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Bolognese sauce with spaghetti

9
9
3
SmartPoints® value per serving
Total Time
4 hr 24 min
Prep
12 min
Cook
4 hr 12 min
Serves
8
Difficulty
Easy
Every cook needs a class Italian meat sauce in their recipe repertoire. Don't be intimidated by the length of this ingredient list. Most everything gets added to a slow cooker so it's mostly hands-off for the cook. Slow cookers are key for making big-batch meals such as this one. Make this when you are feeding a crowd or when you want to have leftovers for another day. The telltale orange color of classic Bolognese sauce comes from the addition of milk toward the end of cooking. It's a surprising ingredient that adds a silky body to the sauce and tenderness to the meat. If you're gluten-free, serve this sauce over spiralized veggie noodles or gluten-free pasta.

Ingredients

Olive oil

2 tsp

Uncooked fennel bulb(s)

1 item(s), small, chopped

Uncooked onion(s)

1 small, chopped

Uncooked carrot(s)

1 medium, cut into 1/4-inch dice

Uncooked celery

1 rib(s), medium, cut into 1/4-inch dice

Garlic clove(s)

4 medium clove(s), minced

Uncooked lean ground beef

½ pound(s), (7% fat or less)

Uncooked 96% lean ground pork

½ pound(s)

Table salt

1 tsp

Red pepper flakes

¼ tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp

Canned crushed tomatoes

28 oz, (1 can)

Grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup(s)

2% reduced fat milk

⅓ cup(s)

Uncooked whole-wheat spaghetti

16 oz, (1 package)

Basil

½ cup(s), fresh, chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, carrot, and celery; cook, stirring, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef, pork salt, pepper flakes, and black pepper; cook, breaking up meat with side of wooden spoon, until browned, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to 5- or 6-quart slow cooker.
  2. Stir tomatoes into beef mixture. Cover and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, 3 1/2 hours on Low. Stir in 1/4 cup of Parmesan and the milk. Cover and cook 30 minutes on Low.
  3. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in same large pot according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.
  4. Divide spaghetti evenly among 8 bowls; top evenly with meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and the basil.
  5. Per serving: scant 1 cup pasta, 3/4 cup sauce, and 1 tablespoon Parmesan

Notes

Store the sauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 4 days or freeze up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and gently reheat.