Easy Spaghetti Bolognese
A delicious spaghetti bolognese that's super easy to make and tastes amazing! Thick and chunky tomato meat sauce infused with traditional herbs and spices. Ready in under 1 hour, but super flavourful in 3 - 4 hours!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 carrot minced
- 2 celery sticks minced
- 6 streaky bacon strips roughly sliced
- 600 g ground meat half-and-half beef and pork
- ½ cup 125 ml dry red wine
- 1 can 14.5 oz/411 g diced tomatoes
- 1 can 10.75 oz/305 g tomato puree
- 2 - 3 tbsp 28 - 42 g tomato paste
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
Herbs and spices
- 2 tbsp Italian herbs or 1 tsp each of dried thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, and marjoram
- ¼ cup fresh English parsley chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 - 2 tbsp brown sugar to your taste
- 1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt to your taste
- 3 tbsp sour cream or heavy cream
For garnishing and serving:
- 500 g dried spaghetti or amount as needed
- Parsley chopped
- Parmesan cheese grated
- Extra virgin olive oil for tossing and drizzling
Instructions
Cook the bolognese sauce:
- In a Dutch oven or large, shallow skillet, heat up 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat until hot. Sauté onions and garlic until light brown and softened, 1 minute. Add the carrot and celery, and stir-fry together until softened, another 2 minutes.
- Turn up the heat to high. Push the veggies to the side. Add streaky bacon, and fry for 15 seconds. Tip in the ground beef and cook to brown the meat, breaking up as you go.
- Then tip in the ground pork, again breaking up as you cook, until it browns. Keep stir-frying for 2 to 3 minutes, giving everything a good stir.
- Add the red wine, bring to a simmer and cook until you no longer smell the alcohol.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients - diced tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato paste, beef stock cubes, fresh and dried herbs, and brown sugar (except salt and pepper).
- Stir the meat sauce, let it come to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium.
- Over-the-stove cooking: Let simmer for 20 - 30 minutes, adding water to thin the sauce a bit if it gets too thick. Slow-cooker option: Transfer to a slow cooker set to Low, and add ½ cup of water. Cook for 3 hours.
- Remove the lid, stir in the sour cream. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes to reduce the sauce until thick to your liking.
- Add pepper and salt, adjust to your liking.
Cook the spaghetti:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the spaghetti until al dente, as per the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
- Important! Do not rinse the noodles.
- Scoop out ¼ cup of the pasta water and add to the bolognese sauce and stir to mix well. You can skip adding this extra water if your sauce is at the consistency you like. Then drain the spaghetti.
Serve spaghetti bolognese:
- In a large bowl, mix the cooked spaghetti with ½ - 1 cup of the bolognese sauce, or as needed depending on the amount of pasta.
- Toss with tongs until the pasta is thickly coated with sauce. Add a bit of the reserved pasta water if the sauce has gotten too thick. Dish out onto serving plates. Spoon more bolognese sauce over the pasta, as desired.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese, and serve immediately.
Notes
1. Italian herbs or Bolognese herbs: I usually get store-bought, ready-made Italian herb mix. If you wish to add your own dried herbs, use 1 tsp each of dried thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley (or cilantro), and marjoram, in place of 2 tbsps Italian herbs.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 591kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 24gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 792mgPotassium: 584mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1669IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 76mgIron: 3mg
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