Best Bolognese Sauce

This bolognese sauce is packed with simple ingredients like ground beef, crushed tomatoes, and a touch of white wine, simmered to perfection for rich, comforting flavor. Easy to make and perfect for both family dinners and meal prep, this hearty sauce delivers great results every time.

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Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Total Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings6

This is a proper bolognese sauce —worlds away from anything labeled “spaghetti sauce” in a jar. It’s built layer by layer, until you’ve got a rich, savory meat sauce that tastes like it’s been simmering in a Nonna’s kitchen all day. Forget shortcuts—this is Italian pasta night, done right.

Bolognese Ingredients

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Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup small diced sweet yellow onion
• ½ cup small diced carrots
• ½ cup small diced celery
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• ¾ cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio)
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 dry bay leaf

Bolognese Substitutions and Additions

Ground Beef: You can swap ground beef for ground turkey or ground chicken.

White Wine: A dry white wine like Pinot Grigio is recommended, but you can also use red wine for a deeper, richer flavor in the sauce.

If you don’t have white wine on hand, you can use chicken stock or even a splash of water with a tablespoon of white vinegar to add acidity.

Crushed Tomatoes: You can substitute whole canned tomatoes if crushed tomatoes aren’t available. Just blend them briefly in a food processor.

How To Make This Bolognese Recipe

✅ Dice your veggies small and uniform
Keep your onion, carrot, and celery pieces around ¼ inch. This helps them soften evenly and melt into the sauce instead of standing out as chunks.

✅ Use a good quality dry white wine
Since the wine reduces and concentrates, make sure it’s something you’d enjoy drinking. Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc works beautifully here.

✅ Whole milk matters
Don’t swap for low-fat—whole milk gives the sauce its signature silky texture and helps balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.

✅ Let it simmer low and slow
This isn’t a quick sauce. The magic happens when it gently simmers for a couple of hours, developing deep, savory flavor. Stir often to prevent sticking!

✅ Adjust fat depending on your ground beef
If you’re using ground beef with higher fat content (like 80/20), drain off excess fat before adding tomato paste and wine to avoid a greasy finish.

Storing Meat Sauce

IN THE FRIDGE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. The sauce will keep well for three to four days. Cool it to room temperature before placing it in the fridge

IN THE FREEZER: To freeze, let the sauce cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. It will last in the freezer for up to two months.

REHEATING: To reheat, warm on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water or broth to loosen the sauce if needed. Avoid reheating over high heat, as it can cause the sauce to stick or burn.

This is the kind of meal that reminds you why classics never fade. Rich, slow-simmered, and loaded with flavor, the best Bolognese sauce turns a simple bowl of pasta into something unforgettable.

It’s the kind of comfort food that fills your kitchen with the smell of home and brings everyone to the table. Skip the jar—this is the real deal.

More Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipes

• Cream Cheese Pasta Sauce Recipe
• Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe
• Alfredo Sauce Recipe
• Spaghetti Meat Sauce Recipe

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Bolognese

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This bolognese sauce is packed with simple ingredients like ground beef, crushed tomatoes, and a touch of white wine, simmered to perfection for rich, comforting flavor. Easy to make and perfect for both family dinners and meal prep, this hearty sauce delivers great results every time.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

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Ingredients

  

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• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup small diced sweet yellow onion, ¼ inch sized pieces
• ½ cup small diced carrots, ¼ inch sized pieces
• ½ cup small diced celery, ¼ inch sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• ¾ cup dry white wine, Pinot Grigio
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 dry bay leaf

Garnish

• Grated parmesan cheese
• Chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

 

• To a large stock pot, over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add the sweet yellow onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook the vegetables for 3-4 minutes or until tender and the onions are translucent.
• Add the lean ground beef, salt, and black pepper to the cooked vegetables. Cook the lean ground beef for 5-6 minutes or until no pink remains, breaking up the beef as it cooks.
• Stir in the tomato paste and dry white wine. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the alcohol has cooked off and the tomato paste is fully incorporated.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, whole milk and bay leaf to the pot. Stir to combine.
• Bring the bolognese sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2-3 hours or until reduced by about half. Be sure to stir the bolognese sauce often to keep the sauce from burning.
• Once the bolognese sauce has reduced and thickened, turn off the heat to the pot and remove the bay leaf and discard before serving.

Notes

• You can freeze 1 cup portions of this bolognese sauce to use for individual servings as needed for quick and easy weeknight meals.
• You can substitute chicken broth for the dry white wine if desired. You will want to note that the final flavor of the bolognese sauce will be slightly different as the dry wine will add a slightly sweet and fruity flavor and the chicken broth will add more of a savory flavor profile. The wine is the traditional option when making bolognese sauce.
• Be sure to choose a good quality dry white wine to use in this recipe as the flavor of the wine will concentrate as the sauce cooks and thickens. Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris are all good choices to use for cooking. Pinot Grigio was used for developing this recipe.
• We highly recommend using whole milk for this recipe as the sugars, and fat, from the milk add a wonderful balance of flavor to the acid of the crushed tomatoes.
• When dicing your sweet yellow onion, carrots and celery, be sure to dice them pretty small and as uniformly as possible. You do not want large pieces of vegetables in your bolognese sauce.
• If using lean ground beef (93%-7% or 96%-4% ratios) you should not have too much rendered fat in the pot once the ground beef is cooked. If you are using a higher fat to meat ratio such as ground chuck, ground round or standard ground beef (80%-20%) then you may want to drain off some excess rendered fat from the pot before adding the tomato paste and dry white wine. This will help to ensure that your final bolognese sauce is not too greasy when served.

Nutrition

Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 753mg | Potassium: 1053mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2335IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 125mg | Iron: 5mg

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