How To Make Easy Pasta Bolognese
Craving a delicious and hearty pasta dish that's easy to make and the whole family will LOVE? Try out our Easy Pasta Bolognese Recipe! Made with homemade Bolognese sauce that's bursting with Italian flavours!
Pasta Bolognese is one of those home cooked dinners that everyone enjoys. It's cosy, delicious and filling. Everything you need from family dinner.
Our delicious meaty pasta bolognese sauce is made using steak mince, polpa tomatoes and our special homemade blend of Italian seasoning. It's super easy and absolutely delicious!
Cooking Our Pasta Bolognese For Family Dinner Is A Good Thing, Here’s Why!
Comforting And Cosy - pasta bolognese is great for a family night in, it's proper comfort food.
Delicious - can anything beat the taste of a good homemade bolognese sauce? And served with chunky pasta, garlic bread and fresh salad, you just can't go wrong.
Budget Friendly - making pasta bolognese sauce from scratch is a cheap way of feeding the family, plus if you're feeding a larger family or crowd of friends, this meal is easy to stretch with a few budget added extras like canned lentils and some more vegetables.
Love The Leftovers - you can freeze any leftover bolognese sauce for a later date, so there's no waste.
Equipment Needed
To make a homemade pasta bolognese sauce for dinner you'll just need the following kitchen equipment
- Chopping board
- Vegetable knife
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Cooking spoon
- Large saucepan or skillet style pan with a lid
- Saucepan for the pasta
- Colander
Pasta Bolognese Sauce Ingredients
You'll just need a handful of basic ingredients to make our tasty homemade bolognese sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion - finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery - finely chopped
- 500g steak mince
- 2 carrots - peeled and grated
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning - we use homemade, but shop bought seasoning is fine
- 400g chopped tomatoes - if you can get Mutti Polpa tomatoes then do, they're smoother and make a really rich pasta bolognese tomato sauce.
- 2 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Pinch salt and black pepper
- 350g rigatoni - feel free to swap the pasta for any other pasta shape you like
What Herbs Go In Bolognese?
We use our homemade blend of Italian herbs in our bolognese - so it's a tasty mix of basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, thyme and we add a pinch of red chilli flakes and garlic powder in the blend too.
How To Make Pasta Bolognese
You'll LOVE how easy this homemade beef pasta recipe is to make and how delicious it is to eat!
Step One - start the homemade bolognese sauce
- Add the olive oil to the pan and tip in the chopped onions, celery and garlic, add a pinch of salt and fry them for around 5 minutes until they start to soften.
- Next, add the beef steak mince and break it up with the cooking spoon into the pan. Fry this with the onions and garlic until it browns.
Step Two - add the tomatoes, carrots and seasonings to the pasta bolognese sauce
- Once the beef mince is browned add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, grated carrots, brown sugar, Italian seasoning and a pinch of salt and black pepper.
- Then mix everything together, bring the pan to the boil then reduce the heat to low and pop the lid on.
- Simmer the homemade bolognese sauce for around 30 minutes until the meat is cooked thorough and the sauce thickened and delicious.
Cooks Note - if you're planning on freezing some of the homemade bolognese sauce, then take it out and cool it down now ready for freezing. Don't freeze it with the pasta added, as defrosted and reheated pasta is never nice!
Step Three - cook the pasta
- Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions - this is usually around 10 minutes in boiling salted water, but depending on which pasta you're using the cooking times may differ.
- Once the pasta is cooked, dip a tea cup in and save some of the pasta water. Then drain the rest using a colander.
- Tip the cooked pasta into the pan with the homemade bolognese sauce. Then give everything a good mix together so that all the pasta is coated with the tasty pasta bolognese sauce. If the sauce needs loosening, add a splash of the saved pasta water.
Step Four - serve the pasta bolognese
- To serve the pasta bolognese we like to scatter over some freshly grated Parmesan cheese. And throw a side of garlic bread and salad on the table alongside, then just let everyone help themselves.
Make your family’s mealtimes more interesting with one of our mouthwatering beef mince recipes
More Delicious Easy Family Pasta Recipes To Try
- Creamy Chicken And Chorizo Pasta - a creamy and delicious chicken and chorizo pasta, perfect for cosy nights in with the family.
- Sausage Pasta - the BEST sausage pasta ever! Honestly it's just so deliciously tasty, especially when made with chilli spiked sausages.
- Canned Tuna Pasta - a super easy tuna pasta made with store cupboard ingredients, this can be on the table ready to eat in just 15 minutes!
Get loads more delicious easy pasta dishes here
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Pasta Bolognese
A delciious warming, hearty family pasta dish with steak mince and vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion - finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery - finely chopped
- 500g steak mince
- 2 carrots - peeled and grated
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 400g chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Pinch salt
- Pinch black pepper
- 350g Rigatoni - or other pasta shape
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to the pan and tip in the chopped onions, celery and garlic, add a pinch of salt and fry them for around 5 minutes until they start to soften.
- Next, add the beef steak mince and break it up with the cooking spoon into the pan. Fry this with the onions and garlic until it browns.
- Once the beef mince is browned add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, grated carrots, brown sugar, Italian seasoning and a pinch of salt and black pepper.
- Then mix everything together, bring the pan to the boil then reduce the heat to low and pop the lid on.
- Simmer the homemade bolognese sauce for around 30 minutes until the meat is cooked thorough and the sauce thickened and delicious.
- Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions – this is usually around 10 minutes in boiling salted water, but depending on which pasta you’re using the cooking times may differ.
- Once the pasta is cooked, dip a tea cup in and save some of the pasta water. Then drain the rest using a colander.
- Tip the cooked pasta into the pan with the homemade bolognese sauce. Then give everything a good mix together so that all the pasta is coated with the tasty pasta bolognese sauce. If the sauce needs loosening just add a little of the saved pasta water.
- Then serve with your favourite pasta side dishes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 698Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 164mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 49g
Nutritional content will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use and how careful you are with measuring - this nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate - you should always calculate your own nutritional information especially if you have specific dietary requirements.
Get more delicious meal ideas and easy recipes here
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Wendy is the creator of Daisies & Pie, a UK food blog sharing easy meals and home lifestyle tips since 2012
