Our easy Pappardelle Bolognese Sauce is total comfort food! This bolognese sauce recipe is delicious, flavorful and perfect for a make-ahead meal. Serve with pappardelle pasta for the most amazing bowl of pasta!
The Best Pappardelle Bolognese Sauce
This homemade pappardelle sauce is one of those total comfort food recipes that everyone needs and is a family favorite at our house. The smell fills your house with the best aroma and the leftovers are even better than the day-of version. A perfect option to meal prep or for freezing to enjoy later. And since it is a pretty big batch of sauce, we love to serve it at a family gathering or even for Christmas Dinner.
Looking for another homemade sauce recipe? You have to try our homemade marinara sauce – the flavors are out of this world!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Depth of Flavor: I love the flavor here that has so many different levels. They all come together perfectly!
- Make Ahead: this is a great weekend recipe to get prepped for the weeknight! Then you could warm up in the slow cooker and have dinner set to go.
- Kid-Friendly: what kid doesn’t love spaghetti night? And with this protein-packed meat sauce their tummies will be nice and full!
What You Will Need
- butter – just a little bit in the pot to sauté the aromatic ingredients & fresh veggies.
- fresh garlic, yellow onion, & red onion – traditional ingredients that really get the best flavor started for this homemade sauce.
- pancetta – the local grocery stores should have small packages of pancetta. It adds so much depth of flavor to this easy recipe.
- carrots & celery – fresh vegetables that add flavor and a little bit of a crunch!
- kosher salt & black pepper – simple seasonings that are always a must.
- ground pork and ground beef – a combination of different meats will also give more depth of flavor.
- pomegranate juice – option to sub with red wine, if you prefer.
- whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, & tomato paste – a mixture of tomato products to create the base of this sauce.
- fresh basil, thyme, & oregano – a variety of fresh herbs to bring so much flavor to this Italian-inspired dish.
- coconut milk – adds a bit of creaminess while still being dairy-free.
- pasta noodles – any type of pasta will work, but we love the size and texture of pappardelle noodles.
How To Make Pappardelle Bolognese
The first steps to making this pappardelle pasta are to gather and prep all your bolognese sauce ingredients.
Bring a large dutch oven or large saucepan to a medium heat. Add the butter to melt and sauté the garlic and pancetta until the fat renders.
Next, add all the fresh veggies and onion. Move around in the hot pan until they soften, about 5-6 minutes.
Now add the ground beef and ground pork; keep moving around until browned and cooked through.
Then add the whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and pomegranate juice (or red wine). Use a knife or kitchen shears to cut the tomatoes into quarter-size chunks.
Add the basil, thyme, oregano, and coconut milk to the pot, stir to fully combine with a wooden spoon.
Cover and let simmer for 1-3 hours. If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove the cover for part of the simmer time.
As the bolognese sauce finishes simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pappardelle noodles until al dente. Drain and serve with the sauce.
Best Way To Serve Pappardelle Bolognese Sauce
This flavorful bolognese sauce and wide pappardelle noodles make the perfect pairing! Just sprinkle with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve with some crusty bread, grilled bread, or garlic bread. Perfect for dipping!
Option to serve the homemade bolognese sauce over some zoodles too, if you want to add even more veggies to your dinner!
How To Store Bolognese Sauce
Unless you are feeding a crowd, this recipe card makes a pretty large batch of bolognese sauce. This is perfect for enjoying at dinner and then storing the leftovers for using another time. It’s like cooking once for two meals.
- Fridge: store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: place the sauce in a freezer-safe container, leave room for expansion, and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, move the container to the fridge the night before you plan to warm it up and serve. Do not cook the noodles until you are ready to serve.
Recipe FAQ
We love using pappardelle noodles, but you can use any of your favorite pasta shapes – spaghetti, linguine, etc.
Absolutely! We primarily used fresh herbs but you can also use dried herbs. Any of the flavors used in this sauce can be adjusted to more or less depending on your preferences. And if you like a little bit of a kick, try a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.
Made this delicious recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Pappardelle Bolognese Sauce
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 10 cups
- Category: Sauces
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
Description
An absolutely delicious bolognese sauce recipe, slow-simmered and served over pappardelle noodles.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter (sub ghee or extra virgin olive oil)
- 3–4 garlic cloves, diced
- 4 oz pancetta, chopped
- 1 small sweet yellow onion, diced
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- 1–2 stalks celery, diced
- 1–2 large carrots, diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground beef
- ¼ cup pomegranate juice (or dry red wine)
- 28oz can whole tomatoes
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 3oz can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano, smashed
- 1/4 cup coconut milk (or heavy cream, if not dairy-free)
- Serving: 2-3oz pappardelle pasta per person, cook pasta al dente per package directions
Instructions
- Bring a large Dutch Oven to medium-high heat.
- Add ghee and let melt. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic, about 1 minute.
- Add pancetta and let fat render, about 3 minutes.
- Add onion, celery, and carrots.
- Stir and let onions cook down until almost transparent, about 5-6 minutes. Season veggies with kosher salt and ground black pepper.
- Keep the pot at medium high heat and add the pork and beef. Continue stirring until the meat is fully cooked.
- Add pomegranate juice (or red wine), whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the tomato paste to the pan. Use a paring knife to cut the whole tomatoes into quarters. Stir to combine.
- Add basil, thyme, oregano, and coconut milk (or cream). Stir to combine and then let simmer 1-3 hours, covered. To thicken, simply let it simmer uncovered for about a half hour or so.
- Serve with cooked pasta and enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: store in freezer-safe container (and mark down label/date) – store in freezer for up to 3 months.
- Dutch Oven: a large saucepan should work just fine in lieu of a Dutch Oven.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 315
- Sugar: 6.5 g
- Sodium: 292.5 mg
- Fat: 12.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.3 g
- Protein: 18.6 g
- Cholesterol: 46.9 mg
Lezlee says
Hello! This was very good, thank you for sharing. Just a heads up, I’m not seeing in the directions when to add the salt. I added it at the same time as the tomatoes.
Erin says
Hey Lezlee! So glad to hear you enjoyed this one – and thank you for catching that, I will update 🙂
Kim says
Looks so good
Stefanie Moser says
My family lived this sauce and it froze really well, too. Will definitely be making again.
Linda says
This bolognese sauce is the BEST!
Erin says
That’s awesome to hear, Linda!!
Linda says
This recipe is fantastic!! Many compliments! Have made it numerous times
Donna says
Have you tried this in a crockpot? It looks so good!
Erin says
I think it would work just fine! I would recommend doing Step 1-7 in a dutch oven or large cast iron skillet and then add to a crock pot along with the red wine (or pomegranate juice), tomatoes, etc. Then cook on low for however long you want!