Name: Pasta Genovese (Italian beef and onion ragu)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 200 min
Ingredients: 2 lbs Boneless Beef Chuck roast; 3 lbs Yellow Spanish onions (sliced very thin); 1 lb Rigatoni (or any other wide sturdy pasta); 1 cup good white wine (I like a nice Italian white wine for this like pinot grigio); 3 carrots cleaned and diced small; 4 ounces cubed pancetta (you can find this in your deli); 2 sprigs of fresh thyme; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp kosher salt (plus more to taste); 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Pasta Genovese (pasta all Genovese) is a delicious slow cooked beef and onion ragu that is tossed with pasta before serving. It can be served as a casual meal or fancy enough for entertaining. This Genovese sauce recipe will walk you through all the steps to make this delicious and easy dish.

pasta genovese top view — Pasta Genovese (meat and onion ragu)

Pasta Genovese is one of my favorite Italian recipes. It is a dish from Napoli not Genoa despite its name. No matter where it is from it is a really simple a delicious beef ragu that anyone can make.

What is Pasta Genovese:

Though it may seem by looking at the picture that this dish has tomato in it, it actually does not. Pasta Genovese sauce is made by roasting a beef chuck roast in a copious amount of onions, pancetta, carrots, herbs and white wine.

The onions which are sliced very thin will break down (with a few that don't which add some texture) into the sauce made from the beef rendering down and white wine. The onions and the Genovese sauce turn a deep golden color when cooking.

The final result is the most amazing sauce that is added to a sturdy pasta like rigatoni. The tender and succulent beef roast is served along side the pasta as a second course.

It is really delicious and perfect for any occasion. You really need to try this dish.

pasta genovese at table — Both the pasta Genovese and beef roast served at the table.

Making this Pasta Genovese recipe is very easy and so are the ingredients. You just need to be home when making this since the first part of the recipe has you turn the meat after an hour.

The rest is just letting it simmer on your stove top in a heavy bottom dutch oven or pot.

Ingredients you will need to make Pasta Genovese:

Beef Chuck roast (boneless)
Onions (lots of them)
Pancetta
White wine
Rigatoni pasta (or a similar sturdy wide shaped pasta)
Fresh thyme
Carrots
Olive oIl
Kosher salt and pepper
Fresh good quality Parmesan for serving

If you saw the lots of onions part of the ingredients list, it is correct. There are lots of them in this pasta Genovese recipe.

To be exact it is around 3 pounds of onions. That is about 4-5 large yellow onions.

It may seem a bit scary or that it is too much, but believe me, it all works. There is so much flavor in this Genovese sauce.

You will add some of the Genovese sauce over the roast before serving as well.

genovese roast angle view — Beef roast with the Genovese sauce poured on top.

Here are the steps to make this Genovese:

The first thing you are going to do is prepare all of your ingredients and sear your meat. Searing of the meat will add richness to the Genovese sauce.

slicing onions thin for genovese sauce — Slice your onions very thin.

tying meat for genovese sauce — Slice your onions very thin.

The next steps are going to be adding in all that flavor that is in the Genovese sauce; the pancetta, onions, thyme and carrots. Then it is all brought together to simmer.

adding herbs to genovese sauce — Sauté your veggies and pancetta.

adding meat to genovese sauce — Sauté your veggies and pancetta.

You will let it all simmer together for about an hour. After that you flip the meat over and give it another couple hours for the meat to become tender and the onions to develop into a sauce.

The wine will be added towards the end to round it all out.

It is so simple!

I really love how easy this pasta Genovese is to make. I will serve it on holidays and when I am entertaining and just for family. You only need to do a couple things to make this dish and it is so beautiful.

My favorite thing about this Genovese recipe is that it makes a pasta and a roast. So you have a first and second course with minimal effort and who would not love a beef and onion ragu.

Tips for making Pasta Genovese:

Making pasta Genovese in the slow cooker:

You can make this Genovese recipe in the slow cooker if you want by following all of the steps up to the point of simmering the roast. From there you just add your ingredients to a slow cooker and turn on low for 6-7 hours or until the meat is tender.

It actually will cook in just a few hours on simmer on the stove top which I find more convenient. If you are looking for more beef recipes in the slow cooker, you may like my brisket recipe or my beef bourguignon. It comes out tender each time.

Preparing the Genovese sauce ahead of time:

You can prepare this recipe ahead of time by prepping your veggies (onions and carrots) and storing them in a sealed container until ready to cook. You can also tie your meat ahead of time which all of these steps will save you most of the prepping time when you are ready to start cooking it.

How to re-heat this beef and onion ragu:

To re-heat the meat, just pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees. Place your meat and sauce in aluminum foil and seal it well so it does not leak.

Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the sauce is nice and hot and the meat is warmed through.

I do not recommend re-heating the pasta. It will be better to make a fresh batch of pasta and add the warmed sauce to it. Reserve a little of the pasta water in case the pasta and sauce are too dry.

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5 from 7 votes