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 going to give this a shot – your other recipes are so good! One question, recipe calls for a ‘white onion’ is this the same as a sweet onion? or a brown onion? when I search for it on Ocado it only brings up the former as a white onion.. but it’s the kind you’d throw in a salad so I’m a bit confused.. thanks!
Hi Tom, by ‘white onion’ I just mean a regular onion i.e. not the red/purple one. It’s the only other one sold in bags or loose in the UK other than the red onions (and beside spring onions etc). Hope this helps. C.
Hi Chris,
I’m going to try this recipe this week, it sounds delicious. But I have a question; my husband can’t eat pips or tomato skins for medical/dietary reasons.
Are the sun dried tomatoes essential? Is there an alternative or any knack for deskinning and deseeding them? I’ve never cooked anything with sun dried tomatoes before.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Anne! Do they sell sun-dried tomato paste wherever you’re located? I do love the flavour they add but I imagine you’ll still enjoy the dish without them (consider adding a dollop more tomato puree/paste). C.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your reply, yes I tracked down a jar of sun dried tomato paste in one of the shops in my local town, the bolognaise is simmering away as I type! It’s quite a thick consistency, that how it should be right?
Thanks,
Anne
Another winner! Accolades from everyone! Can’t wait for the US version of your cookbook to land! I need to use more exclamation points!
Thanks so much, Barbara! 🙂 C.
This was excellent! No more 20 minute spag bol for me :”)
Just to say I swapped out sundried toms for grated carrot & used smoked bacon lardons, didn’t add salt & it didn’t need it as the bacon was salty enough !
This recipe is deffo going on the list 😀 cheers!
Cheers Ian! So happy to hear this went down well and thank you for the review 🙂 C.
Me again – if I put this in the fridge how long will it keep for?
Absolutely fabulous bolognese sauce recipe. Always a hit in our household. I actually added a teaspoon of nutmeg too. Thankyou, Chris, for always making food effortless but impressive!
Thanks so much for the review, Diane! 🙂 C.
Hi Chris, I do enjoy this recipe. I thought I’d experiment cooking it in an Instant pot hoping to avoid the long simmer. It works very well.
Thanks for the tip, Anthony! Great to know it works well in the IP 🙂 C.
Well done Chris, you’ve done it again! Absolutely stunningly delicious, thank you.
Thanks Alex! Glad it went down well 🙂 C.
just wanted to say i love this recipe, fairly new to cooking and this turns out delicious every time, thank u for saving my uni life
So great to hear, Sophia! Thanks for popping back for a review 🙂
Delicious!! Clean plates all round
Great to hear!
Hello guys, I am from Bologna and believe me, this recipe is not right. First, I apologize for my bad English.
I would like give you some tips.
The name… “Spaghetti alla Bolognese” is not correct, they do not exist… the correct name is TAGLIATELLE alla Bolognese.
I understand that is not easy to find TAGLIATELLE pasta out of Italy but we don’t use spaghetti for this recipe.
Don’t use smoked bacon but replace it with normal bacon and use 125ml of milk and 125 ml of white wine instead off red wine.
Remove from the recipe garlic, rosemary, basil, Worcester sauce, they are not needed. Add 100g of carrot and 100g of green celery both finely diced.
Your instructions are almost perfect. Put first in the pot the bacon, when it is melts, add onion, carrot and celery whit olive oil.
At this point add beef and white wine. When almost cooked add the milk and adjust with salt and pepper.
Another tip…step 6 is not necessary, “drain” the pasta, add the sauce and good meal.
Claudio
Hi Claudio! Thanks so much for your comment. Your English is great, no need to worry! There’s some really useful tips here, will definitely give them a go. Having said that, in no way shape or form do I suggest this is a traditional bolognese. I’m 100% aware it’s not. It’s simply my interpretation of the dish 🙂 Thanks again for taking the time to offer your tips, appreciate it. Chris.