There are a few secrets to creating the Best Spaghetti Bolognese recipe and here I’ll show you exactly what they are! A delicious and easy bolognese that your family are going to fall in love with.
Spaghetti bolognese is one of the easiest dinners you’ll ever make! Follow me…
The BEST Spaghetti Bolognese
Spaghetti Bolognese – the ultimate comfort food. The comfiest of comfort food if you will, and literally my favourite home-cooked meal of all time. With so many different recipes out there, it’s difficult to know what’s truly good advice. The beauty of this dish is there really isn’t a right or wrong way to make it. Having said that, I’m here today to present my argument for the BEST way to make it!
This is a recipe I’ve been making for too long I care to remember and one I hold close to my dear bacon-wrapped heart. One I’m now super duper excited to be sharing with you! Here’s why you’ll love it:
- Rich in flavour – This spaghetti bolognese has a deep, rich flavour that’s an absolute treat to the taste buds.
- Thick in texture – Ever plated up bolognese on spaghetti and 5 minutes later it’s swimming in its own juices? This bolognese is thick and luxurious and plonks on top of spaghetti beautifully.
Tips for the Best Spaghetti Bolognese
1. Spaghetti Bolognese with Red Wine
Yep, you guessed it. My first absolute must ingredient is red wine in a bolognese. Adding a good glug of red wine to a bolognese gives a gorgeous depth of flavour. That and beef & red wine are a match made in heaven.
What wine to use for spaghetti bolognese?
Doesn’t need to be anything OTT. A cheap bottle of dry red, something like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Having said that, I keep to the general rule of thumb, if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it!
2. Spaghetti Bolognese with Bacon
A guy with a blog called ‘Don’t Go Bacon My Heart’ adding bacon to a bolognese, who’d have thought!? But all jokes aside bacon in a bolognese is an absolute must. It adds a smoky twang to the bolognese and also pairs nicely with the beef. Pork and beef are often a combo of meats that go neatly together, just like making meatballs. The bacon also adds a second layer of texture which compliments the ground/minced beef.
3. Time
If you ignore the wine and bacon, for heaven’s sake please don’t ignore this tip. Ever been rushing around trying to cook a quick bolognese, serving it on the spaghetti and BAM. It’s sat in a pool of watery tomato juice. Oh, and the meat is pretty rough too. Yep, we’ve all been there.
The key to a delicious bolognese is allowing the mince to simmer with the lid on for a minimum of 90 minutes. This not only allows the beef to soak up all those gorgeous flavours but keeps it mouthwateringly tender. As there is a fair amount of liquid in this recipe it’s crucial to allow the bolognese to naturally thicken.
Did you know?
Bolognese tastes even better the next day! Resting it in the fridge will let the flavours mingle together to create more depth of flavour. If I’m serving for company I’ll often make it the day before and reheat it before serving.
How to make Spaghetti Bolognese
My advice is to use a large heavy-top pot, like a Dutch oven or casserole pot. The reason being is as you’re simmering the bolognese for so long, you don’t want the steam to leak out, as this will reduce the sauce. So, a heavy lid is essential!
How long to simmer bolognese?
I simmer with the lid on for 90mins, then the lid off for around 15mins. The simmering with the lid on will tenderise the beef and marry the flavours. The lid off will reduce and thicken the sauce.
Bolognese using Tomato Passata
Some recipes use canned tomatoes, some just use tomato paste. I love using tomato passata to create a thick, smooth and luscious sauce. If you’ve never used tomato passata before, it’s essentially pureed tomatoes. The tomatoes are cooked and strained to make a thick tomato sauce. It’s sold in all supermarkets in jars or cartons.
You’ll notice I don’t use a full Soffritto (the Italian holy trinity – onion, celery and carrot). This is for no other reason than it’s not how I grew up making it and I haven’t strayed from the recipe since. Having said that, you can absolutely fry some celery and carrot alongside the onion if you’d like.
Process shots: fry bacon then remove (photo 1), fry onion and garlic (photo 2), fry beef then stir in tomato paste (photo 3), simmer wine then add stock, passata, Worcestershire sauce, herbs, bacon and seasoning (photo 4), simmer (photo 5), stir through parmesan (photo 6).
Spaghetti Bolognese FAQ
I use ground beef with a fat percentage of around 12%. This will add some nice fatty flavour, but not so much that it needs draining. If you only have fatty beef, say 20%, I recommend draining some of the fat away or it might be too oily at the end.
I usually go fresh, I find they work slightly better and give a slightly more ‘authentic’ flavour. But you can substitute dried if that’s all you have.
