Everyone needs a great everyday Spaghetti Bolognese recipe, and this is mine! The Bolognese Sauce is rich, thick and has beautiful depth of flavour. It’s perfect for a quick midweek meal but even better if you can simmer it for a couple of hours! Serve it over pasta, stuff into jacket potatoes, make an epic Lasagna or Baked Spaghetti Pie!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Spaghetti Bolognese
We Aussies have a thing about shortening words. Good day is g’day. Pavlova is Pav, afternoon is arvo, mosquitos are mozzies. Sharon is Shazz, Nagisa is Nagi (that’s yours truly).
So it is thoroughly Aussie to shorten Spaghetti Bolognese to Spag Bol!
And here she is – my Spag Bol. Rich, thick, incredible flavour in the sauce even if you only have time for a quick 20 minute simmer. Though if you can slow cook for a couple of hours, it really takes it to another level!
What goes in Spaghetti Bolognese
I’ve been loyal to this Meat Sauce recipe since I first learned to cook when I was a teenager. There are 3 little things in this recipe that might be a bit different to Bolognese recipes you’ve seen around:
1. Worcestershire sauce: it just adds that little extra something-something. I get antsy if I get caught in a situation where I have to do without;
2. Beef bouillon cubes (beef stock cubes) for extra depth of flavour in the sauce, to compensate for this being an everyday midweek version rather than a traditional slow cooked Bolognese Ragu which starts with a soffrito (onion, celery, carrot slowly sautéed) as well as pancetta.
3. Sugar, if needed: just a little bit goes a long way to transform the sauce if you happen not to be using high quality, sweet Italian canned tomatoes. Supermarket canned tomatoes here in Australia are notoriously sour. Especially the Australian ones – it pains me so much to say that, but it’s true.
How to make Bolognese Sauce
The making part is straightforward and quite quick too:
Saute garlic and onion – about 3 minutes;
Brown the beef – about 2 minutes;
Add everything else, give it a good stir then simmer for 20 minutes minimum (midweek), up to 3 hours (weekend indulgence!). Slow cooking makes the beef incredibly tender and the sauce develops extra flavour.
Difference between Bolognese and Meat Sauce?
Different name for the same thing! You’ll find Bolognese made all sorts of ways all across Italy and all around the world, but essentially mince meat (usually beef, sometimes combined with pork or veal) in a tomato based sauce flavoured with herbs.
The “proper” way to serve pasta: toss with the sauce
As with all my pasta recipes, I include a step to toss the pasta IN the sauce, rather than just placing pasta in bowls and spooning over sauce.
This makes the Bolognese sauce emulsify, so it thickens, becomes glossy and clings to the spaghetti. No more watery sauce at the bottom of your pasta bowl! This is how chefs and Italians make pasta. Try it once, you will be converted!
But it is an optional step. Sometimes, you just don’t have the energy to clean yet another pan. I hear ya. 🙂
What to serve with Spaghetti Bolognese
For a classic Italian feast, serve this with:
Garlic Bread – or even more indulgent, with Cheesy Garlic Bread (or go over-the-top with Crack Bread). Or, for a more traditional start, real-deal Italian Focaccia.
Garden Salad with Italian Dressing (hit of crisp fresh salad essential!)
Tiramisu to finish with an Espresso Martini on the side
For a super quick side salad option, make this Rocket Parmesan Salad with Balsamic Dressing. Probably my most made side salad because it’s literally a 2 minute effortless-no-chop salad!
This recipe is the way I have been making Spaghetti Bolognese for decades (gosh it’s scary saying that!!). I really love it, and I think the sauce is rich and loaded with flavour, especially for a 30 minute Bolognese recipe.
Though if you have the time, slow cook it for a couple of hours. The flavour develops and the meat becomes so luxuriously tender.
