraping the browned bits (the fond) from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute to allow some of the alcohol to evaporate. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, and salt to taste and stir to blend. Reduce heat to very low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the milk. Add milk to the sauce and cover with a lid left slightly ajar and continue simmering over low heat, stirring occasionally, until milk is absorbed, about 45 minutes, adding more stock by 1/4 cupfuls to thin it out only if needed. Turn off the heat, adjust the seasonings, and set aside until ready to assemble the lasagna.
- Cook the Pasta & combine it with the sauce. Cook pasta in lightly salted boiling water according to the package directions, stirring occasionally, until about 1 minute before al dente. Ladle 1/4 cup of starchy pasta cooking water at a time into the sauce set over medium-high heat and stir to combine. Add a little more starchy water if needed until you reach the desired consistency, but don’t add too much as it could dilute the flavors. Turn the heat off and add the noodles quickly tossing them to coat. Serve with freshly grated cheese, Enjoy!
Pappardelle alla Bolognese & Tagliatelle alla Bolognese step-by-step photos
MealPrep Bolognese Sauce (Portion, Freeze, Reheat & Eat)
This sauce recipe is a favorite MealPrep dish to make ahead of time. I freeze it into 225-250g (about 1 cup) portions that we can pull out of the freezer to reheat for easy weeknight meals or in larger portions for when we want to easily assemble Lasagna Bolognese or for dinner parties. Plus, if I’m going to cook something as long as this Bolognese sauce, it’s worth my time (and the energy it consumes) to make extra. I like to double or triple the recipe to maximize the yield.
How to Cook Pasta Like a Pro Every Time
If you’ve eaten a forkful of pasta at your favorite restaurant you may have wondered why it can sometimes be so much richer and velvety (even tastier) than the stuff you make at home. Restaurants typically use more fat (and sometimes dairy) than you’d ever imagine cooking with at home. And one of the biggest differences between your spaghetti and theirs mostly comes down to cooking techniques and the quality of ingredients used. In order to bring out the best texture, flavor, and maximum pasta goodness, follow the guidelines below.
- Don’t pre-cook your pasta noodles. In most cases, try to time the pasta so that the sauce is ready just before (or well in advance of) the noodles and not the other way around.
- Add starchy pasta cooking water to the sauce. Just before the noodles are finished cooking to “al dente” doneness, add a little starchy water to the sauce and stir.
- Don’t over-salt the cooking water. If the pasta cooking water is too salty, it’ll make your final sauce too salty when it gets added. Alternatively, if the pasta water is not salty enough, the noodles will be bland.
- Cook the pasta directly in the sauce at the end and toss. When you can, it’s good to finish cooking the noodles directly in the sauce for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. But this is not a technique to be used when making Pasta alla Carbonara because egg yolks are involved.
- Don’t add any cheese while the sauce is boiling, simmering, or otherwise cooking. Adding grated cheese to a pasta sauce while it’s cooking, causes the cheese to separate and become stringy. The fat in the cheese will separate leaving the sauce oily. Instead, remove the sauce or pasta from the heat and add the cheese after 15-20 seconds. Alternatively, in some recipes, you may serve the grated cheese at the table instead of adding it directly to the pasta.
- Skip the dairy. Butter and cream aren’t necessary to create a smooth velvety texture to pasta, although in the right amounts and in the right sauce the addition can be delicious. If you’re using dairy to enhance the flavor, go for it, but if you’re just trying to create a better mouthfeel, use the techniques above and you can’t go wrong.
- If the sauce is tomato-based use Mutti brand tomatoes (or the best San Marzano DOP tomatoes). My recommended canned tomato brand to use for tomato-based pasta sauces is Mutti. These are consistently the best commercially produced, 100% Italian (non-GMO, no additives or preservatives added), tomatoes from near and around Parma, Italy. These tomatoes are available in the US (and other global markets including China. In Italy, if your family doesn’t grow and can their own tomatoes, or buy them from a local producer, Mutti is a staple found in just about every cupboard here. These tomatoes have an intense real tomato flavor. We have access to an abundant variety of high-quality fresh and canned tomatoes here in Italy, but we still always keep a couple of cans of Mutti on hand. I’m not paid by Mutti. for this glowing endorsement. They’re just one of the best brands out there, and using them absolutely will make all the difference in your homemade pasta or pizza sauce.
Looking for More Delicious Pasta Dishes to Make?
If you love pasta as much as we do, here are a few more recipes to inspire your next dinner.
- Anniversary Pasta (Spicy Shrimp Tomato-Alfredo Sauce w/Rigatoni)
- Asparagus & Ham Lasagna (w/Asparagus Bechamel)
- Classic Lasagna Bolognese (authentic Italian recipe)
- Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo Pasta Recipe (w/Parmigiano Cream Sauce)
- Baked Ziti with Ragù (from Scratch)
- 15-Minute Shrimp Pasta w/Garganelli (the Italian Way)
- Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Cook Pasta Like A Roman)
- Tagliatelle al Ragù (Northern Italian Beef Ragù w/Pasta)
- Cajun Style Royal Red Shrimp Pasta for One (or a crowd)
- Triple Shrimp Trighetto Pasta (Creamy Shrimp Pasta)
- Spicy Abruzzo Ventricina and Salsiccia Pasta (with Gold-Drawn Verrigni Soqquadro Pasta)
- How to Make Venetian Duck Ragù w/Bigoli Pasta (Bigoli al Ragù d’Anatra)
- Abruzzese Almost-Bolognese (Lasagna al Ragù w/Porcini Béchamel)
- Italian Speck & Asparagus Lasagna (w/Asparagus Béchamel & Zucchini Crema)
- Mama A’s Eggplant & Zucchini Parmigiana (Pinterest & Food52 Golden Recipe Grand Prize Winner)
- Creamy Pasta with Sausage & Wine Sauce (Almost Pasta alla Norcina)
- Italian Summer Garden Spaghetti w/Zucchini & Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce
- Simple + Delicious Pasta alle Zucchine (Spaghetti with Zucchini)
- Mediterranean Pigtail Pasta Salad with Shrimp (Featuring Sautéed Vegetables + Fresh Mozzarella)
- Italian Langoustine Shrimp Scampi w/Rigatoni Pasta (Mezze Maniche agli Scampi)
- Italian Spaghetti with Clams (Spaghetti alle Vongole)
Let’s Get Started!
