Yield: 6 servings
Ragu Sauce
This easy ragu sauce is loaded with meaty goodness and simmered in a rich base of red wine, broth, and tomatoes. Absolutely packed with flavor, this homemade spaghetti sauce will ruin you for store-bought options forever!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage, casing removed, mild or hot
- ½ cup red wine, or additional beef broth
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
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Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the ground beef and sausage. Brown the meat and use a wooden spoon to break up and crumble the meat as it cooks, until no pink remains. If you have a lot of excess grease, drain off the excess before continuing.
- Pour the red wine into the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until the wine is reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Add beef broth, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring back to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened. (Do not cover the pot - you want the sauce to reduce and get thicker.)
- Serve immediately, as desired. We love to serve it over pasta with grated parmesan cheese and a little fresh chopped parsley on top!
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Notes
Store: Transfer cooled, leftover sauce to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. We recommend storing the sauce and pasta separately.
Reheat: This sauce reheats quickly in the microwave, or you can reheat larger portions in a sauce pan on the stove.
Freeze: Transfer the cooled sauce in an airtight, freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw sauce overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Good Wine: Whenever you see wine in an Italian cooking recipe, choose one you’d actually enjoy drinking. Cooking wine often has zero flavor and tastes vinegary. Good red wine helps to release the flavors and its natural acidity tenderizes the meat.
Spicy: Hot Italian sausage will add a good amount of heat. For a little heat, use mild Italian sausage and add up to 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes instead.
Pasta Choice: We really love serving this ragu recipe over a thick, hearty pasta. Look for a dried pasta that’s light in color and takes a little longer to cook. Then boil it so it’s justal-dente. Add the hot pasta directly to the sauce and serve!
Brown The Meat: To make sure your sauce has a good meat-y flavor, make sure you get a good browning on the ground meat. We cook it until it starts to darken on the edges.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 465kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 104mg, Sodium: 904mg, Potassium: 1000mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 2071IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 5mg