Are you craving the deep, rich, and soul-satisfying flavor of a classic Italian Bolognese, but simply don’t have the hours to let a pot of sauce simmer on the stove? This incredible, from-scratch Weeknight Bolognese recipe is your new go-to. We’ll show you the simple, flavor-building secrets that create a sauce with all the luxurious, slow-simmered taste you love, in under an hour.
This isn’t just a recipe for a meat sauce; it’s a guide to your new favorite comfort food meal. This is a rich, savory, and complex sauce featuring lean ground sirloin, a splash of red wine, and creamy tomatoes, all finished with a touch of heavy cream for a velvety, restaurant-quality texture. Tossed with your favorite pasta, this is a stunning and deeply satisfying meal that is perfect for any night of the week.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: “Slow-Simmered” Taste, Made Fast
What makes this Weeknight Bolognese so spectacularly delicious is its brilliant use of high-impact ingredients and smart techniques to develop a deep, complex flavor in a fraction of the time of a traditional Bolognese. The secret lies in a few key steps: browning the meat properly, deglazing the pan with a dry red wine, and using a combination of high-quality crushed tomatoes and concentrated tomato paste. The final, luxurious touch of heavy cream, fresh basil, and a hint of nutmeg creates a silky, well-rounded sauce that tastes like it has been lovingly tended to all day.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 50 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 4-6 |
The Essential Ingredients for a Rich Bolognese
This recipe uses a handful of classic, high-quality ingredients to create its signature authentic flavor.
- The Meat:
- Lean Ground Sirloin: Using a high-quality, flavorful cut of beef like ground sirloin is a fantastic choice for a quick sauce. It has a rich, beefy flavor and is lean enough that you won’t end up with a greasy sauce.
- The Sauce Base (The Flavor Powerhouses):
- Dry Red Wine: This is a non-negotiable step for a truly deep and complex flavor. A dry red wine like a Merlot, Chianti, or Cabernet Sauvignon is used to deglaze the pan, which adds a robust, fruity, and slightly acidic foundation to the sauce.
- San Marzano Tomatoes: The recipe recommends these, and for good reason! San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of plum tomato from Italy that are prized for their wonderfully sweet flavor and low acidity, making them the gold standard for authentic Italian sauces.
- Tomato Paste: This is a secret weapon for an instant, deep, and concentrated savory tomato flavor, also known as umami.
- The Creamy, Aromatic Finishers:
- Heavy Cream: Just a splash of heavy cream at the very end is a classic Bolognese technique. It adds a wonderful, luxurious richness and a velvety texture, and it beautifully balances the acidity of the tomatoes and the wine.
- Fresh Basil & Nutmeg: Fresh basil adds a sweet, peppery, herbaceous note. A tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg is a traditional, secret ingredient in many Bolognese and béchamel sauces; you won’t taste it directly, but it adds a wonderful, warm depth of flavor.
Step-by-Step to the Best Weeknight Bolognese
This delicious, one-pan sauce comes together in just a few simple stages.
Step 1: Brown the Meat and Build the Flavor Base
Step 1: Heat the 2 tablespoons of good olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Step 2: Add the 1 pound of ground sirloin to the hot skillet. Cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes. You want the meat to lose its pink color and develop a beautiful, deep brown crust. This browning is where all the deep, savory flavor comes from!
Step 3: Stir in the 4 minced cloves of garlic, the 1 tablespoon of dried oregano, and the 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 more minute, until the garlic is very fragrant.
Step 4: Now for the crucial flavor-building step! Pour 1 cup of the dry red wine into the skillet to deglaze it. Use your wooden spoon to scrape up all the delicious, flavorful browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let the wine bubble and cook down until it has reduced by about half.
Step 2: Simmer and Finish the Sauce
Step 1: Add the 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh ground black pepper to the skillet. Stir everything until it is well combined.
Step 2: Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and let the sauce simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Step 3: While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and cook your 3/4 pound of pasta according to the package directions until it is al dente.
Step 4: After the sauce has simmered for 10 minutes, stir in the 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, the 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil, the 1/4 cup of heavy cream, and the remaining 1/4 cup of red wine.
Step 5: Let the sauce continue to simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes, stirring it occasionally, until it has thickened beautifully.
Part 3: Combine and Serve
Step 1: When the pasta is cooked, drain it well and pour it into a large serving bowl.
Step 2: Pour the hot Bolognese sauce over the pasta. Add the 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and toss everything together well.
Serve the pasta immediately in warm, shallow bowls with extra grated Parmesan on the side.
