This Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce is made in the slow cooker so you don’t need to be standing over the stove all day. An authentic recipe using a great blend of spices, and let me just say, this is one super meaty sauce. We’re talkin’ ground beef, pork sausage and pancetta.
I guess with the season changes and cooler weather it brings out the pasta in me, and the slow cooker. Nothing like coming home to a kitchen with a wonderful aroma! Let the slow cooker do all the heavy lifting and enjoy a supremely flavored bolognese sauce.
Look, with the Halloween weekend coming up soon you probably have lots of other things you need to focus on then spending more time than necessary in the kitchen. You have costumes to make, candy to buy, parties to plan and go to. So let me help you out with this Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce.
MY LATEST VIDEOSIt all starts with a soffritto. A soffritto is an Italian term for the medley of finely diced vegetables used as the flavor base in sauces, soups, stews, etc. Consisting of carrots, onion and celery, this mixture is a great flavor weapon, and in chunkier form, is called a mirepoix in French cooking. It’s the basis of this sauce and worth the time to set up.
Plus, there’s pancetta. Lovely, salty and peppery pancetta.
Think of it as the Italian bacon, which is fine to substitute here if you’d like, but try and pick up some pancetta as it is so good. Bacon is basically pork belly that is brined and then smoked. Pancetta is pork belly too, with salt and lots of pepper that gets curled it into a tight roll, and wrapped. Pancetta is cured, but it isn’t smoked. See the difference?
This Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce also has pork sausage meat, ground beef and a wonderful spice blend made with red pepper flakes, fennel, cloves, bay leaves and thyme.
Place all of this along with red wine, and of course tomatoes, in the slow cooker to do all the heavy lifting for you, and allow the flavors to develop. This turns into a thick and meaty ragu. A Bolognese sauce!
At the 4 hour mark, remove lid of your slow cooker. Stir in the the milk and cook on high setting for 2 hours or until thickened and reduced. The secret weapon to add at the end is some red wine vinegar. That bit of acid seals the deal for flavor balance. I’ve used a squeeze of lemon sometimes, but think the red wine vinegar works best. Season with salt to taste.
In the meantime cook your pasta in a large pot of heavily salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, and reserve 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. This is key to help make the sauce glossy and thicken dues to the pasta starches in the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta and butter in a very large skillet set over medium heat. Using a ladle add 2 cups of your Slow Cooker Bolognese to coat pasta and cook, adding some of the pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce is thick and glossy.
I made some fresh tagliatelle, a thick, long ribboned pasta, perfect for the bolognese sauce to cling to and soak up. Serve topped with a scoop of Burrata cheese (as shown), which is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream just to switch it up and a sprinkle of fresh basil leaves. Feel free to shred some Parmesan cheese on top. Heck use them both!
This makes quite a lot. Save balance of bolognese sauce for other use or freeze. I’m thinking spaghetti dinners and a pan of lasagne are in my future. Enjoy!
For more Slow Cooker recipes try my Slow Cooker Flank Steak Tacos, Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Sticky Ribs or my Slow Cooker Ham Bone Soup, too.
Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- Spice mix:
- 4 cloves whole
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 10 black peppercorns
- Sauce:
- 1/2 lb pancetta diced small (or bacon)
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and diced small
- 2 celery stalks diced small
- 1/2 tsp tsp kosher salt plus more
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 14- ounce can whole tomatoes
- 1 4 oz can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb pork sausage casings removed
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 12 oz pasta of choice
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 oz burrata cheese or shredded Parmesan
- leaves fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Blend the cloves, bay leaf, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and peppercorns in a spice mill and finely grind. Set aside.
- In a large skillet add the cubed pancetta (or bacon) and brown until rendered and crispy. Remove from pan and place on plate lined with paper towel. Set aside.
- In same skillet remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat and save remaining for other use. Add the onions, carrots, celery and salt, stirring as needed until golden in color, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and stir, cooking another 2 minutes.
- Add the soffritto vegetables to the slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Stir in the spice mixture, pancetta, ground beef, pork sausage meat, red wine, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to incorporate and top with lid. Cook for 4 hours on high setting.
- At the 4 hour mark, remove lid of slow cooker. Stir in the the milk and cook on high setting for 2 hours or until thickened and reduced. Add the vinegar, stirring to incorporate, and adjust seasoning with salt if needed.
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling heavily salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
- Toss pasta and butter in a very large skillet set over medium heat. Using ladle add 2 cups of sauce to coat pasta and cook, adding some of the pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce is thick and glossy.
- Serve topped with a scoop of Burrata (as shown), or shredded Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.
- Save balance of bolognese sauce for other use or freeze.
