Pork bolognese is one of the most comforting Italian foods you can make. This sauce is cooked for about an hour until rich and delicious then served over pasta.
I have been making this recipe for years and it does not ever get old. The flavors are amazing and it rivals a traditional bolognese for me and I think you will love it too. This Bolognese has a delicate and rich flavor that the pork imparts. To me, it tastes more like the all-day Sunday sauces so many Italian mothers and grandmothers would make.
This recipe is also faster than traditional Bolognese and will not take all day, only about 40 minutes to achieve the same great flavor as an all-day bolognese sauce.
This pork bolognese sauce recipe is inspired by the traditional pork ragu or Italian bolognese, not an Italian American meat sauce. It is just so delicious!
Let's dive into how to make this delicious recipe!
What You Will Need
- Whole canned tomatoes (San Marzano preferably). If you cannot find San Marzano tomatoes then look for canned Italian Peeled Tomatoes.
- Garlic- very finely chopped.
- Carrots- this actually adds a bit of sweetness to the sauce. Italians add carrots to many sauces.
- Ground pork- This is the base for this delicious bolognese sauce.
- Olive oil- Try to use extra virgin olive oil.
- Red pepper flakes- adds a little body to the sauce but no heat.
- Nutmeg- This adds a touch of sweetness to the bolognese sauce.
- Cream- The cream helps add richness to the recipe.
- Milk- Helps again with creaminess.
- Salt and pepper- This one is per the recipe and then taste at the end to see if you want to add more.
- Red wine- Traditional bolognese sauces use white wine but since we are working with a leaner meat, ground pork, we are adding in a bit more flavor with red wine.
- Spaghetti- Try to find a good brand of pasta. You can even add your own touches to the ingredients like some zoodles (zucchini spiral noodles).
How to Make Pork Bolognese
- Prep: Chop the aromatics finely.
- Saute: Cook the aromatics in a large saute pan until softened.
- Brown the pork: Brown the pork in the same pan.
- Reduce the red wine: Add the wine and reduce it fully.
- Reduce the milk and cream: Now add the milk and cream and reduce fully. Make sure the dairy is fully reduced down and that the meat fully absorbs it so you do not end up with a pink sauce.
- Add the tomatoes: Add the tomatoes and seasoning and mix well.
- Simmer: Simmer the sauce for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to come together.
Recipe Notes: You will sometimes see people add sugar to their tomatoes and sometimes that may be necessary, especially if you find that your tomatoes are not sweet and too acidic in flavor. Ideally, you want to avoid adding sugar to the sauce and make sure you invest a few extra cents in a better quality tomato!
Tips
- Freezing the sauce This pork bolognese sauce can be doubled to make leftovers or used as a freezer meal for a later time. If you want to freeze the sauce, just let the sauce come to room temperature and then place it in a freezer-proof container or bag and place it in the freezer for up to a month.
- Substituting the meat in this bolognese This recipe calls for ground pork and we love it that way but we also use this recipe to make a traditional bolognese with ground beef. If you want to use ground beef for this recipe just follow all the steps the same way.
- Best way to prep your tomatoes for this ground pork sauce One of the great ways to make sure you have a smoother sauce is to pour your tomatoes into a large bowl and with your clean hand, reach into the bowl and gently squeeze each tomato until it falls apart.
- Another tip that I found over the years to make a much better homemade sauce is to slice your garlic really thin; as thin as absolutely possible. It imparts more flavor.
Whatever you decide, I hope you give this a try and it becomes a favorite in your house like it is in mine!
More Pasta Recipes
If you love this pork bolognese recipe, you may also like these:
Our Favorite Pork Bolognese
Pork bolognese is one of the most comforting foods you can make. Cooked for about an hour until rich and delicious then served over pasta.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb dried spaghetti the best quality.
- 28 ounces San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 cup carrots finely chopped
- 1 cup Dry red wine
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup heavy cream if you do not have heavy cream you can substitute with ¼ cup of milk
- 5 cloves garlic sliced Try for almost paper-thin.
- 4 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oi
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter optional
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
Sauce
- In a large pan over medium heat, add your olive oil, red pepper flakes, carrots and garlic and cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the carrots begin to soften.1 cup carrots, 4 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oi, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 5 cloves garlic sliced
- Now add your ground pork and break up into small pieces and brown all the way through.1 lb ground pork
- Next add all of your wine and simmer on medium high until the wine completely evaporates and gets absorbed into the meat. About 15 minutes1 cup Dry red wine
- Once your wine is cooked out completely, turn the heat down to medium and add your milk, cream, and nutmeg, and cook until the cream mixture fully evaporates and is absorbed completely into the meat. About 15 minutes½ cup whole milk, ¼ cup heavy cream, ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- With a fork, scoop out your tomatoes from the can and place them on a cutting board. Save the juice.28 ounces San Marzano tomatoes
- Dice the tomatoes and add them to the pan.
- Now add the remaining juice from the can into the pan and mix well.
- Next, add salt and mix well.1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Cover with a tight fitting lid and turn down heat down to low and allow to gently simmer for at least 20 minutes, 30 is even better.
