Italian Rigatoni Bolognese (Ragu)

This rigatoni bolognese sauce is a pork and beef ragu that is cooked for hours and then tossed with pasta. This Bolognese sauce is the one that you will find used often in Italy when you visit and this version has no cream or dairy of any kind which is how I learned to make it in Italy. It is easy to make and the perfect date night meal!

This rigatoni bolognese recipe (beef and pork ragu) is one that many Italians make and this version does not involve cream or milk like many recipes out there. This bolognese recipe was taught to me by two Italian Sfoglinas (women who hand roll pasta) on a recent trip to Italy.

The key to this bolognese sauce is lots of meat and cooking for hours in tomato passata (or tomato puree) with aromatics to achieve that richness that makes a bolognese so delicious.

The end result is a pure meaty richness that you will love. I love making a double batch of this ragu and freezing some of it so I can make a classic lasagna bolognese later in the week.

You can make this classic pizzelle recipe to end the meal to pull off the whole authentic Sunday Italian dinner (what I love doing) or make it for a special date night meal.

Bolognese Ingredients And Why They Matter

The ingredients are simple. Here are the traditional ingredients and why we use them:

• Tomato Puree. This is the base of the sauce. Italians use what is called tomato passata. If you can find it, use that. If not, tomato puree will work great too.
• Carrots, onion and celery. This is the mirepoix and the base flavors of the bolognese. It blends into the sauce beautifully.
• Meat- The meat is ground pork and beef and is the classic meat combo in bolognese.
• Olive oil- All the ingredients are sauteed in this. Try to use extra virgin olive oil since it will have a fruity note.
• Salt. A little in the recipe to enhance the flavor and then taste at the end to see if you want to add more. Kosher salt is preferred.
• White wine. The white wine reduces down in the bolognese. If you didn't have this step, it would just be a meat sauce and not a bolognese.
• Fresh Pasta- Italians use fresh pasta like rigatoni, tagliatelle, or another wide long noodle shape. If you cannot find fresh pasta, dried pasta will work too.

How To Make Rigatoni Bolognese

This bolognese sauce is so easy to make. I have taken pictures of the steps below so you will be on your way to the most amazing pasta sauce.

• Prep: First you want to finely chop your carrots, onion, and celery in the food processor. This ensures they completely cook into the sauce later.

Tip: I like to use the food processor to get the carrots, celery, and onions very small. You can easily just finely chop them for the sauce. Do whatever is easiest for you!

• Saute: Start sautéing your aromatics for the ragu (onion, carrots and celery). This part is very straightforward 🙂 You first want to cook down the carrots, celery, and onion.

• Reduce: Once the meat is cooked, you want to add the white wine to the meat and allow it to reduce almost completely. Make sure you do not add the tomatoes until then.
• Add Tomatoes: Grab your tomato puree or passata. Add your tomato puree to the meat and mix well. At this stage, it looks like a regular meat sauce. It will cook into a beautiful Ragu, I promise!
• Simmer: Now allow the sauce to simmer for at least an hour but preferably 2-3 hours. This will allow the sauce to thicken and become a delicious bolognese sauce.

If the sauce looks too thick, you can add a little water and thin it out a bit.

Tips

• Pasta: Though tagliatelle is preferred (or a similar wide noodle pasta) since the sauce has something to stick to, rigatoni is another acceptable option! Use what you can find.
• Tomato puree: Italians use what is called passata for the bolognese. Passata is basically tomato puree and is easily substituted. Whole tomatoes or crushed tomatoes are too liquid to use in this recipe so make sure to use puree.
• Do not skimp on the amount of meat. The beef and pork combination used in this bolognese is important and what bolognese sauce is all about, the meat.

Variations

I make another bolognese, my pork bolognese which uses cream in it to add more richness because I only use one meat, pork. It breaks another rule of using spaghetti and not fresh pasta.

You can also add Italian bacon called pancetta to add a meatier flavor to the sauce. For the pasta, if you prefer to use tagliatelle like the people in Bologna do, by all means do that! It is delicious either way.

Storing

This makes the best leftovers, trust me! To store this, place it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Store for up to 3 days this way. When you are ready to reheat it, the microwave is the way to go.

I like to place the pasta in a microwave-safe bowl, then add a moistened paper towel over the top of it (to prevent the pasta and sauce from drying out.) Microwave on medium for 2-4 minutes, depending on how much you are heating up.

More Italian Pasta Recipes

• Pasta Genovese
• Pasta with Broccoli and Truffle Cream Sauce
• Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
• Broken Noodles with Sausage and Kale
• Pasta with Chickpeas, Spinach and Lemon
• Ricotta Pasta
• Spaghetti with Zucchini (Pasta with Zucchini)
• Veggie and Meat Sauce