Best Bolognese sauce recipe ever! I made this on a busy day where I was packing to move but also needed to cook dinner for my parents. Very easy and it was a hit, packed with flavor. I’ll definitely make it again. I used my Instant Pot on the slow cooker mode and it turned out well. I did turn it on saute mode at the end of cooking to boil off some extra liquid and thicken the sauce since the Instant Pot doesn’t vent as much as a slow cooker does.
This made my day, thanks Lisa. So happy you enjoyed this and I hope the move was as successful! 🙂
Wow wow wow!!! So easy and so delicious. This will be made over and over. I might try using some sort of beef roast instead of ground beef next time. I can’t wait!
Excellent, love getting comments like this Maureen! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Hello,
This is in my slow cooker…right now 🙂 and the aroma is amazing.
I halved the recipe …do you think that will also cut the cooking time in half?
Excellent Elisabet! No I would make as directed. Enjoy!
O.M.G Becky…this was delicious! Did I mention that it was delicious…because, it was delicious! The addition of burrata made it extra special. I made this for our game night dinner and used fresh pasta from a local vendor. It was a last minute decision to make so I used a cast iron dutch oven on the stove to speed up the cooking time so we weren’t eating at 10 pm. Everyone gobbled it up which meant that sadly there were no leftovers😩. Will definitely make again! Thank you for sharing your recipie.
Now these are the kind of comments I enjoy reading! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know. 🙂
I want this now! Please ?
Thanks for stopping by!
Greetings. Your recipes are way too intriguing so I finally had to sign up. Thank you!
I have a question regarding your scrumptious sounding Bolognese sauce. Do I add the ground beef and sausage meats to the slow cooker RAW or do I sauté them first? I’d be truly grateful for a clarification. Again, thank you!
Mike Passalacqua
Hi there Mike! I added your email inquiry here in the recipe post comments in case others had the same question and everyone could read it if needed. To answer your question the meat is not browned prior to going in with other ingredients in the Slow Cooker. Thanks for asking and let me know what you think. 🙂
Hello Kevin
I made this before and it was delicious. But I can’t remember if I also fried the pork and ground beef first in a pan? Reading the recipe it seems to me it would be difficult to mix the raw ground beef with the soffrito? What am I missing here? Can you help me out please?
TIA!
Hi Susanne! No you don’t have to brown the ground beef and pork first. See Step 4: Add the soffritto vegetables to a slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Stir in the spice mixture, pancetta, ground beef, pork sausage meat, red wine, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to incorporate and top with lid. Cook for 4 hours on high setting.
If you’d like the texture that browning the raw meat first brings, by all means go ahead. Enjoy!
Made this today and it was fantastic – great balance of flavors and spices. I cooked it on low for 7 hours (instead of low for 4 hours) but otherwise followed it exactly. I used some for baked spaghetti in place of the marinara I typically use and it was a delicious upgrade. You’re right – it makes a lot, so now I have several containers on hand for other dinners. Thanks, Kevin, this is a keeper!
Fantastic! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know Elaine.
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This sounds amazing! Only thing holding me back..
I would be making this this week, on a “work night”. You have for the first part of slow-cooking to cook on high for 4 hours. What do you think about on low for 8 hours? While I’m at work? Then the 2 hours on high for the next step?
Funny you ask this as I made this again yesterday! I think that would be fine to do. Hope you enjoy and let me know if there is anything else I might help with. Cheers Jillian!
Made this last night, came out great. Highly recommend the recipe, pretty easy with the slow cooker. Thanks for posting it!
Thanks so much Mike, so glad you enjoyed this one!
WOW, I wish I could reach through the screen and eat this! It looks so good, and I am so glad I don’t have celiac disease, just an intolerance. I haven’t found a gluten free pasta that I like so those are my cheat days when It’s a pasta meal, one of my fav’s.
Hi Cathy! Me too, it’s so unfortunate, but there are alternatives for those who are, like my friend Mary. Hope you give this a go, gotta love the slow cooker! How was or is your visit with family?
I have really been getting into bolognese sauce. The pasta looks perfect too.
Just had lunch but I’m sitting here drooling anyway. Yay for all of that delicious meatiness, the fact that I can make this in the slow cooker and last but not least, BURRATA!
Yes, especially the pancetta! Wouldn’t this be nice over a steaming bowl of bucatini? Haha!
Hi Kevin,
I am a new subscriber to your blog and love it. I have the bolognese in the slower cooker as I write this. I did add half a cup of Pinot Gigio in place of the red wine and added 1/2 cup of good quality beef stock. The aromas floating through the air at the moment are absolutely wonderful.
Thanks for an awesome recipe and I look forward to future amazing posts.
