Today I wanted to share with you my go-to hands down favorite spaghetti bolognese recipe. This recipe is mainly about the sauce since you can serve it over any kind of pasta you prefer but I particularly love it on spaghetti. It’s hearty and super easy to make. You can either throw it together within 30 minutes or let it go low and slow and let it simmer for hours to let the flavors blend together. You don’t need to be a pro in the kitchen to make this and the leftovers are outstanding. I may go as far to say that it’s even better the next day!
As much as I love baking, I also love cooking. Over the years I’ve become much more comfortable in the kitchen and it’s turned into something I love (hence the food blog). I’m a foodie at heart. As much as I care about the flavor, texture and presentation of my desserts, I feel the same way about savory dishes too. In my opinion, this sauce is a perfect meat sauce. Plenty of meaty chunks throughout, lots & lots of herbs for flavor, garlic and onion sauteed for flavor and aroma, all swimming in a simple crushed tomato base.
Now I’m sure plenty of people think their sauce, or their mother’s or grandmother’s sauce is the bomb, and I’m sure it is. I’m not claiming to have the best sauce ever, but this recipe is pretty damn good. If your new to cooking or a little intimated by it – give this recipe a shot. Or if you’re just looking for an awesome dinner idea or a delicious sauce recipe, give this a try. I hope it becomes a staple in your home like it has in mine 🙂
One thing that’s great about the sauce is how easy the ingredients and assembly are. A little EVOO, some garlic (I like lots of garlic), some chopped onion, hearty ground beef and Italian sausage, simple crushed tomatoes and lots & lots of fresh herbs dried is fine too) and spices. Although all of the ingredients are required, you can choose how little or how much of an ingredients to incorporate into your sauce. Like a lot of garlic? Me too! I like to use several decent sized cloves of garlic. You can use a little or a lot, it’s totally up to you. One thing I do highly encourage is using fresh herbs for this recipe. I’m not going to lie, I have plenty of dried herbs in my pantry but if you have access to fresh, always go with fresh.
I keep it pretty simple when it comes to the herbs & spices. For herbs I like plenty of basil, oregano, & parsley. And for a little heat I like to use crushed red pepper flakes. I use a lot of herbs, about 2-3 tablespoons of each and a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes but I always say season to taste.
Spaghetti Bolognese
A simple, hearty & comforting sauce that goes great with any type of of pasta, I especially love it with spaghetti.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 60 mins
Ingredients
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 6-7 large cloves of garlic (minced)
- half of a large onion (finely chopped)
- 1 lb fresh ground beef ( I used lean, you can also use chuck)
- 1 lb ground mild Italian sausage (you can use spice for extra heat)
- (2) 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
- few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes (more to taste if you like extra heat)
- fresh basil (finely chopped, you can use dried as well)
- oregano (finely chopped, fresh or dried can be used)
- parsley (finely chopped, fresh or dried can be used)
- salt & pepper to taste
- spaghetti pasta or any pasta of your choice
Instructions
- Heat a large stock pot ( I used my dutch oven) over low-medium heat. Finely chop fresh garlic and onion. Once bottom of the pot is warm, add in olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add in garlic and onion and stir it around as it sizzles for about 30 seconds to a minute, making sure that it cooks but doesn’t burn. Add in both ground beef and Italian sausage. Cover pot and allow meat to cook until browned, about 15-20 minutes.
- Uncover pot and drain meat into a colander, return to pot. Add in crushed tomatoes and mix everything together. Turn heat up to medium and add in crushed red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, parsley. Give it a few stirs and allow everything to cook together for about 20-30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes the sauce is down so you can either prepare your pasta and serve it right away or you can turn down the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer for an hour or so to really get the flavors blended together, that’s how I like to make it!
- When your ready to serve prepare pasta according to package instructions. Mix pasta and sauce together or serve separately. This recipe makes a huge batch of meat sauce and makes great left overs!
Notes
- This sauce can be done in about an hour from start to finish as indicated in the time listed above. I like to let it simmer for a few hours to really enhance the flavors of the sauce but the choice is yours!
Spaghetti Bolognese
A delicious, hearty meat sauce filled with tons of herbs for flavor and a little crushed red pepper for heat. Serve this sauce over your favorite pasta…and it makes great leftovers too!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 6-7 large cloves of fresh garlic (minced)
- 1/2 of a large onion (chopped)
- 1 pound ground beef (can use lean,chuck or whatever you like)
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- (2) 28 oz Canned Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of basil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of parsley
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of oregano
- few dashes of crushed red pepper
For busy cooks, this is a great recipe. You don’t have to run out for extra ingredients and it isn’t as precise as baking has to be. It is so easy to customize. Thanks for posting.
Glad you enjoyed the post, this recipe really is one of my favorites 🙂