This pappardelle Bolognese recipe makes a classic dish that combines tender pappardelle pasta with a hearty, flavorful sauce.
This recipe is the ultimate comfort food, perfect for gathering around the table on any evening.
Note: This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. See my full affiliate disclosure policy here.
How to Make Pappardelle Bolognese
First, gather your ingredients.
Ingredients
For best taste, always use the highest quality ingredients you have access to.
To make this classic Pappardelle Bolognese recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Lean ground beef
- Yellow onion
- Celery
- Carrot
- Fresh garlic
- Tomato paste
- Vegetable broth or chicken broth
- Crushed tomatoes
- Full fat canned coconut milk OR half and half
- Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- Pappardelle noodles/ pasta
- Parmesan cheese (optional for garnish)
Feel free to modify this recipe as you see fit. Consider enriching your sauce with a splash of red wine or white wine during the cooking process for an added depth of flavor.
Using half and half is more classic, traditional ingredient. But I tried this batch with full fat coconut milk, which makes this kosher and dairy free, if you need that option. It was delicious!
I made this recipe with all ground beef. Some people prefer to do a combination of ground beef with ground pork or Italian sausage (ground). Feel free to modify this to your preference.
Of course, you can make this sauce with any pasta shape you wish. But, I highly recommend pappardelle. It is truly the best choice for this recipe. I found mine at Trader Joe’s, and they have it at most grocery stores. If you are super ambitious, you can make your own fresh pasta. But for us mere mortals, buying it at the store is just fine.
Cooking Pappardelle Bolognese
Pappardelle Bolognese is a sumptuous dish that can be prepared with love and patience.
The most important part is this homemade Bolognese sauce, which is such a yummy, rich sauce. Here is how you make it.
Start by browning the ground beef in a large dutch oven with some olive oil. Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground meat into smaller chunks.
Once done, set aside, and in the same pot, sauté onions, celery, and carrots until they begin to soften.
Stir in garlic and tomato paste for a fragrant touch.
Next, reintroduce the beef and pour in broth, crushed tomatoes, and your choice of half and half or coconut milk, along with Italian seasoning.
Once, you bring it to a boil, reduce heat to low heat, until the sauce simmers. Allow the sauce to simmer gently, melding the flavors together into a rich, thick sauce.
While your sauce cooks, boil the pasta in a large pot of water. Prepare the pappardelle pasta as per the package instructions until al dente. Incorporate the pasta directly into the bolognese sauce, ensuring each strand is beautifully coated.
Serve hot, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese for a touch of luxury. Fresh bail or fresh parsley would be great on this as a garnish, if you happen to have any.
This dish not only fills the belly but also warms the heart. We love it! And I hope you love it too. Let me know if you try it.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Always use common sense and good judgement when it comes to leftovers, though! If something looks or smells funky, don’t eat it.
Share this recipe
Did you try this recipe? Give it a star rating. Pin it and share it if it looks good to you. And be sure and stay connected on social media!
Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok
Be sure and check out all my favorite kitchen tools in my Amazon store (affiliate).
Pappardelle Bolognese
This pappardelle Bolognese recipe makes a classic dish that combines tender pappardelle pasta with a hearty, flavorful sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion diced small
- 1 celery stalk diced small
- 1 carrot peeled and diced small
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 cup full fat canned coconut milk or half and half
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta or Tagliatelle pasta
- Parmesan cheese as garnish optional
Instructions
-
Heat a large dutch oven or pot with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the ground beef, break apart with a wooden spoon, and cook on medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes until lightly browned and mostly cooked through. It’s ok if the beef isn’t fully cooked since it will continue to cook in the sauce later. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. If your beef created a lot of liquid in the pot, drain it before proceeding.
-
To the now-empty pot, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, celery and carrot. Sauté over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Mix in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the beef, vegetable stock, crushed tomatoes, cream or coconut milk, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered for 1 hour.
- Once the bolognese sauce has finished cooking, cook pasta in salted boiling water (1 tablespoon salt in the pot of water) according to package directions until al-dente. Use tongs to carefully transfer the hot cooked pasta directly from the pot into the bolognese sauce.
- Toss the pasta with the bolognese sauce until well coated.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parmesan before serving.
Recipe Notes
-
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator. Nutrition is for one eighth of the recipe.
- Although this recipe makes 8 servings, I would recommend factoring in seconds, lol. So I would make the recipe amount for 4 people so that there is extra.
-
I love making this recipe with the Whole Foods brand of coconut milk. I find the coconut milk with emulsifiers had a better chance of not breaking in the sauce.
- This recipe can easily be made with Jovial Gluten Free Tagliatelle pasta for a gluten free version.
- Optionally, you can add 1⁄2 cup dry white wine at the end of Step 2 for an even more
elevated sauce. - Add more or less garlic if you prefer!
Leave a Reply