Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese, a popular Italian staple that features a delicious tomato sauce cooked low and slow with ground beef, pancetta, and soffritto before being combined with tagliatelle pasta. A hearty dish to prepare for your next gathering or for Sunday dinner!
Wondering how to make tagliatelle with bolognese sauce? This recipe originated in Bologna and is said to be the most popular and original version of ragu. Tagliatelle noodles are preferred by Italians as they’re thinner and more porous, making them better suited for heavy sauces.
Here’s why you should add tagliattelle alla bolognese to your dinner menu:
- It’s as Italian as it gets! If you’re into traditional Italian recipes, this is a good one to make. Its originality is what sets it apart from many bolognese recipes that you will find.
- It’s absolutely delicious. After a few minutes of prepping the ingredients, you’ll cook tagliatelle bolognese low and slow which helps to develop its deep, rich, and bold flavors. Not to mention that the ground beef is cooked until it’s almost carmelized, which expands the flavor of the dish even further.
- It’s a hands off recipe. Once everything is cooking together in the pot, the recipe doesn’t require much attention. Just let the flavors simmer on the stove until ready to serve!
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Ingredients List
- Olive oil: A staple for any Italian kitchen! You’ll use it to cook the veggies and meat.
- Carrots, onion, and celery stalks: The veggies that add flavor, freshness, and texture to the dish. These are the only vegetables that you need for original bolognese.
- Pancetta and ground beef: You’ll need 1.5 cups of diced pancetta and 4.5 pounds of ground beef for tagliatelle ragu. These are the meats traditionally used to make authentic bolognese sauce.
- White wine: For the tomato sauce.
- Tomato passata: Another key ingredient for the bolognese sauce.
- Tagliatelle: Porous noodles with a rough surface, and they are also thinner than other types of noodles commonly used to make this dish. The shape and texture of tagliatelle is what makes them perfect for pairing with hearty bolognese sauce.
Meat to use
I am all about traditional Italian recipes, which is why I used pancetta and ground beef in the bolognese sauce. You may find recipes for tagliatelle alla bolognese that other types of meat, but these are not authentic bolognese ingredients.
What is Pancetta? Pancetta is a type of meat made from pork belly that is salt-cured and seasoned. The flavor of pancetta is often compared to bacon, but it is slightly different in that it is not smoked.
What is ground beef? Ground beef is also known as mince or minced meat. It is made by finely chopping meat using a meat grinder or chopping knife. Any type of beef can be used to make mince, but chuck steak is used the most often.
Pasta to use
When making traditional ragu alla bolognese, fresh egg tagilatelle is the pasta variety that you will want to use. If you don’t have tagilatelle, any other thicker egg noodle will work, like fettuccine or pappardelle. Dry pasta, like rigatoni, is also an option.
Many people in other parts of the world use spaghetti for bolognese, but I personally think bolognese needs a thicker noodle to cling to because it’s such a hearty sauce.
Vegetables and seasonings/herbs to use
Vegetables are cooked into authentic bolognese sauce for flavor. Celery, carrots, and onions, also known as soffritto, are the only vegetables that are in authentic bolognese. Original tagilatelle ragu does not use any other vegetables, including mushrooms or garlic.
The only seasoning needed for this recipe is a little salt. Fresh or dry herbs, like oregano and basil, are not needed–bolognese has so much flavor already!
How to make tagliatelle alla bolognese: step-by-step
Make the soffritto: Cut the carrots, celery, and onion into medium-sized pieces (don’t worry about being precise). Then, place them in a large food processor. If they don’t all fit, you may need to work in batches. Pulse the veggies in the food processor until finely chopped. Set aside.
Cook the pancetta and veggies: To a large heavy bottom pot, over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once warm, add the pancetta to the pot. Let it cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the minced celery, carrot, and onion and let cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes.
Cook the ground beef: Add the ground beef to the pot with the pancetta and veggies. Let it cook until browned. This can take a while–about 10 to 20 minutes. Let it completely brown, as this is where a lot of the flavor will come from.
Add wine and tomatoes: Next, add the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pot to lift off any brown bits. This will help build flavor. Then, add the jars of crushed strained tomatoes. Give everything a big stir. Let the sauce come to a boil, and then turn the heat down to the lowest setting.
