Bolognese Sauce with Tagliatelle Recipe
Ground beef, pancetta, and finely chopped vegetables are married in a robust and flavor bursting bolognese sauce that doesn't require an all day simmer.
How to Make the Best Bolognese Sauce with Tagliatelle
A Quick and Robust Bolognese
This Bolognese Sauce with Tagliatelle proves that you don’t need all day to create a restaurant-quality ragu. Ground beef, pancetta, and a trinity of vegetables come together in a robust, flavor-packed sauce that’s ready in under 40 minutes. The key is the bold sear of the meat and pancetta, followed by a brief simmer that preserves the brightness of the vegetables and the depth of the pomodoro sauce.
The Italian Classic Made Simple
The traditional Italian bolognese doesn’t rely on hours of simmering to develop flavor—it relies on technique. By starting with a proper sauté of aromatic vegetables, adding pancetta for a savory backbone, and building depth with wine and tomato paste, you get all the complexity of a slow-cooked sauce in a fraction of the time. The addition of heavy cream at the end creates a silky, luxurious sauce that clings beautifully to fresh tagliatelle pasta.
Perfect for Weeknight Cooking
With just 40 minutes from start to finish, this recipe is ideal for busy weeknights when you want something that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen. Pair fresh tagliatelle with this sauce, finish with fresh parsley and parmesan, and you’ve got a meal that feels like a special occasion—without the fuss.
Bolognese Sauce with Tagliatelle
Ground beef, pancetta, and finely chopped vegetables are married in a robust and flavor bursting bolognese sauce that doesn't require an all day simmer.
Ingredients
Pasta Base
Sauce
Instructions
Cook the Pasta
- Set a large pot of salted water to boil. You won't need it until the sauce is almost near finished. Prior to the 'heavy cream' step in the instructions below, add fresh pasta to the rapid boiling water and cook according to package instructions, typically about 3 to 4 minutes.
Build the Sauce
- In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are translucent.
- Add chopped pancetta and cook for two minutes. Add ground beef to the pan, using a wooden spoon or spatula to break apart into very small pieces. Cook until almost all of the pink is removed from the ground beef, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Pour red wine over pan ingredients. Stir to incorporate, scraping the bottom of the pan. Allow wine to reduce slightly, cooking about 1 minute before adding pomodoro sauce.
- Stir well to incorporate pomodoro sauce and tomato paste. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 3 minutes to reduce.
- Add heavy cream, stirring well to incorporate. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes before adding pasta.
Finish the Dish
- Drain pasta well, do not rinse with water. Add pasta to sauce and stir or sauté until noodles are well coated with sauce.
- Optional: Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Hand-Crushed Pomodoro Sauce gives this bolognese its authentic depth, but quality canned tomatoes work as well.
- This sauce does not require an all-day simmer—the short, intense cooking time keeps the vegetables fresh and the flavors bright.
- Fresh pasta cooks quickly, so time adding it to the water carefully so it finishes just as the sauce reaches the heavy cream step.