Weeknight Bolognese Sauce
This savory Weeknight Bolognese Sauce tastes like a restaurant dish but is easy to make at home! This isn’t just your typical meat sauce, it adds wine, hidden vegetables, and a bit of cream for great depth of flavor. I called this recipe a “weeknight” Bolognese because it comes together quickly compared to a more traditional Bolognese that simmers on the stovetop for hours, but this sauce would be delicious any night of the week! One pot of sauce pairs perfectly with a pound of pasta to make eight satisfying servings, and each serving of sauce is just 193 calories or 3 WW Points on the Weight Watchers program. To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app, click here!
Recipe Notes
- Meat: I use lean ground beef in this recipe and highly recommend it! I used 93% lean, but anywhere between 90-95% is good. If you prefer, you can substitute other ground meats like ground turkey, but I love beef in this recipe!
- Vegetables: If you’re a bit wary of carrots and celery in pasta sauce, don’t be! These veggies combined with onions give great flavor, and they are diced up so tiny in the food processor before using that picky eaters won’t even notice they’re there. If you don’t have a food processor you can try to just chop them really tiny or grate them, but I do highly recommend the food processor if you’re able. They blend right into the sauce that way!
- Wine: I used red wine in my sauce, but if you have white on hand I’m sure that would also be tasty. If you don’t consume alcohol, you can use alcohol-free wine to keep a similar flavor, or substitute beef broth.
- Half and Half: Using a little half and half cream adds to the richness and flavor of this Bolognese, so I wouldn’t skip it! I do recommend using the full-fat half-and-half in this recipe.
- Better Than Bouillon: If you don’t have this, you can substitute powdered bouillon or cubes for the Better Than Bouillon, but I highlyrecommend purchasing it. I’ve seen it in pretty much every grocery store I’ve been to, including a small local store in my area, so you should be able to find it pretty easily. I have the chicken, beef and vegetable bases in my fridge at all times. BTB is sort of a paste rather than a powder, and the flavor is just unmatched in my opinion!
- Balsamic Vinegar: A year or two ago I started adding a bit of balsamic vinegar to all my pasta sauce, whether I make it from scratch or heat it up from a jar. It just adds that perfect something that boosts the flavor and makes it taste special and well balanced.
- Red Pepper Flakes: I noted in the recipe that you could use between 1/8 – ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes depending on how much of a kick you want. I used ¼ teaspoon this time and does add some spice. It’s not an overwhelming amount, but if you’re not into spice, dial it back to 1/8 teaspoon to be safe.
- Pasta: Wondering what to serve this with? My go-to for Bolognese is thin spaghetti, but any pasta shape will work! One of the nice things about this recipe is that it makes eight servings of sauce, and a pound of pasta makes eight servings, so a box of pasta pairs perfectly!
- Serving Suggestions: Besides tossing a serving of the sauce with a serving of pasta, I also like to add a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette to make this a complete meal.
More Tasty Lightened-Up Italian-Inspired Recipes
For more tasty, lightened up Italian-inspired recipes like this Weeknight Bolognese Sauce, check out my Easy Skillet Lasagna, Loaded Spaghetti Bake, One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta, Chicken Piccata Meatballs, Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Creamy Tuscan Chicken, Pasta Fagioli Soup, One-Pot Meatballs and Macaroni, Crispy Chicken Parmesan, Caprese Sandwich, Italian Sausage Bread, Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Bake, Bruschetta Chicken Pasta, One-Pot Turkey and Veggie Spaghetti, Tuscan Olive Chicken, Italian Wedding Pasta Skillet, Sausage and Tortellini Tomato Soup, Bruschetta Topped Balsamic Chicken, and more in the Italian section of my recipe index!
Weeknight Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, peeled and cut into quarters
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into a few chunks
- 1 medium rib of celery, cut into a few chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb uncooked 90-95% lean ground beef, (I used 93% lean)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, (¼ teaspoon gives it a kick)
- ¾ cup red wine
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup half and half cream, I recommend using the full fat version
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Place the onion, carrot, and celery pieces in the bowl of your food processor. Turn on and run for a minute or so until the vegetables are very finely minced, almost like a paste.
- Drizzle the olive oil into a Dutch oven or large pot and bring over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the finely minced vegetables from step one and stir to coat with the oil. Spread across the bottom of the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Add the ground beef, salt, and black pepper to the pot and use a cooking spoon or spatula to stir in and break up the meat. Cook, breaking the meat into crumbles, for about 5 minutes or until browned. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and stir into the meat and vegetables. Cook for an additional minute.
- Pour in the wine and stir together, scraping up any stuck-on bits from the pot. Simmer the mixture for 3 minutes over medium until the wine is mostly absorbed.
- Add the can of crushed tomatoes, the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, and Better Than Bouillon beef base. Stir until combined and allow to come to a boil. Reduce the burner heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the nutmeg, half and half, and water and stir until well combined. Continue to simmer uncovered over low heat for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Notes
193 calories, 12 g carbs, 2 g sugars, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 14 g protein, 3 g fiber, 210 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com) Weight Watchers Points Plus:
5 per (2/3 cup) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info) Adapted from Ina Garten