Let the sauce cook down: Partially cover the pot with a lid and let the sauce cook down for about 3 hours. If the sauce dried up too much while cooking, add a few ladles of unsalted vegetable broth.
Cook the pasta: Cook the tagliatelle and then add them to the sauce. Mix the tagliatelle with the sauce with tongs.
Serve! Plate the tagliatelle with bolognese sauce and top with some parmigiano reggiano.
FAQ
In Italian, “alla bolognese” means “with ground meat.” Bolognese sauce is a popular Italian recipe, which is a tomato-based sauce that has meat in it. Tagliatelle is the type of pasta that is traditionally mixed with bolognese.
Tagliatelle is prounounced like ta-gli-a-tel-le and alla bolgnese is pronounced àl-la bo-lo-gnese.
Tagliatelle al ragu originated in Bologna, Italy in 1982. It was actually officially registered there, which means that we have all the info we need to make it according to its culinary history.
Ragu and bolognese are both tomato-based sauces. Bolognese is the ragu that is typical to Bologna, the Italian region of Italy. A Bolognese uses ground meat, so the meat is not removed from the sauce, and it typically uses much less tomato than other ragus. Sometimes, canned tomatoes aren’t used in bolognese, just tomato paste. One way to describe it is that all bolognese sauce is ragu, but not all ragu is bolognese.
How to store and reheat
Tagliatelle bolognese is so tasty, and you’ll want to make sure to save any leftovers you have so you can enjoy it later. You can store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, just place in a pan and reheat on the stove.
You can also freeze it if you know you won’t be able to eat it all right away. Place the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and enjoy within 3 months. To reheat tagliatelle alla bolognese from frozen, thaw it in the fridge and then place in a pan and reheat on the stove.
Top tips
- Ensure that the ground beef gets nice and browned before adding the wine – almost caramelized. This caramelization is what will give the sauce a deep, rich flavor
- If the sauce starts to dry out before done cooking, add unsalted vegetable broth
- You will have to add very little salt (if any) to the sauce. The pancetta is already very salty and provides almost enough salt to the dish.
- Try to use an unsalted passata. If you use a passata with salt in it, you will run the risk of the of the sauce being too salty (the pancetta is already very salty)
More Italian Pasta recipes
Recipe
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese, a popular Italian staple that features a delicious tomato sauce cooked low and slow with ground beef, pancetta, and soffritto before being combined with tagliatelle noodles. A hearty dish to prepare for your next gathering or for Sunday dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 carrots peeled
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 white or yellow onion
- 1.5 cups pancetta diced
- 4.5 cups regular ground beef
- 2/3 cup white wine dry
- 2 jars crushed strained tomatoes (passata) unsalted
- 500 grams tagliatelle egg noodles or similar
Instructions
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Cut the carrots, celery and onion into medium-sized pieces (no need to be precise- they will go into the food processor)
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Place the carrots, celery and onion in a large food processor. If they don't all fit, you may need to work in batches.
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Pulse in the food processor until finely chopped.
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To a large heavy bottom pot, over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once warm, add the pancetta.
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Let the pancetta cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the minced celery, carrot and onion.
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Let them cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes.
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Add the ground beef. Let it cook until browned. This can take awhile – about 10-20 minutes. Ensure to let it brown, as this is where a lot of the flavor will come from.
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Add the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pot to lift off any brown bits – this will help build flavor.
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Add the jars of crushed strained tomatoes. Give everything a big stir. Let the sauce come to a boil. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting.
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Partially cover the pot with a lid and let the sauce cook down – for about 3 hours. Add salt if necessary. But the pancetta is already very salty so you may not need to add any salt.
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If sauce dries up too much while it's cooking, add a few ladles of unsalted vegetable broth.
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Cook the tagliatelle and add them to sauce. Mix the tagliatelle with the sauce with tongs.
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Plate and top with parmigiano reggiano.
Recipe Notes
- Ensure that the ground beef gets nice and browned before adding the wine – almost caramelized. This caramelization is what will give the sauce a deep, rich flavor
- If the sauce starts to dry out before done cooking, add unsalted vegetable broth
- You will have to add very little salt (if any) to the sauce. The pancetta is already very salty and provides almost enough salt to the dish.
- Try to use an unsalted passata. If you use a passata with salt in it, you will run the risk of the of the sauce being too salty (the pancetta is already very salty)