- Now go ahead and add your tablespoon of butter and gently mix that into the sauce. This is optional1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Taste for seasoning and see if it needs any salt.
Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.
- When the water is boiling salt it well and add your spaghetti. Follow the instructions on the box of spaghetti for cooking just to al dente.1 lb dried spaghetti
- Once the pasta is cooked drain the pasta and place it back into the pot.
- Add 1 ladle of the red sauce to the pasta and mix well to prevent it from sticking to itself.
Serve
- You can plate this family style by placing your pasta in a large platter style bowl and scooping out 1-2 ladles of meat sauce over top of the pasta.
- Serve this with the remaining pasta sauce and freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
For leftovers:
If you are doubling the recipe or have enough for leftovers, make sure to store the sauce and the pasta separate. Ideally for leftovers it is best to just make enough pasta for the first night and make enough sauce for 2 nights. On the second night (leftover night) just make a new pot of pasta to go with the sauce.Nutrition
Calories: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 1214mg | Potassium: 245mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 97IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Dawn S says
I have used this wonderful recipe and made this dish for the 3rd time last night. It was perfect and my guests loved it as much as the others when I made it.
The only thing I did differently was add a little more wine and milk/cream to extend the cooking time a bit as the liquid seemed to reduce a bit too quickly.
I made the parmesan bread and spinach which were also fantastic!
Thank you 🙂
Melissa says
I love hearing that 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing!
Sandi Ficker says
I made this with a few variations- I added tsp of onion powder, petite diced tomatoes and a can of tomato paste but everything as per recipe. I also used rotini pasta and mixed sauce into pasta. I served it at our local soup kitchen and everyone loved it! I will definitely make this again and again.
Melissa says
Love hearing that Sandi! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Sarah says
Absolutely delicious, my first time trying something like this and it turned out to be a crowd pleasure.
Melissa says
Hi Sarah. I am so glad to hear that 🙂
maria says
This recipe was a hit , it was delicious. I didnt have wine so I used beef broth instead, my family loved it .
Melissa says
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it 🙂
Len says
Ohhhh my, this is soooooo good. At first I thought it should have some onions and celery in it (other bolognese recipes I've seen) BUT the other recipes are a variation on this one.
Does not need celery nor onions! Perfect as is.
Melissa says
I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Melissa says
Thank you, updated that to 1 tsp 🙂
Joselyn says
Omg, my first Bolognese and it came out sinfully delicious. Replaced the milk & cream with 3/4 cup coconut oil. Didn’t add any butter and used a 15oz can of tomato sauce.
Melissa says
I am so glad you enjoyed it and that your first bolognese was a success!
Kelli says
Questions, is it pot or pan that we are suppose to use? I read the ingredients it says pot and then pan so little confuse. My food looks completely different then the picture mine looks pale and creamy looking. I used a pot to cook the pork maybe i should've used a pan to darken the meat.
Mike R says
I made this with the following substitutions; used homemade cranberry wine, cream cheese instead of cream, and zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti. Added romano cheese to my plate and it was FABULOUS! Thanks.
Melissa says
I love those subs- they sound delicious! I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Terry says
I changed this up a bit. But, would like people to know that it is still wonderful with the eliminations I made due to dietary restrictions. I eliminated the milk, cream and butter and did not use salt. Used crushed tomatoes to save time and added onion and dried basil. This was so delish. Wish I could have added all the dairy and I would have passed over this recipe, but decided to try because you never know...it really was wonderful! Sorry for all the alterations, but thank you for this recipe.
Melissa says
Hi Terry.
Thanks so much for sharing and I am so glad to hear you enjoyed it. Because of your diet, you may like my Authentic Bolognese recipe since it does not use any cream or milk. Many Italian families in Italy actually make their family bolognese sauce without all the dairy and rely on the fat from the meat to make a rich sauce 🙂
John Landeck says
Tastes fantastic, but the recipe could use some clarification. 4 Tbsp of oil is definitely too much, so I had to spoon some fat off after browning the pork, and the sauce is quite liquidy when the recipe is followed with the lid on. I simmered for an extra 15 minutes with the lid off to reduce. We would definitely make it again though, with these modifications!
Melissa says
Hi John. We are glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Roger Musser says
I substituted skim milk for the whole milk but added a little extra heave cream to compensate. Also, I added a large chopped onion to the carrots in an early step.
This was delicious, I'm adding it to my regular meal rotation.
Melissa says
Hi Roger. I am so glad to hear that! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Kylie says
This was so yummy! the cream and wine really made it so decadent and flavorful.
Maiken says
Wow! Just wow! This recipe is absolutely fabulous!
Followed it to a T and made with fettuccini pasta. Hubby’s words; wow, this is 100% restaurant quality.
This will be a staple in our household, yum!
Melissa says
Thank you so much! I am so glad you and your husband enjoyed it 🙂
Habanero says
Haven't finished cooking yet, but there is no way this is 40 min from start to finish. Will post again after we sample the finished product. It looks amazing!