Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce
Perfect homemade bolognese sauce in the slow cooker! This bolognese is slow cooked for hours to give it that rich, delicious flavor. Make a large batch and freeze it for lasagnas, and quick weeknight pasta dinners all winter long!
Servings: 16 (3/4 cup servings)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes see note
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced or coarsely grated
- 2 stalks celery finely diced or coarsely grated
- 2 medium carrots finely diced or coarsely grated
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 21/2 - 3 pounds ground beef I used 85% lean (see note)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1-28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
- 1-14 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-2 parmesan rinds
- 1/4 cup parsley roughly chopped (plus more for serving)
- 3/4 cup half and half or heavy cream!
Instructions
- Bring a large stockpot of water to boil. Core the fresh tomatoes and mark an "X" on the top and bottom so it's easier to peel. Add the tomatoes and allow the tomatoes to boil for 15 minutes. Drain and submerge the tomatoes in cold water to immediately stop from cooking further.
- In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Drain any unnecessary grease with the exception of about 1-2 tablespoons. Add the garlic along with the tomato paste and let cook for 30 seconds.
- Increase the flame to medium-high, add the ground beef, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, the Italian seasoning, and the red pepper flakes. Allow the meat to brown, add the apple cider vinegar and allow the met to cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add the ground meat to the crockpot along with the diced tomatoes, san marzano tomatoes, bay leaves, parmesan rinds, and parsley. Add a big pinch of salt and pepper, and allow the bolognese to cook for 8 hours on the LOW setting of your crockpot. Add the half and half and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta sprinkled with parmesan cheese and additional parsley.
Notes
- Tomatoes - If you don't want to use fresh tomatoes, use an additional 28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes. This is less than the 2 1/2 pounds, but the flavor is also more concentrated.
- For the Ground Beef - I like to use about 3 pounds because I like a little extra meat throughout my meat sauce. If you like more sauce, just cut back the quantity of the meat to 2 1/2 pounds. Also, you don't want to choose something that's too lean as it will dry out quite a bit in the long cooking process.
Leftover bolognese can be frozen in ziptop bags and can be thawed and reheated for serving.
