Beef Ragu is comfort food in a bowl! Easy to make and work perfectly with spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, mashed potatoes or just regular spaghetti (pappardelle is my fav!).
This post is sponsored by Country Natural Beef, but the opinions are my own.
Country Natural Beef is 100% owned by family ranchers and is G.A.P. Step 4 Animal Welfare Certified which means that their animals are pasture-raised, fed a vegetarian diet, provided a safe and enriched environment and never receive antibiotics or added hormones. They also happen to be a Whole30-Approved partner! And this roast is just next level… so flavorful and tender. Easily the best I have ever had and I am so proud to be partnering with them today!
Love beef recipes – try this Creamy Beef Stroganoff recipe or these French Dip Sandwiches!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Flavor: the depth of flavor here is SO amazing! So many different things going on between the beef, veggies, tomatoes and pomegranate juice –
- Versatile: this is one of those recipes that you can make and everyone in your family will love because you can serve it so many ways!
- Easy: this is an uncomplicated recipe, super straight-forward and minimal effort!
What to Serve it With
- Spaghetti squash
- Zucchini noodles
- Mashed potatoes
- Regular pasta
How to Make Beef Ragu
Start with your roast and pat it dry.
Cut the roast into chunks and then sear on all sides.
Sauté carrots, onion and celery.
Add to either your instant pot or slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients.
Cook per recipe card below.
Serve with zucchini noodle or spaghetti squash for a Whole30/Paleo dinner option or you can always serve with regular pasta if you want!
Other Recipes You Might Like:
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Easy Beef Ragu Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Slow Cooker or Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
Description
Easy Beef Ragu (Slow Cooker + Instant Pot) – a delicious bowl of comfort food that is so easy to make and the leftovers are perfect!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2.5–3 pound County Natural Beef Chuck Roast, cut into 2–3 inch pieces
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 3 slices of bacon
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2–3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2–3 stalks of celery, sliced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 (15oz) can crushed (or diced) tomatoes
- 1 (3oz) can tomato paste
- 1 cup pomegranate juice
- 2–3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ghee (optional)
- 1/2 cup beef broth (Instant Pot version only)
Instructions
Slow Cooker:
- Bring large cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and add olive oil; swirl to coat the pan.
- Pat Chuck roast pieces with clean paper towel and season with some kosher salt and ground black pepper.
- Add Chuck roast pieces to cast iron skillet, just searing the pieces on all sides (you might have to do two batches), about 1-2 minutes. The remove from skillet and place into your slow cooker.
- In the same cast iron skillet, add your bacon pieces. Cook until just barely crispy and then remove and place on a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside.
- In the same cast iron skillet add garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, moving around constantly in the pan. Then add onion, carrots and celery. Sauté for 3-5 minutes and then add to the slow cooker.
- Chop up bacon and add to slow cooker, along with the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, pomegranate juice, fresh thyme leaves and kosher salt.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4-6 hours.
- Shred the chunks of beef and return to the slow cooker. Add ghee and stir, allowing it to melt.
- Serve over spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for a Whole30/Paleo dinner or serve over the pasta of your choice.
Instant Pot:
- Bring large cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and add olive oil; swirl to coat the pan.
- Pat chuck roast pieces with clean paper towel and season with some kosher salt and ground black pepper.
- Add chuck roast pieces to cast iron skillet, just searing the pieces on all sides (you might have to do two batches), about 1-2 minutes. The remove from skillet and place on a plate; set aside.
- In the same cast iron skillet, add your bacon pieces. Cook until just barely crispy and then remove and place on a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside.
- In the same cast iron skillet add garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, moving around constantly in the pan. Then add onion, carrots and celery. Sauté for 3-5 minutes and then add to the slow cooker.
- Chop up bacon and add to slow cooker, along with the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, pomegranate juice, fresh thyme leaves, kosher salt and beef broth.
- Add seared roast pieces on top. Don’t stir to combine. Ensure Instant Pot is set to Sealed and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Carefully manually release pressure. Sauce will be very thin at this point because it is so hot. Remove beef chunks with slotted spoon and shred with fork. Return meat to Instant Pot along with a tablespoon or two of ghee. Stir to combine. Let cool for a while and sauce will thicken.
- Serve over spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for a Whole30/Paleo dinner or serve over the pasta of your choice.
Notes
- Listed cooking time: List cooking time on the top of the recipe card is for the slow cooker – the cooking for the Instant Pot is different.
- Whole30/Paleo: If concerned with Whole30/Paleo check your ingredients on the bacon and and beef broth.
- Pomegranate Juice: pomegranate juice gives such an amazing flavor in this recipe. I have never used anything as a substitute, but other readers have subbed cherry juice in similar recipes. If you aren’t concerned with Paleo/Whole30 you can sub a dry red wine for the pomegranate juice as well.
Lisa James says
How many times can you say “this is so good!” I made this the other morning, and the house smelled absolutely wonderful all day. When it was finally dinnertime, I served this ragu over rigatoni and it was so delicious! My husband just kept saying “this is so good!” He ate the leftovers for lunch the next day and sId it again. The carrots, celery and onion really gave the sauce a great flavor, and the ribs fell right off the bone. We will definitely be having this short rib ragu again and again.
Erin says
Thanks, Lisa!!! I so appreciate the feedback!
Leslie says
This ragu is so simple, yet delicious! I used the set red wine option to keep carbs lower and found the dish to have so much depth to flavor. So freaking good!
Erin says
Yay! So, so happy to hear that, Leslie! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review + feedback – I really appreciate it!