Tagliatelle Bolognese
Tagliatelle Bolognese features a slow-cooked meat sauce served over ribbons of pasta. This recipe is classic Italian comfort food at its best!
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Sunday nights are often pizza nights in our house. Well, that is unless we made pizza on Saturday night. Either way, the point remains that weekends are all about comfort food around here! A couple of weeks ago, Laura commented, “I’m really craving pasta with meat sauce tonight.” I happened to be going to the grocery store that day anyways, so I grabbed all of the ingredients to make Tagliatelle Bolognese.
Bolognese is a traditional meat-based sauce that originated near the northern Italian town of Bologna. Yup, more than just baloney comes from Bologna, Italy! Bolognese sauce is a slow-cooked meat sauce that builds flavor in layers as it simmers on the stovetop. The taste is out of this world!
A traditional Bolognese recipe starts with the classic soffrito of chopped carrots, onions and celery. From there, meat (in this case chopped bacon and ground beef) get simmered in wine along with crushed tomatoes and a handful of seasonings. Finally, near the end, whole milk gets added to the pot and it simmers for a bit longer.
Bolognese is the perfect weekend meal as it simmers on the stovetop for several hours. (As a side note, your house will smell amazing while this Tagliatelle Bolognese cooks!)
Tagliatelle Bolognese
Bolognese is traditionally served with tagliatelle pasta. Tagliatelle is often seen as a fresh pasta, and it can be a bit challenging to find dry tagliatelle in the store. Feel free to substitute pappardelle or even fettuccine instead.
The main difference between pappardelle and tagliatelle is that pappardelle is a bit wider. Similarly, fettuccine is a bit of a thicker pasta when compared to tagliatelle. However, for the purposes of this recipe, feel free to use any of the three types!
How to Store Bolognese Sauce
If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, simple place in a dry skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes, or until heated through.
The sauce itself freezes well, too! Feel free to meal prep by making the sauce in advance and storing it in a glass jar in the freezer. (Tip: Make sure to leave a little extra space at the top of the jar as the sauce will expand as it freezes.) Then just place the jar in the fridge to thaw overnight. For dinner, cook the pasta fresh and toss it with the heated sauce.
If you’re looking for a delicious comfort food meal, then put this Tagliatelle Bolognese on the list! This dish is one of our absolute favorites. This meat sauce is a classic Italian sauce for a reason – mangia!
Did you make a batch of this Tagliatelle Bolognese at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Tagliatelle Bolognese
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 16 oz. ground beef
- 4 oz. bacon or pancetta finely diced
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 28-oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, undrained
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 cup whole milk
- 16 oz. tagliatelle pasta
- {for garnishing} ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
- {for garnishing} Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Using a large Dutch oven or large pot, add olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion, celery and carrots; stir until well combined. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, or until vegetables have softened.
- Add beef and bacon. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 8-10 minutes, or until beef has browned.
- Add wine and let simmer for 2 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on bottom of pan.
- Place tomatoes in a large ziptop bag. Seal bag and crush tomatoes by hand. Pour tomatoes and any liquid into the pan. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, thyme and nutmeg; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1½ hours.
- Add milk; let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 more minutes, or until milk has been completely absorbed and sauce has thickened again.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.
- Toss pasta with Bolognese Sauce until well combined.
- Divide into bowls and top each bowl with chopped Italian parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Looking for more tasty Italian pasta sauces? Check out these other favorites, too:
cant wait to make this soon for me can i use mushrooms and tofu i never had tagliatelle bolognese before i love italian food and pasta sooooooooooooooooo much perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
I think you could absolutely use mushrooms and tofu here, Ramya – that sounds like a delicious sauce! If you love Italian food, then definitely put this recipe on the list to make soon!!
Well, I’m with Laura, I’m craving pasta tonight. We’re getting colder every day, and our chilly fall dreary days are upon us. I love a good Bolognese pasta and yours is full of all those great ingredients I love to use right down to the nutmeg.
Well, I better go stir my Lamb ragu. But next time it’ll be a Bolognese sauce.
There’s just something about chilly days and a big plate of pasta. Heck, I’ll eat pasta any day of the year…but it just tastes better on a chilly day! Now you’ve got me craving lamb ragu…we’ll have to swap! 🙂
Fabulous. I’ve used cream, not milk, but that makes yours less fattening! Great photos!
Haha – hey, cream would be a great choice here, too, Mimi. 🙂
I love the idea of having pizza on Sunday nights! And I’d also love having this bolognese!! Bolognese is a favourite in our home and now that the weather is getting colder, a big serving of this (perhaps with a salad on the side) would be absolutely perfect! This has “comfort food” written all over it!
Sunday night pizza totally works around here – it’s nice and easy, and it puts a fun ending on the weekend. Of course, I’m also good with Friday pizza. And Saturday pizza. And Monday pizza. Oh, you get the point. 🙂 But, yes, this Bolognese is awesome – perfect comfort food for chilly weather!! Thanks, Dawn!
Yeah, the longer you cook meat sauce, the better. Simmering bolognese for hours is an authentic way. And I’ve read that many families would often cook the sauce for 10 hours or so! Well, maybe when I retire, I will try the truly authentic way, but for now 2-3 hours suffice for me 🙂 And needless to say this pasta looks terrific!
I hear ya, Ben – there’s something so comforting about a big pot of sauce just simmering on the stovetop for a couple of hours. The house smells so good and your belly starts rumbling…then it’s time to eat! 🙂 Bolognese sauce is amazing, and I highly recommend putting a pot of this on the stove. Maybe this weekend??
this looks colourful david, and even tho i don’t eat much pasta or tomatoes i could probably give this one a go! I can imagine how wonderful the house must smell when this is simmering away for hours.
Hmmm…pasta and tomatoes do play a key role in this one, Sherry. However, there are a bunch of other flavors going on in here, too! And the house? Oh man, it smells amazing. It makes your belly start rumbling an hour or two before dinner…so that means you are good and hungry once its dinnertime! 🙂
Such a delicious, comforting pasta! Pass me a plate with some garlic toast please!
Ohhh yes! Garlic toast for the win here, Michelle! Maybe a good glass of red, too?? 🙂
I have been making bolognese sauce for a long time, and just know your sauce is delicious. Adding milk is such a great idea and I love that you do that in your recipe, it really helps to soothe the gut. All those beautiful tomato ingredients can upset some people. I’ll be trying your recipe David as a lovely variation. Thanks so much for sharing.
The milk really does soften the acidity from the tomatoes. All together, this is definitely a top 5 pasta sauce for me. I don’t really know what #1 is as there are so many good ones out there, but this belongs near the top for sure! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 🙂
Well I’m definitely craving a good bowl of this bolognese now. As you said David and I wholeheartedly agree with it, this is classic Italian comfort food at its best!
This really is Italian comfort food at its best, Neil! And for some reason it always tastes better on a chilly day. You should put a pot of this sauce on the stovetop this weekend!!
I love a meaty pastan like this, definitely something to enjoy on weekends with family
This is definitely a good weekend meal – let it simmer on the stovetop on a Sunday afternoon and get ready for a tasty meal that evening with family!
Phenomenal! A new favorite here at our house.
I’m so glad everyone liked this recipe, Mandi – it’s a favorite in our house, too! 🙂