Ragu Sauce (Italian Meat Sauce)

bowl of red meat sauce on counter with red cloth in front and wedge of parmesan cheese beside.

This classic Italian meat sauce - known as Ragu - is made with ground beef, pork belly, vegetables, red wine, and common spices. Add it to pasta or use it in traditional lasagna for a filling meal!

Course Sauces + Dips

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings

Author Alba Luna Meyer

Ingredients

1 thick slice pork belly, about 3.5 ounces
1 large yellow onion
2 to 3 small carrots
2 celery stalks
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
10.5 ounces minced beef
3/4 cup red wine, or white wine if you prefer
2 cups tomato passata, or crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Remove the skin layer from the pork belly and cut the pork belly into small pieces.
Peel and finely dice the onion and carrots. Rinse the celery sticks and cut them into small pieces.
In a pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the chopped pork belly. Sauté over medium heat until browned and it releases some of its juices.
Add the carrot, celery, and onion to the pan. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and mix well. Sauté until golden and soft, about 15-20 minutes. Stir regularly.
Add the minced beef to the pan and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
Add the red wine to the pan and allow it to reduce slightly. Then add the canned tomatoes, mix well and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Let the mixture simmer over low heat for at least 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve the sauce hot with pappardelle or fettuccine, or use it in a lasagna.

Notes

Traditional ragu sauce contains pork belly in addition to minced beef, but feel free to omit it if you want a leaner version.
Use medium or lean ground/minced beef. Avoid extra-lean ground beef as it can be too dry. Instead of minced beef, you can also use minced pork.
For a vegetarian or vegan version, you can use brown lentils or soy protein.
Slice the veggies as thinly as possible so that the final sauce is still a bit chunky but has a smoother consistency. You can use a food processor to speed up this step.
Instead of red wine, you can also use white wine.
You can add a little water to the sauce as it cooks to ensure it doesn’t dry out.
After cooking, the majority of the alcohol content will be evaporated, but a small amount may remain in the sauce. Be mindful of it in case you can’t consume alcohol or kids are going to eat it.
This meat sauce tastes better the next day when the flavors have mingled and intensified.

Nutrition

This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.