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Treat yourself to rich, savory flavor with this Red Bolognese Sauce Recipe. By using ground beef, balsamic vinegar, and red wine, we achieve a taste perfect for pairing with your favorite noodles, stuffed peppers, lentils, and more!

The best beef bolognese you’ll ever try
There is nothing better than a big bowl of red bolognese sauce paired with your favorite noodles. Nothing! Something about it just tastes so nostalgic. It’s an automatic comfort food regardless of whether it’s homemade or from a restaurant.
Today’s recipe is a rich and thick bolognese that’s flavored with a lot of garlic alongside oregano, basil, and a bit of balsamic vinegar! The magic ingredient to achieve a rich flavor is red wine. You can use your favorite type, and a dry is usually best!
The taste of this ingredient combo is to die for, and the flavors will have you chowing down and running back for seconds. I love that it’s a simple, one-pot dish. It’s great for weeknights when you don’t feel like completely destroying your kitchen!
Ingredients in this red bolognese sauce recipe
This bolognese sauce recipe begins with a veggie base of onion and carrots. The true magic happens when we get into the flavorings with the tomato paste, balsamic, and wine. As for the parmesan, feel free to use grated or shaved. Your choice!
- Olive oil: Kick off your ingredient list with 2 tbsp of olive oil. This will be plenty for cooking up the onion and carrots.
- Yellow onion: Use 1 small diced onion, either yellow or white.
- Carrots: Thicken up the sauce (and add some vegetable benefits) with 2 finely chopped carrots.
- Ground beef: For the meat, you will need 1 lb of ground beef. This will create ____ servings.
- Garlic: When I said this recipe uses a lot of garlic, I meant it! You will need 7 cloves of minced garlic to achieve the right flavor. That amounts to 1 3/4 tsp if you’re going the garlic powder route.
- Seasonings: Add flavor to your dish by including the following seasonings: 1 tsp of dried oregano, 1 tsp of dried basil, 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of pepper.
- Tomatoes: Add the tomato taste to the bolognese by using 2 28oz cans of San Marzano crushed tomatoes.
- Tomato paste: Compliment the tomato flavor with 1/4 cup of tomato paste.
- Balsamic vinegar: 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar will give the sauce a slight bite without being overpowering.
- Red wine: To get an even richer flavor, 1/2 cup of red wine will do the trick.
- Water: Include 1/4 cup of water to get the right sauce consistency.
- Parmesan cheese: Last but not least, finish off the sauce by including 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.
Tools used to make this recipe
To make bolognese with ground beef and red wine, you will first need a cutting board and chopping knife to dice the onion and carrots and mince the garlic. From there, you will only need one large pan and a stirring utensil or spatula to cook the recipe!
For measuring, you will need 1/2 tsp, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, 1/4 cup, and 1/2 cup.
How to make bolognese with red wine
Bolognese is one of those dishes whose flavor grows in intensity over a bit of time. For this reason, it tastes the best when it can sit on the stove for 2-3 hours! However, don’t let that scare you away. 60 minutes of simmer time will be plenty for achieving a delightful, flavor-rich bolgonese sauce.
Begin by heating a large pan with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and carrots and cook for a few minutes until they soften.
Next, add the ground beef and break it up into small pieces. Cook until it’s slightly pink, and then add the garlic. Let cook for another minute.
Add the oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Next, add the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar, red wine, water, and parmesan cheese. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Let simmer for at least 60 minutes, or 2-3 hours if you have the time. Enjoy!
How is bolgonese different from regular pasta sauce?
Though it may look like a meat sauce at first glance, bolognese is much more than that! You’ll likely find bolognese to be much thicker, and the flavors are typically a lot more intense and powerful. Pasta sauce tends to be runnier with more of a tomato flavor, whereas bolognese is simply complemented by using tomatoes! A bulk of the flavor comes from the meat and wine and the vinegar adds an edge absent in pasta sauce.
Substitution Tip
Interested in changing up your sauce? Here are some ingredients to consider!
