Tagliatelle al ragu or ragù alla bolognese is a rich and bold Italian meat sauce recipe straight from Bologna. The sauce is slow-cooked for several hours, making the ragù incredibly creamy and full of flavour. This tagliatelle al ragu is pure comfort food- one that will make your guests fall in love at first bite.
I love pasta, and I have plenty of Italian ragu recipes for you to try! This earthy beef ragu with mushrooms and gnocchi is divine- perfect for a cozy dinner. If you are looking for white version, try my ragu with pork and pancetta. A creamy ragu ready in just one hour. And, for something more indulgent, my southern ragu made with sausage, pork belly and beef shin is utterly delicious. Serve it with pasta or even as a main dish.
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Authentic tagliatelle al ragu from bologna
Unlike other Italian ragu sauces, the authentic recipe for tagliatelle al ragu from Bologna is quite different.
- Colour- You won't find any tomato purée or plum tomatoes here. The ragù is made with tomato paste only. This gives to the tagliatelle al ragu a deep flavour and a dark orange colour instead of the classic bright red.
- Texture- The sauce is more thicker comparing to the other Italian ragu.
- Cooking- The ragu needs to simmer gently- not boil- for at least four hours. You should see just few bubbles on the surface. This will create a rich and flavourful ragu sauce. So turn the heat to low.
- Milk- Milk adds creaminess and balances the acidity of the tomato paste. Add it towards the end and let it cook properly.
Tagliatelle al ragu ingredients
In Bologna the traditional recipe of tagliatelle al ragu has just few and simple ingredients:
- Carrot, celery and onion- This is the classic soffrito base used to make many Italian recipes.
- Pork- Use unsmoked pancetta. Alternatively, use pork belly if you have it on hand. Italian sausage or minced pork its a valid substitute.
- Ground Beef- Choose ground beef with 20% of fat.
- Wine- Sangiovese red wine is the best choice to use. It balances the richness of the ragu sauce.
- Tomato paste- Use tomato paste. The tomatoes paste is a pure concentrate of tomatoes. Its gives a rich and umani taste to tagliatelle al ragu. So skip the tomato purée and the tomato plum in tin.
- Broth- Use vegetable broth to simmer the ragu. Prevent the ragu to cook slowly and from drying out. Alternatively, use beef broth.
- Bay leaf- Use fresh ball leaf in the sauce.
- Milk- Use whole or semi-skimmed milk.
How to make tagliatelle al ragu
This ragu simmers for about 4 hours! It may seem like a long time. But the slow cooking process makes it incredibly rich and flavourful, allowing the meat to realise all its juices and fats. If you're short in time, you can make the ragu a day ahead. Store it in the fridge once cooled.
- Step 1: Add the carrot, celery, onion and pancetta to a food processor and blitz the ingredients. Meanwhile, warm up the broth.
- Step 2: Add the extra virgin olive oil along with the shredded veggies and pancetta, in a large sauce pan. Turn the heat on medium heat and cook the soffritto for 6 minutes, or until pale and soft. Stir and scrub the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula.
- Step 3: Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the minced beef to the pan, and break it up with a wooden spoon. Brown the meat and keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan for 8 minutes. Pour the wine and scrub the bottom of the pan. Once the alcohol is gone add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Keep mixing and scrubbing.
- Step 4: Add the bay leaf and half of the hot broth. Cover the pan with the lid and reduce the heat to low. Let the ragu simmer gently. Mix every now and then. After one hour, add the remaining broth and let it cook for another hour. Then remove the bay leaf, pour the milk and let it cook for two hours. The ragu is ready when it's thick, rich, and a layer of oil appears on top.
Hint: use a large sauce pan so the meats can brown properly and develop more flavour. Adjust the saltness towards the end.
More ways to use the ragu
Besides the tagliatelle, there are many delicious ways to use this ragu recipe.
- Lasagna - use this ragu to make delicious lasagna.
- Tagliatelle- Instead of dried ones, use fresh tagliatelle pasta.
- Polenta - You can swap the tagliatelle for polenta. A richer and comforting alternative.
- Any pasta shape - Any kind of pasta works perfectly here. From homemade pasta, small easy gnocchi, to store-bought one.
Weekend Italian recipes
In addition to this tagliatelle al ragu, I have plenty of weekend recipes for you to try. These are my favorite:
More Italian recipes
Here you'll find more Italian recipes to try:
📖 Recipe
Tagliatelle al ragu recipe (authentic Bolognese meat sauce)
Equipment
- Food processor to finely shredded the veggies and the pancetta
- 1 large sauce pan to cook the ragu
- 1 Wooden spoon to stir and scrap
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 carrot (82 gr) 2,9 oz
- 1 celery stalk (38 gr) 1,4 oz
- ½ onion (90gr) 3,18 oz
- 100 gr unsmoked pancetta 3,6 oz
- 350 gr minced beef 12,4 oz
- 90 ml San Giovese red wine 3,05 fl oz
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 L Vegetable broth 33,9 fl oz
- 1 Bay leaf
- 90 ml Milk 3,05 fl oz
- Salt to taste
- 400 gr Dried tagliatelle 14,11 oz
Instructions
- Add the carrot, celery, onion and pancetta to a food processor and blitz the ingredients until are finely shredded. Meanwhile, warm up the broth.
- Add the extra virgin olive oil along with the shredded veggies and pancetta, in a large sauce pan. Turn the heat on medium heat and cook the soffritto for 6 minutes, or until pale and soft. Stir and scrub the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the minced beef to the pan, and break it up, by pushing the meat towards the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. Brown the meat and keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan for 8 minutes.
- Pour the wine and scrub the bottom of the pan. Let the wine evaporate. Once the alcohol is gone add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Keep mixing and scrubbing.
- Add the bay leaf and half of the hot broth. Cover the pan with the lid and reduce the heat to low. Let the ragu simmer gently. Mix every now and then. After one hour, add the remaining broth and let it cook for another hour. Then remove the bay leaf, pour the milk. Let it cook for two hours and stir occasionally. The ragu is ready when it's thick, rich, and a layer of oil appears on top.
- Once the ragu is ready cook the pasta in a large pot with plenty of boiling water. Serve the tagliatelle alla bolognese with the ragu and plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Notes
Store
Store the ragu leftover in alright container in the fridge up to 4 days. Reheat in a pan with a splash of pasta water, before adding the pasta. Alternatively, freeze the ragu up to 1 month. Before use, defrost it in the fridge for 12 hours.Making this? I'd love to see it!
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