Either way, I hope you love it as much as I do! – Nagi xx
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped (brown, yellow or white)
- 1 lb / 500g beef mince (ground beef) OR half pork, half beef (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) dry red wine (sub water or beef broth/stock)
- 2 beef bouillon cubes , crumbled OR granulated beef bouillon (Note 2)
- 800g / 28 oz can crushed tomato (or tomato passata)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp white sugar , if needed (Note 3)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme or oregano)
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt (kosher salt)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
To Serve
- 400 g / 13 oz spaghetti , dried
- Parmesan cheese and finely chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Sauté – Heat oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 3 minutes or until light golden and softened.
- Cook beef – Turn heat up to high and add beef. Cook, breaking it up as your go, until browned.
- Reduce wine – Add red wine. Bring to simmer and cook for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pot, until the alcohol smell is gone.
- Simmer – Add the remaining ingredients. Stir, bring to a simmer then turn down to medium so it bubbles gently. Cook for 20 – 30 minutes (no lid), adding water if the sauce gets too thick for your taste. Stir occasionally.
- Slow simmer option: really takes this to another level, if you have the time! Add 3/4 cup of water, cover with lid and simmer on very low for 2 – 2.5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. (Note 5) Uncover, simmer 20 minutes to thicken sauce. (Note 6 for slow cooker)
- Taste and add more salt it desired. Serve over spaghetti – though if you have the time, I recommend tossing the sauce and pasta per steps below.
Tossing Sauce and Spaghetti (optional, Note 4)
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook per packet directions MINUS 1 minute.
- Scoop out a mug of pasta cooking water and set aside, then drain the pasta.
- Add pasta into the bolognese sauce with about 1/2 cup (125 ml) of reserved pasta water over medium heat. Toss gently for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, or until the spaghetti turns red and the sauce thickens.
- Divide between bowls. Garnish with parmesan and parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
* Scaling recipe up (use auto recipe scaler) – If you double the recipe (or more!), then brown the beef in batches. If you try to cook it in one batch, you will end up stewing it rather than browning!
* Slow cooker: This is really fantastic made in a slow cooker! The meat becomes so tender and the sauce has incredible flavour. At step 3, cook until the wine liquid disappears completely, then transfer it into the slow cooker at step 4 and cook for low for 6 hours.
* Variations: Here are some ideas for ways to take this up a notch, if you are so inclined!
– Finely chop 1 carrot + celery and saute that with the onion to make a softrito. Cook on medium low heat for 10 minutes for extra amazingness!
– Add finely chopped bacon (smokey is the ultimate!) or pancetta, cook with the onion
– 1 tbsp soy sauce (my mother did this, I sometimes do! I’ve seen it in some chef recipes)
– Fresh or dried red chilli
– Bolognese gets better the longer it is cooked, and it’s even better the next day! 7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings, including pasta.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2016. Updated with new commentary, new photos and most importantly, recipe video! No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare! Too many readers love it as it is. 🙂
More family favourites we’ll love forever
Meatloaf – so much more than just a hunk of meat in loaf form!
Life of Dozer
You know those muddy looking ponds on golf courses? He loves ’em 😖
Ok so I did the short time version of this,,,,an man I can’t wait to do the long version….cuz it was bombing…(Good!!) thank you…. 🙂
I’ve tried so many times to duplicate my mother’s spaghetti and have failed miserably. This tastes exactly like hers did! Used beef broth option sub for wine and didn’t have bouillon. The sauce literally did stick to the GF Jovial spaghetti. Simmered it in the oven for 1 1/2 hrs (added water as needed) and it is absolutely the best. Thank you!
The recipe is pure perfection. I would 100% suggest the slow-simmer option- definitely takes it to another level! I make this at least 4 times a month (i do sub wine for broth). SO GOOD!
Absolutely divine! I simmered mine for a few hours, and it was worth waiting! My family loved it!
My son loves the bolognaise from our local Italian restaurant, but none of the recipes we’d tried at home had won him over… until this one. His eye lit up when he tasted it!
I’m vegetarian so had never been able to figure out by taste-testing what the other recipes were missing… but whatever it is, this one is a hit at our house.
