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This quick and easy Italian meat sauce is packed with flavor but takes way less time than a traditional bolognese, which makes it perfect for a weeknight! It’s so good, you might never take the time to make the 4-8 hour version again.
I love to cook, but sometimes I don’t want to do a labor intensive meal, especially during the week. I make everything from cheeseburger pie to sun-dried tomato chicken.
However, one of the meals I really enjoy but hardly every make is bolognese. I have a great recipe, but it has to cook for hours which just isn’t conducive during the week.
That was until a co-worker of mine mentioned a weeknight bolognese she makes all the time. It’s actually Ina Garten’s from Barefoot Contessa. I was surprised that I never ran across it, as she is one of my go-tos when looking for recipe ideas but I adapted what she created to make this insanely tasty weeknight bolognese.
Make no mistake, bolognese is a rich sauce as it involves red wine and cream, but that’s why I love it. The wine gives it such a great depth of flavor plus gives me an excuse to drink wine during the week as I have to open a bottle to make this weeknight bolognese.
So if you’re looking for an easy bolognese sauce recipe that doesn’t take a ton of time, this is worth a try.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Olive oil – used to cook the onions.
- Sweet onion – the base for the sauce.
- Lean ground sirloin – ground chuck works too.
- Garlic – can’t have a sauce without garlic.
- Oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, nutmeg – where a lot of the flavor is from.
- Dry red wine – adds a richness to the dish.
- Tomato puree – low-sodium tomato sauce works too.
- Tomato paste – adds a deep tomato flavor.
- Fresh basil – gives the dish some freshness.
- Heavy cream – adds fat and creaminess to the sauce.
- Parmesan cheese – adds some nuttiness and saltiness.
- Orecchiette – use your favorite pasta.
Difference Between Bolognese Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce
Bolognese sauce is a meat-based sauce that includes tomatoes, wine and either milk or cream and originated in Bologna, Italy – hence the name. It’s different from spaghetti sauce which in general is primarily tomatoes but no meat.
Do I Have to Use Wine?
Yes. Wine is a key ingredient to giving this weeknight bolognese its depth of flavor. And using a wine you’d be willing to drink is even more important so don’t go cheap on the wine. Remember, once you open the wine to cook you have to drink it and that’s never a bad thing.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Add cold oil to a cold skillet and let heat up to proper temperature before adding the onion. You’ll know it is ready when the oil starts to shimmer.
- You can replace ground sirloin with ground chuck.
- Use quality dry red wine that you’d be willing to drink. The flavor of the sauce comes from the wine. Chianti or Pinot Noir are best.
- Cook the pasta until just al dente as the pasta will cook more when tossing in sauce.
- Use freshly grated Parmesan to finish the sauce. Never buy pre-shredded Parmesan cheese as it contains wood pulp. Blocks of Parmesan cheese are also cheaper.
Other Pasta Recipes
- Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Ravioli
- Almond Pesto Fettuccine
- Mediterranean Lasagna
- Meat Lasagna
- Garlic Butter Pasta
If you’ve tried this weeknight bolognese or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.
Weeknight Bolognese
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 1 lb lean ground sirloin
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 (29 oz can) tomato puree
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried nutmeg
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 lb orecchiette
Instructions
- Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add ground sirloin, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and beginning to brown.
- Stir in garlic, oregano, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook for an additional minute. Pour wine in to scrape up any brown bits. Add the tomato puree, tomato paste salt and pepper, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat, simmering for 10 minutes.
- While sauce is simmering bring pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to directions.
- With pasta cooking finish the sauce by adding the nutmeg, basil and cream. Drain pasta and add to sauce, stirring in Parmesan cheese. Top with some Parmesan and basil.
Notes
- Add cold oil to a cold skillet and let heat up to proper temperature before adding the onion. You’ll know it is ready when the oil starts to shimmer.
- You can replace ground sirloin with ground chuck.
- Use quality dry red wine that you’d be willing to drink. The flavor of the sauce comes from the wine. Chianti or Pinot Noir are best.
- Cook the pasta until just al dente as the pasta will cook more when tossing in sauce.
- Use freshly grated Parmesan to finish the sauce. Never buy pre-shredded Parmesan cheese as it contains wood pulp. Blocks of Parmesan cheese are also cheaper.
Bolognese is one of my favorites!