Rich in flavor, this 30-Minute Beef Bolognese recipe has Herbes de Provence and red wine; it’s impressive enough to entertain with, but fast enough for weeknight dinner!
Once cooking for yourself or for your family becomes a regular part of your routine, you find ways to make it work even on busy weeknights.
Maybe it’s grocery shopping and prepping ingredients over the weekend. Alternatively, maybe it’s batch cooking a couple nights a week and then eating leftovers the rest of the time.
No matter what your game plan is, having a few easy recipes that come together in just 30 minutes is always a welcome trick to have up your sleeve. Especially when it’s a meal that you can entertain with!
In This Article
Beef Bolognese Recipe
Pasta night is always fun when you’re inviting people over. And homemade sauce for pasta makes all the difference in the world! When it takes just 30 minutes to whip up you know you have a winner.
To start this sauce, I used extra-virgin olive oil and a beautiful trifecta of veggies: onion, carrot, and celery. And then I added a healthy dose of garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, and Herbes de Provence.
Complexity in this dish comes from deglazing with a dry red wine, which is rich with the flavor of dark fruit. Everyone who tastes this Beef Bolognese will be surprised that it didn’t simmer on the stovetop all day!
What is the Difference Between Meat Sauce and Bolognese?
Bolognese is a type of Italian meat sauce, also known as ragù, from Bologna. It’s a thick meat-based sauce that typically contains wine and a touch of tomato and milk or cream.
Beef Bolognese is quite a bit thicker than the American meat tomato sauce I grew up eating on pasta! Additionally, note that Bolognese is traditionally served on top of tagiatelle pasta (although here I served it on spiral-shaped pasta).
How to Serve Bolognese
You can of course serve this Bolognese in a number of different ways:
- On top of your favorite pasta (regular, gluten-free, or any of the other types that are out there these days!)
- With spaghetti squash or zoodles
- On a bed of steamed or riced cauliflower or broccoli
If you’re entertaining with this meal, have people bring different components, like a big green salad, crusty bread, or maybe fudgy brownies for dessert.
More Sauce Recipes for Pasta:
- Red Lentil Bolognese
- Bechamel Sauce Pasta
- Alfredo Sauce
- Vegetarian Bolognese
- Creamy Garlic Butter Pasta
- Classic Pesto
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith
30-Minute Easy Beef Bolognese Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 pounds 90% lean ground beef
- 1 medium-large yellow onion finely diced
- 1 large carrot finely diced
- 2 large stalks celery finely diced
- 4 large cloves garlic crushed
- 1 1/2 cups Pinot Noir
- 1 cup fire-roasted no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Fresh parsley leaves for garnish (optional)
- Pasta cooked to al dente (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the oil, beef, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and cook (uncovered) until the meat is browned and the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.
- Add the wine and cook (uncovered) until the liquid is reduced by about 90%, about 5 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Herbes de Provence, salt, and black pepper. Turn the heat down to medium, cover the skillet, and cook until the sauce is thick, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cream.
- Serve garnished with fresh parsley on top of pasta if desired.
Faith's Tips
- To keep this meal lower in carbs, serve the Bolognese on a bed of zoodles.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items, which helps me keep this site alive – thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
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