Fettuccine Bolognese

Rich, savory, and delicious enough to make you forget the weather, this slow-simmered Fettuccine Bolognese is the perfect recipe for fall and winter. This scratch-made recipe is surprisingly easy to make with a few culinary school tricks to keep it simple and approachable, even for beginners.

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Fettuccine Alla Bolognese Is The Coziest Sunday Dinner

Weeknight dinners are about efficiency, but Sundays are for the love of cooking. If we don’t have anything else going on, Sunday afternoon is when you’ll find us cooking something that takes a bit longer, but is always worth the effort. One of our favorite Sunday recipes is fettuccine bolognese.

And that’s not to say that this recipe is hard. It’s not. It’s easy enough for a novice cook to make. It IS a little time-consuming, there’s no way around that. There’s some time spent up front getting a good brown on the beef, then the vegetables, then breaking up the meat into little bits.

But then, you get to the most important (and hands-off) part of this fettuccine alla bolognese – the two hour SIMMER. This is where you can snuggle into the couch with a book, because you only need to stir every half hour or so.

After the simmer, you’ll just need to cook some pasta and then stir it together with the meat sauce, and dinner is served.

Want to make bolognese but don’t have a box of fettuccine on hand? Or want to use lamb instead of beef? We have a few variations:

Bolognese Fettuccine Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• celery, carrots, and onion – this trio makes up a classic soffritto, which is the flavorful base for many Italian sauces. We’re chopping them very finely so they almost melt into the sauce as it cooks.
• olive oil – used to sauté the vegetables and get everything going. Any good-quality olive oil will work here.
• ground beef – we use just ground beef for this version of fettuccine bolognese. Choose an 80/20 or 85/15 blend so there’s enough fat to add flavor without making the sauce greasy.
• kosher salt – seasoning at every step is key. Add it when browning the beef and to the pasta water, and adjust to taste once the sauce is done.
• red wine – deglazes the pot and adds acidity to balance the richness of the meat. If you don’t want to use wine, beef broth will work.
• tomato paste – this gives the fettuccine with meat sauce a concentrated tomato richness and adds a slight sweetness once it caramelizes in the pan.
• bay leaf and fresh thyme – classic aromatics that infuse the sauce with warm, herbal notes. Be sure to pull them out before serving.
• whole milk – this may seem surprising, but it’s traditional in Bolognese. The milk tenderizes the meat and gives the sauce a silky texture.
• fettuccine pasta – this is the classic choice, but any variety of long pasta will work with this meaty sauce.
• Parmesan cheese – freshly grated Parmesan is essential for finishing the dish. Skip the stuff in the green can.
• fresh parsley – a handful of chopped parsley adds a pop of color and freshness, balancing the richness. Fresh basil also works great!

How To Make Fettuccine Bolognese

1. BUILD THE BASE. In a food processor fitted with the knife blade, pulse the celery, carrots, and onion until very finely chopped. Set aside.
2. BROWN THE BEEF. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium. Break the ground beef into chunks and add them to the pot. Season with salt. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally but not breaking up the meat too much. Once browned, transfer the beef to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
3. COOK DOWN THE VEGETABLES. Add the veggie mixture to the pot. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is dry and just starting to stick to the bottom of the pot.
4. ADD THE WINE AND BEEF. Pour in the red wine and return the beef to the pot. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking the meat into smaller pieces with a spoon as it cooks.
5. STIR IN THE TOMATO PASTE AND HERBS. Add the tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato paste darkens slightly and coats everything.
6. SIMMER LOW AND SLOW. Stir in the water, milk, and a pinch of salt. Turn the heat to low and cook uncovered for about 2 hours. Stir every 30 minutes or so, until the sauce is thick and the beef is very tender. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprig and season the sauce to taste.
7. BOIL THE PASTA. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook for 2 minutes less than the package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.
8. TOSS IT ALL TOGETHER. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce along with ½ cup of reserved pasta water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Add more pasta water if needed to keep things saucy and well combined.
9. SERVE. Spoon the bolognese fettuccine into bowls and top with lots of Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

What Type of Red Wine Is Best?

We typically use cabernet sauvignon in this fettuccine bolognese recipe, but pinot noir would also be great in this pasta bolognese. As long as it’s not too sweet, just about any red wine will be just fine for fettuccine alla bolognese.

Or, if you have white wine left over from something else, that works in a pinch for this fettuccine bolognese recipe, too. But red wine is always our first choice for this recipe, if possible.

Variations On This Fettuccine Bolognese Recipe

• Fettuccine Bolognese with Sausage – replace half or all of the ground beef in this recipe with ground pork Italian sausage (either mild or spicy).
• Fettuccine Bolognese with Ricotta – dollop a spoonful of ricotta cheese on top of each bowl when you serve!
• Fettuccine Bolognese with Peas – stir thawed frozen peas in at Step 8 in the recipe below to add an extra serving of vegetables to this dish.
• Fettuccine Bolognese with Cream – to make a creamy fettuccine bolognese, stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream at Step 8.
• Lamb Bolognese – swap out the beef for lamb using our Lamb Bolognese Recipe!

Sides For Fettuccine With Bolognese Sauce

Fettuccine with meat sauce is rich, hearty and deeply savory, so it pairs best with sides that bring freshness and contrast. A crisp green salad with an acidic vinaigrette like Miso Salad Dressing or Citrus Salad Dressing helps cut through the richness.

Roasted or sauteed vegetables are another great option. Roasted Broccoli With Parmesan and Balsamic Green Beans work especially well.

And of course, no bowl of meat sauce pasta ever suffered from some warm Homemade Garlic Bread to soak up every last bit of sauce.