Oven baked bolognese is by far my favourite way to cook bolognese sauce. It gives the sauce a richer depth of flavour which tastes just amazing!
I promise you that once you’ve tried our oven baked bolognese sauce, you’ll always do bolognese in the oven.
The sauce is so much richer and flavoursome than when it’s cooked on the hob.
Plus, when I’m busy it just seems a whole lot less fuss and effort to bang the bolognese in the oven rather than simmer and stir on the hob.
And I like faff free dinners – don’t you?
This is such an easy comfort food recipe, just serve with freshly cooked spaghetti and a sprinkling of Parmesan, it’s delicious!
Our best bolognese recipe yet!
Oven Baked Bolognese Sauce Ingredients
Our easy family dinner idea just needs a handful of ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 large onion – peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped, I often grate garlic cloves, it just seems quicker than chopping.
- 2 sticks of celery – finely sliced
- 400g minced beef – choose a low fat packet ideally no more than 5% fat.
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes – if you can find them buy polpa tomatoes for oven baked bolognese rather than simply chopped tomatoes – the polpa have more rich, thick tomato juice and the tomatoes are much finer which give the sauce a great consistency – it’s definitely worth buying them.
- 150ml red wine – you can skip this if you prefer, just substitute it with some beef stock.
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves – I grow these as part of my little herb garden.
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- sea salt and cracked black pepper – to season
Equipment Needed To Make This Recipe
- Chopping board
- Sharp vegetable knife
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Measuring jug
- Large saucepan or skillet pan with a lid
- Wooden spoon (or spoon for cooking)
How To Make Oven Baked Bolognese
To make our slow cook bolognese in the oven is super easy.
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4
- In an oven proof casserole pan with a lid – heat a splash of olive oil and gently fry the onions, garlic and celery for around 10 minutes over a low heat until softened.
- Add the minced beef and fry gently until it browns.
- Tip in the wine – polpa tomatoes, herbs, sugar and season well with salt and black pepper.
- Bring the pan of sauce to the boil – and then put on the lid and oven bake for around 1 hour – 1 hour 20 minutes.
Love to eat Italian food? Try out more of our easy Italian recipes here
Make Bolognese Sauce Your Way…
- If you’ve got kids then hiding veggies in bolognese sauce might be your thing – try adding finely chopped mushrooms, peppers or grated carrot to the sauce.
- If you want to bulk this dinner up so that it feeds more people or has enough leftovers to serve for another meal then I recommend you add a can of brown lentils, they just disappear into the sauce.
- You could use this delicious bolognese sauce as a shepherds pie filling or minced beef pie filling with an Italian twist.
- Don’t fancy serving with pasta? Then spoon it over creamy mashed potatoes and add a side of broccoli.
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More Easy Family Dinners With Minced Beef
If you’re cooking for a family then it’s always good to have a few budget minced beef recipes to hand.
They’re usually really popular with the kids, good for filling up busy, hungry kids and EASY to make.
Get more easy ground beef recipes here
- Quick chilli con carne with baked beans – this is the kids favourite chilli, it’s fast and easy to make and great with boiled rice, nachos and a side of corn cobs.
- Minced beef pie – get the slow cooker to simmer the filling for this tasty family sized pie. Then just add a shop bought pastry crust and finish in the oven. Easy and so delicious.
- Lancashire potato hash – a traditional northern budget dinner. Flavourful, comfort food – just serve with pickled red cabbage, crusty bread and maybe a squirt of brown sauce. I also like this made with lamb mince and served with mint sauce – just SO good!
Get more really delicious easy minced beef recipes here
How To Use Up Leftover Bolognese
You could use up your leftover bolognese sauce in our delicious Bolognese Sloppy Joes recipe.
Need more family dinner recipe inspiration?
Check out our meal planning guide here – it’s filled with recipes, meal planning tips and pre-filled printable meal plans weekly or seasonally. We’ve got hundreds of the BEST family recipes your whole family will LOVE!
Loads more delicious, easy beef recipes right here.
What Can I Do With Leftover Bolognese Sauce?
We’ve got you covered with this one! There’s lots of things you can make with leftover bolognese!
Our favourite is to turn it into tacos – just bulk it up with a can of beans and then serve wrapped in soft flour fajitas or corn tacos topped with grated cheese, freshly chopped chillies and soured cream dip.
Get more leftover stew ideas here.
Oven Baked Bolognese Recipe
Oven Baked Bolognese Recipe
Rich, tasty, meaty oven baked bolognese sauce, that's perfect tossed through freshly cooked pasta.
Ingredients
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 onion - peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery - finely sliced
- 400g minced beef
- 2 tins chopped tomatoes
- 150ml red wine
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- In an oven proof casserole pan with a lid - heat a splash of olive oil and gently fry the onions, garlic and celery for around 10 minutes over a low heat until softened.
- Add the minced beef and brown.
- Tip in the wine, polpa tomatoes, herbs, sugar and season well with salt and black pepper.
- Bring the pan of sauce to the boil and then put on the lid and oven bake for around 1 hour - 1 hour 20 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 367Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 187mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 28g
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.
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