As always, thank you for the helpful notes and tips – your recipes are so well written, you should write a guide to recipe-writing 🙂
I have found that Impossible “Hamburger” and veggie Italian “sausage” work amazingly well, and I have eaten Bolognese in Bologna.
This is excellent and easy to make. Will be making this on a regular basis.
Sorry, bit confused about the directions! Do you follow step 4, THEN 5? Or do you choose between step 4 and 5? And if it’s the latter and you choose step 4, do you go from there to step 6?
You choose between step four and step five – Nagi said that the first choice is the quickest way to make this dish, whereas the second option gives a greater depth of flavour. After completing either step, you then go to step six. Alternatively, you can make it in the slow cooker which Nagi gives instructions for in her notes.
I believe you choose between the two 😊
Stroganoff is a family fav. Usually I buy a cut of lean meat and after adding most ind. leave to simmer for 4 hrs. or until meat falls apart. In earlier days I used more meat and less veg and mushrooms. Was del. however we have changed course and now use loads more mushrooms than meat and it is sooo good. Just one more thing, we prefer a more reddish color to our Stroganoff and lots of fresh cream 🙂 Thanks for all your wonderful recipies, each make my day 🙂
I’m looking forward to making this but I was wondering if you have “BETTER THAN BOUILLON” down under? For years they just had beef, chicken & vegetable but recently they came out with more offerings. Once I discovered better than bouillon I gave up cubes for ever!
https://www.betterthanbouillon.com/
Sadly no better than bouillon available here, how I miss it!
Have made this recipe so many times…so yummy, my family loves it! Thank you.
Hi Nagi. Before I mention this, I have been using your recipes for years now with supreme success. I just want to point out that OXO cube (normal salt) in Ireland and Europe is 190 ml of prepared stock. Perfect for this recipe. Everything elso chicken, vegetable and beef stock cube (not OXO) is 450 mls of prepared stock per individual cube. So anything in Europe would end up extremely salty if you used a beef stock cube that wasn’t OXO. And extremely unhealthy salt wise. I know you are fastidious when it comes to different areas and measures. So thought I’d mention this. An OXO cube had less than 2 grams of salt. Our beef stock cubes in general has about 4.5 grams. Same with chicken and vegetables. Unless you get the leas salt version, but they still make 450 ml of stock to our OXO that’s 190, less salt or not.
I agree Mark, used knorr in a recipe from tin eats chicken noodle soup and was very salty tried it again with oxo and was perfect
Is this an ad for Oxo ? You know that studies have shown that earlier studies regarding daily salt intake have been proven not so reliable and actually fit adults should at least intake 2 gr. – 6gr. of salt daily.
Wow! First time making sauce from scratch. I appreciated every note and committed them to memory. All your tips to elevate the sauce is exactly what I was missing with other recipes… I couldn’t find a way to make my sauce a “wow” and this did it. Thank you so much and PLEASE continue, we are becoming better cooks with your instructions and help!
I’ve made this twice now. About to make it for a third time. The easiest yet most delicious spag bol recipe I’ve come across. Thanks. 🙂
Only change I made was a little extra garlic. It was great after simmering for 2 hours!
Long time reader, first time commenter:
Made last night for my 15 year old’s b-day dinner. Slow simmer is the way💙 Big hit. Love a low effort, maximum impact recipe. On another note, pre-ordered my cookbook here in the States and should have it in hand today – can’t wait! Love how perfectly organized your recipes are Nagi.
Perfect recipe!
I added the extra water and was going to simmer for 2 hours on stovetop but even with a simmer mat the heat is too high to simmer gently.
Could I put the sauce in the oven at this point with the lid on?
Thanks
Hi Nagi, love this recipe it’s always turned out great especially when slow cooking. This time around I didn’t have any brown onions left so used a red one instead, will that cause any differences to the taste / outcome? P.S. Looking forward to getting your book when it’s released in the UK 🙂
Winner Nagi, I did add powdered mushroom and evap milk for extra richness, it didnt need it but I had them to use, delish.
This Spag Bol is delicious and was a winner for the kids. Made this last week and am making it again tonight demanded by the kids.