- Onion: Add a more potent flavor to the dish by using a red onion instead of yellow or white.
- Water: For a thicker sauce, you can use milk in place of the water.
- Red wine: I recommend using a red wine, but you can use a dry white too!
- Veggies: This is more an ingredient addition than a substitute, but feel free to create a heavier base of vegetables by adding celery, zucchini, or bell peppers!
How to enjoy this bolognese sauce recipe
Bolognese can be enjoyed over a bed of your favorite pasta noodles! You can also use it in other noodle dishes like stuffed shells or lasagna, and it makes a great addition to stuffed peppers, lentils, or even gnocchi!
If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!
In the mood for some more saucy dishes? Here are some favorites you may want to try!
- Baked Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- Veggie Skillet Lasagna
- Healthy One Pot Pasta Recipe
- Easy Tortellini Spinach Soup
Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa
Red Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Treat yourself to rich, savory flavor with this Red Bolognese Sauce Recipe. By using ground beef, balsamic vinegar, and red wine, we achieve a taste perfect for pairing with your favorite noodles, stuffed peppers, lentils, and more!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced finely
- 1lb ground beef
- 7 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 28oz cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup water (or more depending on how thin you want your sauce)
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large pan with olive oil over medium high heat. Add in diced onion and carrots, and cook for a few minutes until they soften.
- Add in ground beef and break up/cook until slightly pink, add in garlic and let cook another minute.
- Add in oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Then add in the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir.
- Stir in balsamic vinegar, red wine, water and parmesan cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Let simmer for at least 60 minutes, or 2-3 hours if you have the time. Enjoy!
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Kelly says
So so so good!! Subbed ground beef with 85% lean turkey and added bell peppers. AMAZING! going to use the leftovers for stuffed peppers ๐ค
Erin says
Hi Kelly, so happy you loved it and made it your own! ๐
Steph says
So delicious and easy to make – will be a winter staple for me for sure!
Erin says
Hi Steph, so happy you loved it! ๐
Brooke Noonan says
Making my second batch….first one was so good! I doubled it this time to bring some to a friend who just had a baby ๐
Erin says
Hi Brooke, so happy you loved it!!
Bri says
I made this with homemade pasta for date night with my fiancรฉ, and it was amazing! The red wine and carrot added so much flavor and richness to the dish. I am never disappointed with any of Erinโs recipes!
Erin says
Hi Bri, so happy you loved it so much!! ๐
Robyn says
This recipe is awesome!! The whole family loved it and my son had THREE helpings! Will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation.
Erin says
Hi Robyn, so happy it was such a hit!! ๐
Ashley says
Love this recipe! So good and I typically have most stuff at the house already. Shared it with my mother in law and she raved about it too! Super easy for a delicious comfort meal. @erinliveswhole
Erin says
Hi Ashley, so happy you loved it!!
Gabby says
Made this with turkey instead for dinners for the week! Its delicious! Makes so much I ended up freezing half!
Erin says
Hi Gabby, so glad you loved it and great sub!
Becca says
This is a delicious meal! It made 3+ servings for both my husband and me so is a great recipe to make when you want leftovers or if you want something to freeze. We added some crushed red pepper flakes and topped it with ricotta. Erin’s recipes are always so easy and tasty, they never disappoint!
Erin says
Hi Becca, so happy you loved it and great additions!! ๐
casey colodny says
SO authentic and SO good!!! taste like italy but easier ๐
Erin says
Hi Casey, so happy you enjoyed it!!
Tracy says
Easy to make, delicious!
Erin says
Hi Tracy, so glad you loved it!
Hannah N says
This was so easy and delicious!! Love the addition of the wine and balsamic flavorings. Our friends loved it. Thank you Erin!!
Erin says
Hi Hannah, so glad you loved it!!
Jackson says
Loved it!! Made quite a bit, so plan to freeze and save for another day.
Erin says
Hi Jackson, so glad you loved it!!
Mary Jean Breslin says
Absolutely delicious and so easy! Love this recipe!
Erin says
Hi Mary Jean, so glad you loved it!