The Original Ragù alla Bolognese Recipe from the Italian Academy of Cuisine — A Very Old Authentic Italian Recipe
If you’re curious about the official Bolognese recipe from Bologna, Italy, click over here to read more.
Authentic Italian Pappardelle alla Bolognese
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 to 10 servings 1x
Description
Classic Tagliatelle alla Bolognese (or pappardelle alla Bolognese) is as good as pasta gets. A rich slow-simmered beef, pork, and tomato Italian ragù with extra flavor from sofrito and the addition of white wine, milk, and beef stock tossed together with wide ribbons of buttery egg-rich pasta — this is one of the most delicious Italian pasta sauces of all time. This Bolognese sauce recipe is based on the official Italian Academy of Cuisine’s original recipe and it couldn’t be easier to make. Double, triple, or quadruple this sauce to freeze it or to make the best homemade Lasagna alla Bolognese.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (28g)
- 2 medium onions, finely diced (9.5 ounces) or (270g)
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced (3.5 ounces) or (100g)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled, finely diced (6 ounces) or (170g)
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Mutti finely chopped canned tomatoes (118g)
- 1 pound ground beef (454g)
- 6 1/2 ounces cubed pancetta, finely chopped (188g)
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) dry white wine (118g) (sub dry red wine)
- 2–3 cups low-sodium homemade beef stock, or store-bought (240-720g)
- 2–3 tablespoons tomato paste, or to taste (28-42g)
- 1 cup whole milk, or more to taste (240g)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 ounces of tagliatelle, fettuccine, or pappardelle egg pasta per person (80g)
- grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano (for serving)
Instructions
- Render the fat from the pancetta. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat and add the pancetta and cook for approximately 15 minutes to allow some of the fat to render.
- Sauté the vegetables. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and smashed garlic and sauté for 8-10 minutes, or until soft and onions are translucent. Season with salt to taste
- Cook the beef. Add the beef breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes, and be sure to season with salt.
- Deglaze the pan with wine. Add wine while scraping the browned bits (the fond) from the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute to allow some of the alcohol to evaporate. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, and salt to taste and stir to blend. Reduce heat to very low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the milk. Add milk to the sauce and cover with a lid left slightly ajar and continue simmering over low heat, stirring occasionally, until milk is absorbed, about 45 minutes, adding more stock by 1/4 cupfuls to thin it out only if needed. Turn off the heat, adjust the seasonings, and set aside until ready to assemble the lasagna.
- Cook the Pasta & combine it with the sauce. Cook pasta in lightly salted boiling water according to the package directions, stirring occasionally, until about 1 minute before al dente. Ladle 1/4 cup of starchy pasta cooking water at a time into the sauce set over medium-high heat and stir to combine. Add a little more starchy water if needed until you reach the desired consistency, but don’t add too much as it could dilute the flavors. Turn the heat off and add the noodles quickly tossing them to coat. Serve with freshly grated cheese, Enjoy!
Notes
- Substitute low-sodium chicken stock (homemade or store-bought) for the beef stock.
- Make the ragù ahead. It can be made 2 days ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover in an airtight container and keep chilled in the fridge until ready to use. Reheat and use for layering in Lasagna Bolognese or to make a steaming bowl of pasta alla ragù Bolognese. Alternatively, the ragù can be frozen and thawed in the fridge overnight before you need to use it in a recipe.
- When dicing the vegetables, try and cut them to approximately the same size so that they’ll cook evenly together.
- The amount of veggies used can vary. According to the official Bolognese recipe, equal amounts of onion, carrots, and celery should be used equalling 50g of each. I love onion and the very sweet carrots we have in Italy, so I used more of these two veggies than the celery. But feel free to make it the official way if you’d prefer.
- If you don’t have tomato paste, simply add 1/2 cup (118g) more Mutti finely chopped tomatoes bringing the total amount of finely chopped tomatoes to 1 cup (236g).
- Do not oversalt. Be sure to season the vegetables, beef, and sauce as the ingredients are added and cooked so that each layer of this ragù is properly seasoned. However, be careful not to over-salt the sauce in the beginning because as it cooks the liquid will reduce and evaporate somewhat which concentrates the flavors and intensifies the salt. Remember, you can always add salt but can never take it away.
- How much and which type of wine should I use? I used a little more than 1/2 cup for this recipe. 1/2 cup wine is equal to 4 ounces or 118g. I used 5 ounces (150g) red wine and we loved it, but I’ve also used 4 ounces of white wine which is just a bit lighter, but still rich with an unmistakable depth of flavor wine gives this ragù. Either way, this sauce is delicious, just choose a good quality very drinkable wine and you can’t go wrong. Don’t use anything bubbly or sweet for this recipe.
- I typically end up using 2 1/2 to 3 cups of broth in this sauce, but it’s also great and perhaps a bit more tomatoey if you only use 2 cups of broth. If you’re making this for the first time, start with 2 cups and increase by 1/2 cup portions as desired. Be sure to record how much you use, so you’ll know the next time you make this sauce (because you’ll definitely be making it again if you love it as much as we do!).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Braised & Simmered
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 to 4 ounce serving
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