Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce (Pasta Meat Sauce)
Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce (Pasta Meat Sauce)
Ingredients
For the Bolognese Sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 celery sticks, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, grated
- 2 lb ground beef, we prefer beef with 15% or 20% fat content
- Salt and black pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, plus more to serve
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 cup dry white wine (Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay)
- 2 28 oz each canned crushed tomatoes (or canned whole tomatoes, crushed)*
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 bay leaf, optional
- Pasta, Parsley and Parmesan, or your favorite Italian cheese to serve
Instructions
- 1
In a large deep pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil. Add onion, celery and carrots and sauté until softened (8-10 mins). Add garlic and 1/2 cup parsley and stir 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant. Transfer to slow cooker.
- 2
In the same pan (without washing it), add ground beef, season with 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and sauté until cooked through and no longer red (6-10 mins). For leaner sauce, you can spoon off and discard excess oil at this point keeping 3 Tbsp oil in the pan.
- 3
Add 1 cup white wine and sauté on medium/high heat until wine has completely evaporated (8-10 mins). Transfer meat to slow cooker.
- 4
Add 1 cup milk, 1 bay leaf, 1 Tbsp sugar, and both cans of tomatoes with juice and stir to combine.
- 5
Cover and cook on low 8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. If it seems too liquidy, let it cook with the lid off for the last 30 minutes.
480 min - 6
Season with more salt to taste (I added nearly 1 tsp more salt). Serve generous amounts of bolognese sauce over your favorite pasta, topped with cheese and garnished with fresh parsley.