So happy to make your acquaintance here Lori, thanks for subscribing. Now these are the kind of comments I like to wake up to and read! Hope you enjoyed this as much as we do!
Wow, Kevin – you just blow me away. This looks irresistible. I have to tell you, the picture you have of the diced vegetables looks so good, I think I could eat it just like that!
Thanks Jeff, I had a few scoops to test it myself! Gotta love pancetta, right?
YES to the addition of pancetta! I may not have a slow cooker, but next time I make a bolognese (who knows when that may be) I need to add bay. I’ve never used bay in a bolognese before!
I think by now I would be feeling really weird not cooking after all this time in your travels John. Been loving reading about all of your adventures. And yes, pancetta it THE best!
One of our favorite meals ever Kevin, and believe it or not, I’ve never made it in my slow cooker! What have I been thinking?! Great idea for Halloween night because it’s such a busy night! Can’t wait to try your recipe! Have a terrific week!
Thanks Mary Ann, I’m all about saving time whenever possible! Happy Monday friend.
I looove pancetta, and this sauce looks so good. There’s nothing quite like a hearty bowl of bolognese 🙂
Pancetta for the win, right? Thanks Natasha!
The best Bolognese always has that touch of milk. This is (of course) an example of the very, very best. I particularly like that late hit of acid for balance. GREG
Definitely Greg, thanks!
Kev… your pics are incredible!!! They are becoming so bright and sharp! I love it!!!! And why have I not thought to do this with bolognese? It makes PERFECT sense!!!! Ahhhhh brilliant and lusciously beautiful :)0
Thank you Mila, it’s a good one to come home to and is simply de-lish! Have a wonderful weekend my dear. 🙂
Oh, that soffrito is calling my name! That pancetta…I’m gonna have dreams about that tonight! Bacon is an ok substitute, but really…nothing beats pancetta! 🙂 I’ve been loving my slow cooker lately as it’s letting me get caught up on chores around the house (ahem, raking leaves), and I definitely need to get this bolognese sauce going soon. I bet it made your house smell amazing! Have a great weekend, Kevin!
Oh soffritto, that’s some good stuff right there, and truth be told, I tested it with the pancetta several times on it’s own by the spoonful just to be sure it was good. May bolognese be in your weekend plans… cheers Dave! 🙂
Hey Kevin! I make a very similar bolognese sauce which I serve over bucatini. I have been on a pasta binge so this is looking really good to me! My slow cooker is getting lots of action lately and I think this will be in it very soon! I need to haul out my pasta maker too! Have a wonderful weekend!
LOVE bucatini! Actually Melissa over at Pinch and Swirl was the one who got me into that pasta, so good! It’s definitely slow cook time over in this kitchen as the weather has been too hot to turn on that oven lately. We need rain! Hello to Gary and enjoy the weekend Dorothy!
This is something that never gets old!! love the burrata action on top! the perfect meal for the end of a long day! love this
Nope, it’s classic good comfort food that’s so filling and could be used on and in any pasta dish, right? Love it! Have a great weekend Gaila.
Hi, this looks amazing and I will absolutely be trying it soon. Just to clarify, the beef and pork go into the slow cooker without being browned first? Thanks!
Yes, the only things that hit the pan to sauté are the pancetta and soffritto vegetables. Thanks Lyndsey!
Mmmm…..pork sausage and kosher salt …..reminds me of the kosher pig that has a cloven hoof but that doesn’t chew the cud ????
That looks pretty damn good and I’ll definitely be adding it to my ‘to do’ list.
Thank you.
OK, Ann, I’m liking your energy and thinking. Let me know! 🙂
We regularly make bolognese in our home or should I say hubby does most times and it is SO good! Love this slow cooker version and the smell that must go through the house? YUM! I totally agree….why not use both cheeses on top? And you know that I’m a big fan of the red vinegar that you used. We often use balsamic vinegar. Gonna have to try red wine next time. Pinned! So, I guess this whole pot would be for me, right? Dunk a piece of crusty bread in there and I’d be set 🙂 Have a great… Read more »
Cheese for everyone! Yeah, that bit of acid before serving makes it. I’ve added during cooking and it gets lost. Balsamic, now that sounds super yum. Really. Have a wonderful weekend you two. Oh, we just finished Longmire, so now I have time for your recommendation. 🙂
While I don’t think I would mind standing over the stove all day if the aroma matches what I’m imagining, I appreciate the cleverness and ease of making it in the slow cooker – actually, you’d still get the aroma so scratch that. I’d consider the slow cooker my aromatherapy for the day!
Thanks Jessie, I’m liking your thinking! Have a wonderful weekend and hope this is happening soon in your kitchen. For aromatherapy purposes of course 😉