Sure can! Just allow the bolognese to cool, then pop it in an airtight container (or freezer bags) and pop it in the freezer.
Thaw in the fridge overnight and then heat on the stove. Add a splash of water to thin out if needed. Just make sure the beef is piping hot.
Stir it through rice, make a bolognese quesadilla, stuffed bolognese peppers, OR, my favourite thing to do is Leftover Bolognese Sliders!
Serving Spaghetti Bolognese
When it comes to serving bolognese, you’ve got two options:
- Cook and drain the spaghetti, then serve individual portions with the bolognese on top.
- Toss the spaghetti through the sauce then serve individual portions. This is the more authentic way and will garner slightly better results. The sauce will thicken around and cling to the pasta (I’ve added the technique in the recipe card below.
What to serve with spaghetti bolognese?
- Roasted Garlic Bread
- Feta Bruschetta
- Cheesy Pesto Garlic Bread
- Caprese Pull Apart Bread
- Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread
However you choose to plate it up and whatever you choose to serve it with, a good helping of freshly grated parmesan is always a must!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this spaghetti bolognese shall we?!
How to make the Best Spaghetti Bolognese (Full Recipe & Video)
The Best Spaghetti Bolognese (Family Approved)
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Deep Pot with Heavy Lid (for bolognese)
- Wooden Spoon
- Jug (for stock)
- Large Pot, Colander & Pasta Tongs (for spaghetti)
- Fine Cheese Grater
- Serving Spoon
Ingredients
- 150g / 5oz diced Smoked Bacon Lardons (see notes)
- 1 large White Onion, finely diced
- 3 large cloves Garlic, finely diced
- 1kg / 2.2lb Minced/Ground Beef (see notes)
- 2 heaped tbsp Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste in US)
- 1 cup / 240ml Red Wine (see notes)
- 1x 700g/25oz jar of Tomato Passata (pureed/strained tomatoes in US)
- 240ml / 1 cup Beef Stock (see notes)
- 3/4 cup / 100g Sun Dried Tomatoes, finely diced
- 2 large sprigs of Fresh Rosemary, finely diced
- 1 small bunch of Fresh Basil, finely diced (1 small bunch is typically 30g/1oz)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Sugar, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Salt & Pepper, plus more to taste
- 500g / 1lb Dried Spaghetti
- 20g / 1/4 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
Instructions
- Add the bacon to a large deep pot then turn the heat to medium. Fry until crisp with the fat rendered down, then remove and place to one side, leaving the excess fat behind. Add the onion to the leftover fat and fry until soft and golden (top up with a dash of oil if needed). Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds or so.
- Increase the heat slightly to medium-high then add the beef and fry until browned all over, breaking it up with your wooden spoon as you go. Stir in the tomato paste and fry for a minute or so, then pour in the wine. Simmer for 3-4 minutes to allow the beef to soak up the wine and burn off the alcohol (the pungent alcohol smell should mellow out).
- Pour in the passata and shake out the jar with a splash of water (I do 1/4 cup). Stir in the beef stock, bacon, sun dried tomatoes, basil, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt and pepper then bring to a simmer. Pop on the lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring a few times during. This length of time is important as it tenderises the beef and marries the flavours together.
- Remove the lid and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Timings will vary depending on how much it reduced during simmering. It should still be nice and saucy, but not watery. Stir in the parmesan until it melts, then check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
- Add the spaghetti to salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain and serve the bolognese poured over the spaghetti with extra parmesan.
- Optional: To mix the bolognese and spaghetti together, make sure you undercook the pasta by a minute and reserve 1-2 cups of the pasta water. Add half the bolognese to a large pan over medium heat and add half the spaghetti with a good splash of pasta water. Toss until the spaghetti turns red and the sauce thickens, clings to the pasta and is no longer watery. Serve then repeat with the second batch. If you have a very large pan you can try one batch, I just find it easier tossing in smaller batches.
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For a delicious twist on the classic bolognese check out my Sausage Ragu and Chorizo Bolognese!
Delicious Ground Beef Dinners
- Cottage Pie
- Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
- Chilli Con Carne
- Ground Beef Tacos
- Lasagne
- Unstuffed Peppers
I’m from the States, and have never heard of tomato passata. What is it, and can a substitute be used?
