About the Recipe
Make an easy homemade Bolognese sauce with ground meat, crushed tomatoes, garlic, shallot, and Italian seasoning. This hearty 40-minute meat sauce is perfect for pasta, lasagna, family dinners, and convenient make-ahead meals.
Rich, hearty, and simple to prepare, this Easy Homemade Bolognese Sauce Recipe combines savory ground meat, crushed tomatoes, fresh garlic, shallot, and Italian seasoning in one comforting sauce. As the ingredients simmer together, the tomatoes develop a deeper flavor while the meat absorbs the garlic, herbs, and seasonings. The result is a thick, satisfying pasta sauce that tastes like it has been cooking for hours.
This approachable recipe delivers slow-simmered flavor in just 40 minutes, making it an excellent choice for busy weeknights, relaxed weekend dinners, and family gatherings. The preparation is simple enough for beginner cooks, and most of the ingredients are affordable pantry staples that are easy to keep on hand.
Serve this versatile meat sauce over spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, fettuccine, or tagliatelle. Pasta shapes with ridges and hollow centers are especially good at capturing the rich tomato sauce and small pieces of seasoned meat in every bite. Complete the meal with grated Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, garlic bread, and a crisp garden salad.
This homemade Bolognese sauce also makes a flavorful filling for lasagna, stuffed pasta shells, and other baked pasta dishes. For a pasta-free alternative, spoon it over creamy polenta, zucchini noodles, or roasted spaghetti squash.
Because the sauce stores and reheats well, it is a practical option for meal preparation. Make a double batch and save the extra sauce for another comforting dinner when you need a homemade meal without starting from scratch.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef, ground turkey, or Italian sausage
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 bouillon cube, crumbled
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons garlic salt
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
Directions
Step 1: Brown the Meat
Place a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ground meat, garlic, shallot, bouillon cube, sugar, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning.
Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently and breaking the meat into small crumbles. Continue cooking until the meat is completely browned and the shallot is tender.
Step 2: Add the Crushed Tomatoes
Pour the crushed tomatoes into the skillet. Stir thoroughly to combine the tomatoes with the seasoned meat mixture.
Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
Step 3: Simmer the Sauce
Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will thicken slightly as the flavors blend.
For a deeper, more developed flavor, simmer the sauce for up to 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and reduce the heat if the sauce begins bubbling too vigorously.
Step 4: Taste the Sauce
Taste the Bolognese sauce and adjust the seasoning if needed. Because garlic salt and bouillon can vary in saltiness, taste the finished sauce before adding any additional salt.
Step 5: Serve
Remove the sauce from the heat and spoon it over freshly cooked pasta. If desired, serve it with grated Parmesan cheese, fresh basil, or chopped parsley.
Notes
Ground beef creates a rich, classic meat sauce, while ground turkey provides a lighter alternative. Italian sausage adds extra seasoning and a more robust flavor.
Use good-quality crushed tomatoes because they form the base of the sauce.
If the tomatoes taste overly acidic, add 1 additional teaspoon of sugar and taste the sauce again.
For a richer sauce, use a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage while keeping the total amount of meat at 1 pound.
Rigatoni, penne, fettuccine, tagliatelle, and spaghetti all pair well with this sauce. It can also be served over creamy polenta, zucchini noodles, or spaghetti squash.
A small amount of reserved pasta water can be stirred into the sauce when combining it with pasta to create a silkier consistency.
Allow leftover sauce to cool before transferring it to an airtight container.
Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Thaw frozen sauce in the refrigerator. Reheat it gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until thoroughly heated.
This recipe can be doubled for meal preparation, provided you use a pot large enough to hold the additional ingredients.
