Bolognese Sauce
Oct 17, 2023
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If you are a lover of Italian cuisine, this Bolognese Sauce recipe is definitely a must try. It’s a labor of love and totally worth the time it takes to make this creamy, thick and delicious sauce.
This recipe is sponsored by Duda Farm Fresh Foods.
What is Bolognese Sauce?
Bolognese Sauce is a meat based red spaghetti-style sauce that is creamy from the milk. And it is packed full of vegetables throughout the sauce (one of many reasons we love it).
This is definitely a Sunday dinner style recipe since there is some time spent in the kitchen, but it’s totally worth it!
Can I Make Bolognese Sauce Ahead of Time?
This Bolognese Sauce recipe is great for preparing ahead of time. This sauce also doubles and triples easily. If you want to prepare a fabulous freezer meal or looking for a recipe to drop off to a friend or neighbor, this recipe is one worth sharing!
Tip for the Perfect Bolognese
- If using a food processor, you may be left with bigger chunks. It’s ok! Simply pull them out if that happens for an even consistency.
- If you don’t have a food processor to chop up the vegetables, chop them into small pieces. We love this food chopper because it is perfect for all types of veggies.
- To make this Bolognese recipe go a little quicker, while the vegetables are sautéing, you can brown the meat in a skillet.
Substitutions and Variations
Meat: While this version is made with ground beef and pork, you can also substitute it out for ground turkey or even Italian sausage for a little bit of a kick to the sauce itself. You can also use a combination of any two varieties of meat, or just double with one.
Wine: the alcohol will cook off during the cooking process. However, if you prefer you can substitute out the white or red wine with beef broth for added flavor or even just water.
Romano cheese: If you have grated parmesan cheese on hand, you can totally use that as a substitute!
Heavy cream: in place of the heavy cream in this recipe you can also use half and half.
Bolognese Sauce Ingredients
- olive oil
- butter
- onion
- carrots
- Dandy® celery
- garlic
- ground chuck
- Italian sausage
- sea salt
- black pepper
- red pepper flake
- red wine
- crushed tomatoes
- Italian parsley
- basil
- milk
- Romano cheese
- heavy cream
Bolognese Sauce Step-by-Step Directions
Use a food processor to finely chop the Dandy® celery, onion, and carrots.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Next, add in the onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté until the veggies begin to caramelize, typically takes about 6 – 8 minutes.
Remove the cooked vegetables from the pot and set aside in a bowl.
Add the olive oil and ground beef and Italian sausage to the pot. Cook for about 10 minutes until the meat browns. Be sure to break down the meat into small pieces that are consistent with the size of the vegetables. Return the vegetables back to the pot, mix well and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Add the red wine to the hot pot. Which will help to deglaze the pan, getting all the flavors of the small browned bits stuck to the bottom. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a large spoon to help loosen any pieces that are stuck as they are packed with flavor!
Add the crushed tomatoes, milk, basil and parsley. You want to make sure that you mix this really well as it’s a big pot! Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 to 4 hours.
Stir in heavy cream and Romano cheese, mixing well to incorporate into the sauce. Season with sea salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.
Serve with your favorite wide noodle pasta in order for it to completely stack up the sauce. A pasta like penne works well!
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Bolognese Sauce
Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To freeze Bolognese sauce, place in an airtight container or ziploc bag.
Produce Moms Tip: Keep in mind the liquid will expand during the freezing process, so leave room when packaging.
To reheat from the freezer, allow the sauce to thaw out in the refrigerator overnight. Simply place in a saucepan on the stove and heat over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes until it’s been heated through. You can also warm in the microwave it in :30 increments.
Try These Pasta Recipes
- TikTok Feta Pasta – one of our all time most viewed recipes at TPM!
- Apple Tortellini Pasta Salad – a great way to use up apples and the flavor combinations are out of this world!
- Classic Mushroom and Beef Stroganoff – a delicious comfort food recipe that is super simple to recreate in your kitchen.
- French Onion Mac and Cheese – trust us, this recipe is out of this world and a must try for French Onion fans!
Get the Crunchiest Celery with Dandy®
Nearly a century ago, Andrew Duda brought his first crop of celery to market. His idea was to grow a plant that was completely usable, and celery was just the right plant! Six generations later, his family is still passionate about bringing this versatile vegetable (and more) to your local produce section through the Dandy® brand.
To grow the freshest, safest produce around, experts at Duda Farm Fresh Foods use traditional breeding practices to grow high-quality GMO-free veggies. Growing their produce and harvesting it in the best possible conditions ensures that their customers get the freshest fruits and veggies. With expert care to back it up, you can be sure that Dandy® celery is the crunchiest available!
More Great Dandy Celery Recipes
- Celery Pesto Pasta
- Celery Fennel Salad
- Crockpot Celery Bean Soup
- Thai Celery Bowls
- Air Fryer Chicken & Celery Wontons
Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
- 1 cup carrots finely chopped
- 1 cup Dandy® celery finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 pound ground chuck use lean otherwise drain the fat
- 1 pound sweet Italian ground sausage
- 1 tablespoon sea salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 1 cup red wine
- 3- 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup Italian parsley finely chopped
- ¼ cup basil finely chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup Romano cheese grated
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Use a food processor to finely chop the Dandy® celery, onion, and carrots.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Next, add in the onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté until the veggies begin to caramelize, typically takes about 6 – 8 minutes.
- Remove the cooked vegetables from the pot and set aside in a bowl.
- Add the olive oil and ground beef and Italian sausage to the pot. Cook for about 10 minutes until the meat browns. Be sure to break down the meat into small pieces that are consistent with the size of the vegetables.
- Add the red wine to the hot pot. Which will help to deglaze the pan, getting all the flavors of the small browned bits stuck to the bottom. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a large spoon to help get all the stuck bits loose as they are packed with flavor!
- Return the vegetables back to the pot, mix well and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, milk, basil and parsley. You want to make sure that you mix this really well as it’s a big pot! Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 to 4 hours.
- Stir in heavy cream and Romano cheese, mixing well to incorporate into the sauce.
- Season with sea salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.
- Serve with your favorite wide noodle pasta that has grooves in the pasta to soak up all the sauce. A pasta like penne works well!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