Tomato Passata is pureed strained tomatoes, like crushed tomatoes but a lot smoother. It’s like a thinner, less intense version of tomato paste. I believe in the US it might be called tomato puree 🙂
Hi Chris,
Great recipe, I agree the key here is time. I put mine in the oven though, 140c for 90 mins then 30 with the lid off. I agree with Claudio re the celery (diced) and carrot (grated) defo adds to it. I’ve tried with white wine but do prefer red. I’ve also served with linguine/penne/conchiglie i.e. whatever I have and the (fake!) bolognese is always the star!
Thanks Mike! Glad you enjoyed and thanks for the review 🙂
Hi Chris. This sounds DELISH. I have been making g Bolognese sauce (old family recipe) that cooks for 3-4 hours. But I am going to make this so we don’t have to wait so long to eat it!!!! One question what is the exact amount of Passata. I usually buy it in a glass jar. How many ounces needed in your recipe. Can’t wait to make this. TY for sharing your recipe.
Hi Diane! It’s 3 cups/750ml which works out to be around 26 fl oz. Apologies, I had a typo there so thanks for pointing it out! Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Chris, this sounds fantastic. I am used to making a Bolognese sauce (old family recipe) that cooks for hours, but I am going to give this a try. One question, what is the exact amount of Passata to use. I usually buy it in a glass jar how many ounces? Ty for sharing this recipe. Can’t wait to make it.
Hi Chris. Just love your receipes, especially the Bolognese. One question that I have regarding the use of Red Wine. The grocery stores here in the U.S. do sell red cooking wine. However, I do have some nice red wine which has been aging well. A 2007 California MERLOT and a 2010 CABERNET SAUVIGNON. Both were purchased before I knew I was Diabetic. Being Diabetic I cannot drink much and would not hesitate to use some of my wine. What kind/type of red wine would you recommend, or can I use any of the two that I have? Thank you in responding.
Hi Stephen! Either of those would work great! I tend to stay away from cooking wine and just use what I’ve got on hand, doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Enjoy 🙂
Hello from Boston MA USA – this looks great, found it on Pinterest – 4/11/18 4AM our time, looks good 8 lbs of CSA burger in the freezer says dinner tonight. I’m guessing Tomato passata is Tomato Purée or Sauce, you specifically said not paste, I will risk Purée, I’m on low sodium diet, no sugar either but I can use 2 carrots, finely grated instead, they disappear into the sauce, but leave behind their sweetness. My American habits mean adding 11/2 cups onions, celery, green bell peppers & mushrooms. Your bacon Idea is fabulous here a rasher is a double serving (4 slices) I will have to pull a pound from the freezer, might just fry it all up maybe use a half in the sauce(it’s CSA, lower sodium, grass fed, no sodium nitrates, nitrites or sodium erythrobates, & not cured, just plain Smoked like good bacon should be) hide the rest for salads. I have a flat-bottom wok, a workhouse in my kitchen, nice high sides, nice 15” flat bottom. You add the wine to the meat after browning? I assume. No red on hand, just this once I’ll Sub some Balsamic, a bit different flavor, but can’t get out for the wine. Have Rigatoni on hand in the US it’s often served with Bolognese sauce. Fresh basil & parsley on hand. I will have to Sub A Good Italian Seasoning or Bell’s for rosemary I don’t have any.. Sorry if it seems like a big bunch of changes, but my next shopping is in May. Like your idea to use leftover sauce as sandwiches. They sound so much better than American Sloppy Joes.
Thanks so much for your detailed message, Mary Ann! The definition of tomato puree differs from country to country. Here it means a super concentrated tomato paste, which is not what you want. You want more of a tomato sauce, which is what passata. Also yep, just chuck in the red wine after browning the meat. Hope it comes out good with all the changes 🙂
There is something very comforting about spaghetti bolognese, and it is one of those dishes you can fall back on, knowing you’ll enjoy it. Your recipe looks and sounds delicious, and I love the added extras to add that specialness about it. Perfect supper food.
You’re so right, Helen! Spaghetti Bolognese is THE perfect comfort food.
Ok that sauce sounds amazing and your pictures are GORGEOUS! I want to take a bite right off the plate!
Thanks, Liz! You and me both!
Wow! Best Bolognese sauce I have ever seen, wonderfully plated too!
Thank you for your kind words 🙂
Why have I never thought of putting sun dried tomatoes in my bolognase before?! Will definitely give that a go. Also, LOVE how much cheese you put on top hahaha!
I have a strange a addiction to sun dried tomatoes so it just happened naturally. But totally works! Haha yeah, about the cheese…
This looks gorgeous, you really cannot beat a spaghetti bolognese!
You’re so right, Amy! Always a staple on the weekly dinners in this house 🙂