Name: Rigatoni Bolognese Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 pound rigatoni, pappardelle, or liguini; 1/2 pound 85% lean ground beef; 1/2 pound ground sweet Italian sausage; 1 (28-ounce) can of crushed tomatoes; 1 cup whole milk; 1 cup chicken broth; 1 medium onion, diced; 1/2 cup celery, diced; 1/2 cup carrot, diced; 1/2 cup white wine (or red if you prefer); 1/3 cup tomato paste; 8-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped; 3-4 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon sugar; Dash of crushed red pepper flakes; Salt and ground black pepper, to taste; Mascarpone or ricotta and or parmesan cheese for topping

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My rigatoni bolognese is a simple, yet elegant dish made with homemade bolognese sauce, rigatoni, fresh basil, and a dollop of ricotta or mascarpone cheese. Don’t skip this part—presentation is everything and the creaminess is incredible as it mixes. Bolognese is very easy to make, it just takes time and patience.

The best bolognese is simmered for 2 hours on the stovetop so the sauce can really thicken. The good news is, you don’t really need to tend to the sauce as it simmers. This bolognese recipe comes together with your basic pantry ingredients and doesn’t involve any complex steps!

Looking for more delicious Italian recipes? Try my simple creamy gnocchi or my baked gnocchi bolognese! You should also check out my very similar no-boil baked ziti recipe.

Table of Contents

What is Bolognese?

Bolognese is a fairly simple Italian meat-based sauce made with ground beef/sausage, onions, carrots, celery, fresh herbs, garlic, diced tomatoes, wine, and whole milk. It’s most famous for its thick and meaty texture that is reminiscent of the texture of sloppy joe.

For this recipe, I used rigatoni but you can pair it with your favorite pasta. I personally love gnocchi and pappardelle, too.

Tips & Tricks

I typically make bolognese in a large Dutch oven. It’s best for cooking beef and simmering large quantities of sauce.
It’s so important to very finely dice the celery, carrots, and onions. It improves the flavor and overall texture. My favorite hack is using shredded carrots and chopping them further. It’s an easy way to quickly finely chop carrots. If you have a food processor, you can quickly dice the veggies.
The sauce should simmer for about 2 hours. This tenderizes the meat, thickens the sauce, and allows the flavors to really meld together. Bolognese should not be runny or loose.
The meat should be very finely broken down and almost granular. Use the top of a rubber spatula to break up the meat as much as possible. A beef and pork combo is my favorite.
If you can’t find ground Italian sausage, use Italian sausage in the casing and squeeze it out.
Use spicy Italian sausage for a spicy twist on this recipe. It’s so good!

Make It Ahead

You can make the sauce 3-4 days in advance. Sometimes I like to make the sauce up in the morning and store it covered in the fridge so it only takes 15 minutes to prepare just before dinner. If you’re having people over, this is the way to go. If you end up doing this, be sure to warm up the sauce on the stove before adding any pasta.

Freezing Bolognese

Store bolognese in a sealed container and freeze for up to 6 months. Let thaw in the fridge and reheat in a saucepan when preparing. Freeze sauce alone and do not freeze the final dish with pasta in it. It won’t be good. Always serve with fresh pasta.

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