Classic Bolognese Sauce

This classic Italian sauce simmers for hours to develop maximum flavor. Made with a blend of ground beef, pork, and Italian sausage, it's great with fresh pasta.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated March 28, 2024
Elise Bauer

If you are looking for a truly luxurious pasta sauce, there is no better candidate than a classic Italian Bolognese.

Slow cooked for at least a couple of hours, the sauce is deep, rich, flavorful, and worth the extra effort!

What Is Bolognese Sauce?

Bolognese sauce is a classic Italian sauce for pasta made with ground meat such as beef or pork. It's slow cooked with a soffritto of onions, carrots, and celery, tomatoes, and milk to give it a creamy texture.

Pronounced "bow-luh-nez," the sauce comes from the Bologna region of Italy, hence the name. Given the cultural history of this sauce, there are many variations, but they all seem to follow a basic structure of ground meat, a soffritto, a bit of tomato, some milk, and long, slow cooking.

Pasta with bolognese sauce on a white plate.
Sally Vargas

How To Make Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese sauce is the family recipe of one of our readers and is used in our Lasagna Bolognese recipe. The recipe includes ground beef, pork, and Italian sausage, which is essentially seasoned ground pork and pork fat.

To start, you sweat the soffritto of minced onions, celery, and carrots with pancetta in butter. Then you add the ground meat to brown it, and sprinkle with ground clove, cinnamon, and pepper.

Add tomatoes, then milk, and simmer for at least 2 hours on low heat. Keep it partially covered, but add water if too much liquid simmers away.

Of course, you can skip the long slow cooking if you want, (we have a quick Bolognese recipe) but the flavor definitely improves with the longer cooking.

What To Serve with Bolognese

Bolognese sauce is traditionally served with fresh tagliatelle pasta, but you can also serve it with fettuccine, pappardelle, penne, or other pasta.

Pasta with bolognese sauce on two white plates.
Sally Vargas

Can You Freeze Bolognese Sauce?

Yes! Bolognese will freeze well for up to 6 months. (Here's our favorite method.)

More Classic Italian Pasta Dishes to Try:

Pasta with bolognese sauce on a white plate.
Sally Vargas

Classic Bolognese Sauce

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 3 hrs 30 mins
Total Time 3 hrs 45 mins
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces pancetta, finely chopped

  • 1 medium Spanish onion or yellow onion, finely chopped

  • 1 celery rib, finely chopped

  • 1 carrot, finely chopped

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 12 ounces ground beef

  • 4 ounces ground pork

  • 4 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed, if needed

  • Dash ground cloves

  • Dash ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 pounds peeled and chopped tomatoes (or one 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, packed in water)

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Method

  1. Make the soffritto:

    Combine pancetta, onion, celery, and carrot in sauté pan with butter and cook over medium heat until onion turns pale gold, about 10 minutes.

    A skillet of onions and red peppers to make bolognese sauce.
    Sally Vargas
  2. Add the meats:

    Add the beef, pork, and sausage to the soffritto, and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.

    A skillet with ingredients to make bolognese sauce.
    Sally Vargas
  3. Add the spices:

    Sprinkle with the clove, cinnamon, and pepper.

  4. Add the tomatoes and simmer:

    Stir in tomatoes, increase the heat to bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat back to medium. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. If you are using whole canned tomatoes, break them up as you add them to the sauce.

    Bolognese sauce cooking in a skillet.
    Sally Vargas
  5. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours:

    Add milk and season with sea salt. Then turn down the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Stir at least every 20 minutes.

    Whenever the sauce gets too dry and starts sticking to the pan, just add 1/4 cup of water and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

    A skillet with bolognese sauce simmering inside.
    Sally Vargas
    Scooping bolognese sauce out of a skillet.
    Sally Vargas
  6. Taste and Serve:

    Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

    Bolognese is traditionally served with fresh tagliatelle pasta, but you can also serve it with fettuccine, pappardelle, penne, or other pasta. Sauce freezes well for future use.

    Did you love the recipe? Give us some stars and leave a comment below!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
436 Calories
31g Fat
11g Carbs
27g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 436
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 31g 40%
Saturated Fat 13g 67%
Cholesterol 105mg 35%
Sodium 571mg 25%
Total Carbohydrate 11g 4%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 27g
Vitamin C 19mg 93%
Calcium 129mg 10%
Iron 3mg 17%
Potassium 752mg 16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.