Ragù alla Bolognese is a classic Italian meat sauce from the city of Bologna.

It is made of simple genuine ingredients like ground beef, pork belly, onion-carrot-celery soffritto slowly cooked in tomato sauce on very low heat for a few hours.

This allows all the flavors of wholesome ingredients combine and melt into each other and turn into a rich, hearty sauce impossible to forget.

Ragu Alla Bologenese is an the most traditional and essential ingredient in Lasagna Al Forno, Tagliatelle or Pappardelle Alla Bolognese, Sicilian Arancini Rice Balls and Roman Suppli.
Ragu is often used to season egg pasta like garganelli and even egg-less cavatelli.

In Italy, it’s rarely used to season ravioli and potato gnocchi and hardly ever spaghetti (which seems to be a classic paring in other parts of the world).

But all the above pairings are possible and turn out absolutely delicious.

Ingredients & Possible Substitutes

ingredients needed for ragu alla bolognese

Meat Choice - coarsely ground beef or a mix of 60% beef and 40% pork.
Pancetta (pork belly) - fresh pork belly meat cut in small dices or chopped. As an alternative you can use cured pancetta but NEVER smoked.
Soffritto - onions, celery, and carrots is the vegetable base of Bolognese sauce. These vegetables add depth of flavor to the sauce and slightly thickens it due to the finely chopped cut.
Wine - white and red wine work equally well. Mostly important is to use dry wine.
Tomato Passata/ Sieved Tomatoes - the quantity of tomatoes in Ragu Alla Bolognese is the most arguable topic even among Italians. In Emilia Romagna, where this sauce is originally from, the recipe calls for very small quantity of tomato passata, just to give a light color to the meat. But anything between ½ to 2 cups for 2 pounds of meat will work, depending on your taste.
Tomato Paste (double concentrate) - adds natural tomato sweetness and flavor.
Milk (optional) - gives a little creaminess and a subtle sweetness to the sauce. But it is optional and not often used anymore.
Seasoning - typically includes salt, black pepper but adding a pinch of nutmeg is also acceptable.

Possible Add-Ons

Chicken gizzards (livers, hearts and stomachs)
Crumbled fresh pork sausage (casing removed)
Fresh or frozen sweet peas added at the end of cooking
Soaked dried porcini mushrooms

Ragu Alla Bolognese - Step By Step

Quick Prep

Remove the rind from pork belly and then cut it into ¼ inch (0.5 cm) strips and again into ¼ inch x ¼ inch cubes.
Wash and peel the vegetables. With a sharp knife finely chop onion, carrot and celery. You can also chop them roughly and pulse in a food processor until finely chopped.

Cook Soffritto

This will take about 10-12 minutes.

In a casserole add pork belly cubes and let brown on medium-hight heat.
Reduce the heat and add finely chopped vegetables.
Let cook of medium-low heat until vegetables have softened and onion has changed color from white to almost translucent. This will take about 10 minutes. It’s best to keep the lid on and stir frequently.

Roast the Meat

This will take 10-12 minutes.

In a separate large pan add a splash of extra virgin olive oil and ground beef.
Set the heat to high and stir continuously with a wooden spoon breaking the meat into small pieces.
After a few minutes of cooking the meat will release the juice. Do NOT stop cooking. If you stop at this time you’ll have the taste of boiled meat in your ragu!

adding wine to roasted meat — Notice the slightly browned meat before I added wine

Continue on high heat stirring until the meat has browned. Once meat changed color and all juice has evaporated, add wine.
Cook for a few more minutes until wine has slightly evaporated.

Pay Attention: if making a big batch, roast the meat in a few goes to have it perfectly browned and not boiled.

Assemble and Slowly Cook Ragu

adding strained tomatoes and tomato paste to the meat

Transfer roasted meat to the casserole with soffritto.
Add tomato passata (sieved tomatoes) and tomato paste (double concentrate) and stir.

Add broth and bring everything to a boil.
Set heat on very low and cover the pot with the lid leaving a small opening.

Simmer on low heat for 2.5-3 hours.

adding milk — Notice the creamy consistency of the sauce. It might look too liquid but if you mix it the meat will come up from the bottom of the pan and this is how you'll know the real consistency of the sauce.

Half through the cooking time add milk or skip the milk if you prefer.

Make sure to check and stir your ragu occasionally. If ragu dries out too much add a little more broth or water.

At the end of cooking add salt and pepper to taste.

PAY ATTENTION

When ragu is simmering in the pot the meat tends to set at the bottom and the liquids come to the top.

This make it look a little too liquid but this is how it should be.
Make sure to stir ragu occasionally and never let it dry out too much.

When ragu cools down it will naturally thicken a little.

Storage & Reheating

Freshly made ragu should be cooled to room temperature before placing it for storage.

Fridge - can be stored for 3 days in an airtight container.
Freezer - store ragu in the freezer in a zip-lock bag or an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw before use.

It's best to divide ragu into smaller portions so that you can thaw only the amount you're going to use. Ragu should NOT be frozen twice.

Reheat ragu in the pan or a small pot with a little water. Make sure it's no low heat.

The secret to making a perfect Bolognese Sauce?

Simmering for a long time on very low heat.

Ground meat cooks pretty fast. And even if you’re tempted to cook the whole thing in 30 minutes, don’t.

Let ragu simmer on very low heat for at least 2.5 hours, to open flavors of the meat, soffritto, wine and let all the juices combine.

The result? Bolognese Ragu that are out of these world 😋

Is this an authentic Bolognese Sauce?

As authentic as it can get.[5eIn Bologna, ragù is a serious matter. So much so that in 1982 the traditional recipe was registered at the city Chamber of Commerce by the Bologna Delegation of the Italian Academy of Cuisine.

After over 40 years, the deposited recipe was modified in the spring of 2023, adding the possible “permitted” variations. And of course specifying the forbidden ones (for example, yes to a hint of nutmeg, no to garlic, rosemary or parsley).

Why was it changed? To meet the tastes and needs of modern times. For example certain cuts of meat, once popular, are not commonly available anymore.

Ragu Alla Bolognese Uses

This is classic ragu recipe that can and should be used in the following recipes:

Lasagna Al Forno
Pappardelle Alla Bolognese - only 2 ingredients!
Sicilian Arancini Rice Balls
Roman Suppli

Ragu is often used to season egg pasta like garganelli and even egg-less cavatelli.

But you can also find it as a sauce for gnocchi and ravioli. Some people top it over steaming hot polenta. And I love those people.

Full Recipe

Traditional Ragù Alla Bolognese

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Make authentic Ragu Alla Bolognese just like Italians make. You'll have the creamiest and the most delicious sauce you've tried!

Svitlana

PREP TIME:15

COOK TIME:3

TOTAL TIME:3 15

SERVINGS: 6

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Ingredients

1 lb ground beef , about 450-500 grams
5 oz pancetta (pork belly) , cut in small cubes (about 150 grams)
1 onion , finely chopped
1 carrot , finely chopped
2 celery stalks , finely chopped
1 cup tomato passata (strained tomatoes)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
⅔ cup dry white or red wine
1 cup meat broth
⅓ cup milk
1 teaspoon salt , more to taste
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil