Bolognese sauce is a meat-based ragu sauce, similar to Spaghetti Sauce. The difference is that vegetables, wine and cream are added to the Bolognese sauce. Traditionally, the sauce is simmered for hours . A pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot, cuts the cooking time to be just over an hour! We love this ragu sauce, best, served over pasta– though gnocchi is another alternative. Either way, this is a comforting and delicious meal.
I’ve made and posted several delicious recipes for a Ragu Sauce. Pasta and a hearty meat sauce is a comforting meal that always satisfies us. It’s a delicious alternative to Spaghetti Sauce. In fact, they’re quite similar. With a Bolognese sauce, the ingredients are: Beef Broth, Crushed Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, ground beef and pork, Pancetta and vegetables (Not pictured: heavy cream)
Rather than waiting several hours for the sauce to be ready, the pressure cooker seemed a great alternative to cut back on time. Let’s begin:
Start with a Mirepoix of onion, carrots and celery.
To the pressure cooker pot, saute’ the mirepoix until just tender. Add ground beef and pork and seasonings. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add red wine, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Lock the lid on, and set for 20 minutes.
If you don’t own a pressure cooker, follow the same steps. Simply simmer on low heat for 3-4 hours. Then add the heavy cream, last.
In pressure cooker lingo, allow for a “natural pressure release”. In other words, let the pressure release naturally– usually 10-15 minutes. For a final step, add the heavy cream. (This helps to “soften” the acidity of the wine and tomato.)
Give the sauce a stir, and add chopped fresh parsley. This sauce had so much delicious flavor!
To serve with the sauce, our personal preference is a wide egg noodle. Use whatever pasta you prefer. In our case, Pappardelle Pasta is a favorite pasta for a ragu sauce.
Once the noodles are cooked and drained, it’s time to add the sauce. Since it’s just the two of us, there was plenty of sauce left for future meals. Yay!
A little fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese is the final touch. Dinner is ready!
TASTING NOTES: So delicious! Pressure Cookers really are the “Ferrari” of cooking! The meat and vegetables were tender. The sauce had a perfect balance of tomato, herbs and the wine was barely detectable in the background. So much flavor! I’ve also posted a Turkey Bolognese that is also delicious. This rendition of a beef and pork combination ranks high up as a recipe favorite. The rest of the sauce has been frozen for future meals. On a cold fall or winter night, this will be a perfect comforting meal.
Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker This can be adapted to a slow cooker or on a stove (see notes)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 celery rib diced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- 4 ounces pancetta diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning or dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg just a pinch!
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon just a pinch!
- ¾ cups dry red wine
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup beef stock
- ¼ cup heavy cream or half and half
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Set your pressure cooker pot to the high saute setting.
- Melt the butter. Add onion, carrot and celery, and cook, stirring often, until onions have become translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the ground beef, pork, pancetta, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and cook until browned, about 5-10 minutes. (Be sure to crumble the beef and pork as it cooks; drain excess fat.)
- Stir in tomato paste, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, nutmeg and cinnamon until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and cook until reduced, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes and beef stock.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 20 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Select low sauté setting; simmer, uncovered, stirring often, until thickened to desired consistency, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately. Ideally, we like a wide noodle pasta, such as Pappardelle. We've also served this over Potato Gnocchi. This sauce freezes well.
Notes
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