Beef Bolognese

Bolognese for me is the single most convenient make-ahead dish of all time. Unlike lasagne, you don’t need to wait for the oven to preheat or don’t need a microwave to reheat.
I make a big batch of bolognese every so often for those days when I just don’t have time or energy to whip up something but also don’t want to get takeout. Or if I’m going away and want to keep my husband well-fed. Anyway, enough of that. So obviously, I’m here to share my bolognese recipe!
It’s pretty straight forward, and I’ve even made a video to serve as a guide. This video is part 1 of a 2 part video on how to make my lasagne. If you want a great lasagne recipe, check out my How to Make My Favourite Lasagna.

 

Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 15 Mins Cook Time: 2 Hr 15 Mins Total Time: 2 Hr 30 Mins

Beef Bolognese

This recipe makes up to 10 servings.

Ingredients

Instructions

0/4 Instructions
  • Heat a large pot with a little bit of oil, then brown bacon. Take bacon out and set aside.
  • In the same pot, heat vegetable oil and cook mushrooms. Push mushrooms to the side then saute onion and garlic. Add carrot, cook until soft. Keep the pan hot. Add mince beef, season with salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce.
  • When minced is browned, add the bacon, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and stock. Simmer until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.
  • Finish with cheese and peas. Bring to a boil then add torn basil leaves, if using. Season with salt and pepper and sugar, according to your taste. If making ahead, no need to add the basil. Add when you reheat the sauce before serving.

Notes

  1. Can use speck instead of bacon, or can leave out the bacon, but it adds to the flavour of your sauce.
  2. If you don't have beef stock, feel free to use water and bouillon cubes/stock powder.
  3. I like that the peas give it a bit of color variety and additional vegetables. You can use frozen peas from the freezer just make sure you simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
  4. You can freeze this for up to 3 months.
  5. Feel free to use substitutions for the protein like, chicken, turkey, veal or pork or a mix of pork and veal. When you do substitute, you will also need to change the stock to chicken or vegetable stock.
  6. For vegetarian option, use vegetable stock, up the veggies in the recipe and for the protein use chickpeas, lentils or beans. You have to add the legumes towards the end so you don't end up with a soggy mess.