Red Wine Bolognese is the pasta dinner of your dreams! Cooked low and slow, a decadent sauce of red wine, tomato sauce, herbs and ground hamburger comes together perfectly. The red wine bolognese sauce is perfect tossed with pasta, topped with a little Parmesan cheese and a side of bread for dunking! I stood over the stove and couldn’t stop eating this Red Wine Bolognese straight out of the pan with a baguette in my hands. This is a pasta dinner that you just need to try!
The title “Red Wine Bolognese” might sound a little intimidating, but just think of it as really good spaghetti sauce! Deglazing the pan with a little red wine really helps set this sauce apart and make it truly divine. Simmer it all together with some ground hamburger, tomato sauce, carrot and herbs. You won’t be able to stop eating it! I certainly couldn’t.
How to Make Red Wine Bolognese
Don’t let the title of this dish scare you off – it comes together with a little bit of love and time! Most of the ingredients you may already have on hand, so let’s get to cooking!
- Brown the hamburger, set it aside and add in the onion and carrot to the same skillet.
- Add the garlic and herbs in with the onion and carrot and sauté.
- Here comes the fun part: deglaze the pan with red wine!
- Pour in the tomato sauce and a little bit of sugar (I know, it sounds weird, but the sugar helps balance the acidity in the tomato sauce!)
- Add the browned hamburger back into the sauce and let it simmer until decadently good.
Serve it tossed with your favorite pasta (I went with spaghetti!) and dig in! Or you could be like me and just stand at the stove and eat it with a baguette because it’s so dang good!
My biggest cooking tip when it comes to the Red Wine Bolognese: even though it can come together quickly, don’t rush it! The flavors of this dish continue to marry and deepen the longer you let it simmer. It’s sure to be a hit!
Carrot Life Hack:
When it comes to adding carrot to a recipe, I always use baby carrots! I know this may not be popular opinion, but they are pretty darn hassle-free! They are already peeled and all usually the same size. That way, when you are cutting them, all the rounds come out the same! I do this for soups, pot pies or anything that I need carrot for – including this Red Wine Bolognese! A little life hack to keep up your sleeve.
Red Wine Bolognese is perfect for any dinner occassion – serve it up to feed a crowd, date night, weeknight meal or something to put on the table for the whole family to dig into. Either way you serve it, you can’t go wrong!
Red Wine Bolognese
(8 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)
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- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Red Wine Bolognese is the pasta dinner of your dreams! Cooked low and slow, a decadent sauce of red wine, tomato sauce, herbs and ground hamburger comes together perfectly. The red wine bolognese sauce is perfect tossed with pasta, topped with a little Parmesan cheese and a side of bread for dunking! I stood over the stove and couldn’t stop eating this Red Wine Bolognese straight out of the pan with a baguette in my hands. This is a pasta dinner that you just need to try!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef hamburger
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup baby carrots, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup red wine
- (2) 14.5 oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Choice of pasta for serving, such as spaghetti
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add in the ground hamburger and break it apart to brown. Once completely broken apart and browned, remove the meat from the pan and set aside for later use. Add the onion and carrot into the skillet and sauté. Add in the garlic, basil, thyme and oregano and continue to sauté for several minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with the red wine, making sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet with your spatula when doing so. Pour in the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Stir in the sugar, salt and pepper. Add the browned hamburger back into the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- Serve the sauce tossed together with your favorite cooked pasta such as spaghetti, tagliatelle, elbow or farfalle – the possibilities are endless! Garnish with chopped fresh basil and shredded Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- I recommend using either an 80/20 or 90/10 ground beef for this recipe.
- This recipe reheats very nicely and makes for great leftovers!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Share the love!
If you make this recipe and love it as much as I do, I’d love to hear from you! Comment below, rate the recipe, or share a picture tagging @kjandcompany or using #kjandcompany so that I can see your fun pictures 🙂
Thanks for following and cooking along with me!
Hi, I’m KJ!
Here you’ll find simple, delicious recipes for the home cook. I strive to make wholesome meals with easy-to-find ingredients that you feel comfortable making in your own kitchen—but I won’t shy away from a few indulgences! (I see you: butter, bacon, cookies!)
Where did you get your skillet? I love the look of that to go right on the table. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks Kate.
Its a Le Creuset braiser! You can order them online, or you can find them at Habitat here in Lincoln! It’s one of my favorites!
Silly question here. Does the alcohol in the red wine cook out?
The majority of the alcohol will cook out, but not all of it! Here is a helpful article about it: https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/cooking-wine-does-alcohol-burn-off
The hack of using baby carrots for dicing has saved me a lot of time, and allowed me to keep all my fingers! Great recipe.
Delicious and easy!