Ground Beef Ragù is a comforting, everyday Italian-style meat sauce that delivers rich flavor without complicated steps or hard to find ingredients. This version uses ground beef for convenience while still honoring the slow-simmered method that defines a true ragù.
It is a dependable sauce that works just as well for weeknight dinners as it does for make-ahead meals and freezer friendly cooking making it the perfect sauce for the perfect plate of pasta.
Beef Ragù is the perfect sauce to top Homemade Potato Gnocchi. Other sauces you might want to try might be panna sauce, pesto sauce or even pasta topped with ricotta and spring peas.
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If you like this recipe, try my Pasta in Tomato Sauce with Pork Ribs for a sauce that tastes oh so good or my melt in your mouth Three Meat Cannelloni or my recipe for Beef Involtini.
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Here's Why You'll Love this Dish
- Easy - simple and easy to make
- Delicious - wonderful flavors that aren't so pungent that your family will love
- Ingredients - are readily available in your pantry and ground veal can be purchased any time of the year from your local market
- Inexpensive - top your favorite pasta with this sauce for an economical meal any day of the week
Ingredients You'll Need
You will need the following ingredients to make a tangy homemade veal ragu: minced veal, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, tomato puree, tomato paste, olive oil, beef bouillon cube, dry red wine, pasta, herbs.
Beef is the star of this minced meat ragu but you can also use ground veal which has a milder taste than aged beef.
Garlic compliments this savory and tangy dish and adds a punch.
Beef Stock Gel infuses the sauce with a rich flavor.
Dry Red wine enhances the flavor of the tomato based sauce and helps keep the meat tender through the cooking process.
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make the Perfect Beef Ragu
Chop the garlic, onion, celery and carrots. You can use a mini blender.
Brown the ground beef in olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium high heat, stir occasionally to break up the meat. Remove browned veal and set aside.
Place the vegetables in the pan and sauté until translucent.
Once vegetables are translucent, add cooked veal to the sauté pan with the vegetable mixture.
Add the dry red wine and let infuse into the meat and veggies for 2 to 3 minutes, scrape the bottom of the pot scraping the browned bits while mixing sauteing.
Add the beef cube (add water if not using broth or gel molds) and the tomato paste. Mix well while sauteing to ensure that the tomato paste and beef cube are well incorporated into the ground meat.
Add tomato puree and mix. Season if necessary with salt and pepper.
Let simmer on stove top for 1 to 2 hours until thick.
Serving Suggestions for Ground Beef Ragu:
Serve your ground beef ragu over pappardelle pasta, lasagna noodles, rigatoni, gnocchi, rice, fettucine or your favorite pasta noodle.
Storage
If you have any veal ragu leftover, store it in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days maximum.
I've also had some great success freezing homemade tomato sauce with and without meat. Just store in an airtight container, preferably glass. Defrost in the refrigerator before warming up on the stove top or in the microwave. Consume within one month max.
Meal Prep Tips
Some tricks to prevent your ground beef from clumping together when sauteing:
- Pour a few drops of lemon juice on your minced meat.
- Pour cold water in the pan.
- Use a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula to break up the meat while sauteing.
- Reserve pasta water if you are serving over pasta just in case the sauce is too thick.
- Make the sauce ahead of time to cut down on your prep time
Remember to remove your pasta al dente for the best pasta with ground beef ragu experience!
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few substitutions and variations for a ground meat sauce perfect for your next dinner:
- Minced Chicken - instead of using ground beef, use ground chicken.
- Ground Lamb - make a ground lamb ragu using minced lamb meat.
- Veal Pieces - instead of using beef, make a sauce with pieces of veal or ground pieces of veal
- Zucchini Noodles - great for serving on top of vegetable noodles
- Polenta - Serve over polenta or corn meal
- Shredded Beef - instead of using ground beef, use shredded beef or stewing beef pieces cut from a beef chuck roast
The perfect recipe isn't that far away. Drop a comment below and let me know how you changed things up!
Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
A ragu is a chunky sauce compared to a bolognese. Bolognese sauce is thicker, uses cream and isn't really considered a tomato sauce.
The best type of meat for a beef ragu is a braising or stewing steak otherwise known as chuck steak.
Main Dishes to Try
Recipe Details
Ground Beef Ragu Recipe
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caAffiliate Disclosure
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive commissions if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- ¾ lbs ground beef
- 2 oz carrots 1 carrot, chopped
- 2 oz celery 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 5 oz onion 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 25 oz tomato puree
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cube beef stock gel
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 16 oz pasta
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 leaves basil fresh or dried
Instructions
- Chop the garlic, onion, celery and carrots. You can use a mini blender.
- Brown the ground beef in olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium high heat, stir occasionally to break up the meat. Remove browned veal and set aside.
- Place the vegetables in the pan and sauté until translucent.
- Add cooked ground beef to the sauté pan with the vegetable mixture.
- Add the dry red wine and let infuse into the meat and veggies for 2 to 3 minutes, scrape the bottom of the pot scraping the browned bits while mixing sauteing.
- Add the beef cube (add water if not using broth or gel molds) and the tomato paste. Mix well while sauteing to ensure that the tomato paste and beef cube are well incorporated into the ground meat. Add fresh basil (optional). Alternatively, you can add dried basil once sauce is cooked.
- Add tomato puree and mix. Season if necessary with salt and pepper.
- Let simmer on stove top for 1 to 2 hours until thick. Add dried basil once cooked either in sauce or on top as garnish.
- Cook your pasta as per manufacturer's instructions. Scoop beef ragu on top of pasta and serve immediately.
Notes
Tips
Some tricks to prevent your ground beef from clumping together when sauteing:- Pour a few drops of lemon juice on it.
- Pour cold water in the pan.
- Use a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula to break up the meat while sauteing.
Nutrition
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Food Safety
Note that the storage guidelines provided on this page and site are estimates from personal experiences. We are all adults and as an adult you are responsible to ensure that the food you eat is safe to eat. Since, I'm not a food safety expert, you are responsible to review your local guidelines on food storage prior to storing any food left-overs.
Remember to:
- Not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For Canadian Guidelines check the Government of Canada Food Safety Guidelines or see more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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