Rich, slow-simmered beef bolognese made to cling to cavatelli - freezer-friendly and even better the next day. A splash of red wine, a can of good crushed tomatoes, and a Parmesan rind simmering away for over an hour turn this into a sauce with real depth.
I already have a bolognese here on the blog, but that one was written to be a base - something you could spoon over whatever noodle happened to be in your pantry. I discovered that the best pasta companion to bolognese is cavatelli.
Cavatelli has ridges and a little curl that act almost like a spoon for meat sauce, so every single bite scoops up beef, not just tomato. That's why this sauce is built slightly thicker and richer than a pour-over-anything bolognese. From the very first stir of the onions, it's thickened just enough that it actually grabs onto those long pasta spaces instead of sliding right off the way it would with spaghetti.
It takes about an hour and a half start to finish, and most of that is just the sauce doing its thing on low heat while you do literally anything else. Fold laundry, answer emails, or my personal favorite: stand at the stove, stir occasionally, and drink a glass of the same wine that's going into the pot. I always make a double batch because this freezes beautifully, and also because a pot this good never lasts as long as you think it will.
What You'll Need for This
This is the overview of ingredients, the measurements are in the recipe card.
- Ground beef - I use lean ground beef so the sauce doesn't need much draining, but if yours runs fattier, just skim off the excess after browning. The fat carries flavor, so don't go too lean or the sauce turns thin-tasting.
- Tomato paste - Don't skip cooking it separately for those 2-3 minutes before adding liquid. This step caramelizes the paste and pulls out a deeper, almost roasted tomato flavor that you can't get by just dumping it in with everything else.
- Dry red wine - Whatever you'd actually drink with dinner works. It deglazes the pot and lifts all those browned bits stuck to the bottom, which is where a lot of the flavor is hiding. No wine on hand? Beef broth works as a swap, though you'll lose a little depth.
- Crushed tomatoes - The base of the sauce. Look for a can that just says tomatoes and salt on the label - the fewer additives, the cleaner the flavor.
- Whole milk - This is the step people skip and shouldn't. A cup of milk simmered into the sauce softens the acidity from the tomatoes and wine, and gives the sauce that slightly rounded, restaurant-style finish instead of tasting sharp.
- Parmesan rind - If you save rinds in your freezer (you should start), this is exactly what they're for. It melts slowly into the sauce as it simmers, adding salt and umami you can't replicate with grated cheese alone.
- Italian seasoning, thyme, red pepper flakes - The flavor backbone. The thyme especially adds an earthy note that plain Italian seasoning blends often miss.
- Cavatelli - Small, ridged, slightly curled pasta shells. Their shape is built to hold onto chunky sauce, which is exactly why this recipe is written around them specifically instead of a long noodle.
How to Make Beef Bolognese with Cavatelli
You need one big pot for the sauce and one for the pasta - that's the whole operation. Printable recipe is in the recipe card.
- Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and pick up a little golden color at the edges. This is your flavor base - don't rush it.
- Add the garlic and cook for just a minute, until fragrant. Garlic burns fast, so keep it moving.
- Brown the beef, breaking it into small crumbles as it cooks, until no pink remains. Drain off excess grease if your beef ran fatty.
- Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes on its own, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly. You'll actually see the color deepen - that's the flavor concentrating.
- Pour in the red wine, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Simmer until the liquid has almost completely reduced away.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, milk, Italian seasoning, thyme, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and the Parmesan rind. Stir to combine and bring everything to a gentle simmer.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook partially uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring every so often so nothing catches on the bottom, until the sauce turns thick, glossy, and deeply red-brown.
- Fish out the Parmesan rind, stir in the grated Parmesan, and taste - adjust salt and pepper now, since the sauce has reduced and concentrated.
- Cook the cavatelli in a large pot of very well-salted water according to the package directions, until just tender.
- Serve the bolognese over the drained cavatelli, finished with extra Parmesan and a scatter of fresh basil and parsley.
And that's dinner - a pot of sauce that tastes like it simmered all day, ladled over pasta shaped to catch every bit of it. This one keeps beautifully too: the flavor actually improves overnight in the fridge, so leftovers the next day might be even better than the first serving.
Beef Bolognese with Cavatelli
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot
- Wooden spoon
- Chef's knife
- cutting board
- measuring cups and spoons
- Large pasta pot
- Colander
Ingredients
For the Bolognese Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 2 medium carrots finely diced
- 2 celery stalks finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
Beef and Liquids
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine or beef broth
- 1 can 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup beef broth
Seasonings
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 Parmesan rind
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
For Serving
- 16 oz cavatelli
- Fresh basil and parsley for garnish
- Fresh Parmesan for serving
Instructions
Make Beef Bolognese
- Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery; cook 8-10 minutes until soft and lightly golden.
- Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the ground beef, breaking it into crumbles as it browns. Cook until no longer pink; drain excess grease if needed.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook 2-3 minutes until it darkens slightly.
- Pour in the red wine, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Simmer until almost all liquid has reduced.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, milk, Italian seasoning, thyme, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Reduce heat to low and cook partially uncovered for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and rich.
- Remove the Parmesan rind, stir in the grated Parmesan, and adjust seasoning to taste.
Cook Pasta
- Cook the cavatelli in well-salted water per package directions until tender; drain.
Assemble
- Serve the bolognese over the cavatelli, garnished with extra Parmesan and chopped fresh herbs.
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