The Best Quick & Easy Weeknight Bolognese
A quick and flavorful weeknight version of a classic Bolognese sauce. This recipe features lean ground sirloin, which is browned and simmered with a rich tomato base. The sauce is flavored with garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and deglazed with red wine to build depth. A touch of heavy cream, fresh basil, and nutmeg are stirred in at the end for a creamy finish. The finished sauce is tossed with cooked pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells, and Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons good olive oil, plus extra for pasta water
- 1 pound lean ground sirloin
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/4 cups dry red wine, divided
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 pound dried pasta (such as orecchiette or small shells)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground sirloin and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes until browned.
- Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute.
- Pour 1 cup of the red wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add a splash of oil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente.
- While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, heavy cream, and the remaining 1/4 cup of wine to the sauce. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened.
- Drain the cooked pasta and place it in a large serving bowl.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta, add 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and toss well to combine.
- Serve hot with additional Parmesan cheese on the side.
Notes
- This is a quick, weeknight-friendly version of Bolognese that comes together in about 40 minutes.
- Deglazing the pan with red wine after browning the meat is a key step that adds a rich depth of flavor to the sauce.
- The cream, fresh basil, and remaining wine are added at the end of cooking to preserve their fresh flavor and create a creamy texture.
What Pasta Should You Serve with Bolognese?
While this recipe suggests orecchiette or small shells, a traditional Bolognese sauce is a very thick and hearty meat sauce. It is best paired with a pasta shape that is sturdy enough to stand up to it and has a lot of surface area for the sauce to cling to. The absolute classic, traditional pairing is a wide, flat egg noodle like tagliatelle or pappardelle. A large, tubular pasta shape like rigatoni or penne is also a fantastic choice.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
A rich meat sauce like Bolognese is the perfect make-ahead and freezer-friendly meal.
- Make-Ahead: The entire Bolognese sauce is a perfect make-ahead component! Its flavor is actually even deeper and more delicious on the second or third day. You can prepare the sauce completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Let the sauce cool completely, then portion it into freezer-safe containers or bags. It will keep beautifully in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before reheating it gently on the stovetop.
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Creative Recipe Variations
- Add a Classic “Soffritto”: For an even more traditional and deeply flavorful base, you can finely dice 1 medium carrot and 1 stalk of celery and sauté them for 5-7 minutes before you add the garlic to the pan.
- Use a Different Ground Meat: For a more classic, traditional Bolognese, you can use an equal amount of a “meatloaf mix” (a combination of ground beef, pork, and veal). A high-quality, crumbled Italian sausage would also be a fantastic and flavorful substitute.
- Make it a Dairy-Free Bolognese: If you are avoiding dairy, you can simply omit the heavy cream at the end for a still-delicious, more tomato-forward sauce. Be sure to also omit the Parmesan cheese.
Enjoy Your New Favorite “Fast” Classic!
You’ve just created a truly special pasta dish that is a perfect harmony of rich, savory, and sophisticated flavors. This Weeknight Bolognese is a testament to the power of a few smart techniques to create a meal that tastes like it has been simmering all day, but is ready in a fraction of the time. It’s a rewarding and deeply satisfying recipe that is sure to become a new staple in your dinner rotation.
We hope you enjoy every last, perfect, and delicious bite!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who loves an easy and impressive meal!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the real difference between a classic Bolognese and a regular meat sauce or a “marinara”?
While they are both Italian-style sauces, a classic Bolognese is a very meat-forward sauce. It is thick, rich, and often contains a small amount of dairy (like milk or cream) and a variety of meats. A marinara sauce, on the other hand, is a much simpler, thinner, and quicker-cooking sauce that is primarily based on tomatoes, garlic, and herbs.
Q2: What is the best kind of red wine to use for a Bolognese sauce?
You want to use a dry, medium-bodied red wine that you would enjoy drinking. There’s no need for an expensive bottle! A good quality Merlot, Chianti, or Cabernet Sauvignon are all fantastic choices that will add a deep, robust flavor to your sauce.
Q3: Can I make this sauce ahead of time?
Yes, absolutely! This sauce is a perfect make-ahead meal. The flavors will actually have even more time to meld and will be even more delicious on the second or third day. Simply let the sauce cool completely and store it in the refrigerator.
Q4: What is the secret to a rich, not acidic, tomato sauce?
This recipe has a few built-in secrets! Using high-quality San Marzano tomatoes, which are naturally sweeter and less acidic, is a great start. The addition of the heavy cream at the end is also a crucial step that adds a rich fat which beautifully balances and mellows out any remaining acidity from the tomatoes and the wine.
Q5: Why should I toss my pasta with the sauce instead of just spooning the sauce on top?
This is the classic Italian way to serve pasta! By tossing your hot, al dente pasta directly in the pan with the sauce for a final minute of cooking, you are allowing the pasta to fully absorb the delicious flavor of the sauce. The starches from the pasta also help to bind with the sauce, creating a much more cohesive and delicious final dish where the sauce clings perfectly to every single noodle.