Rigatoni Bolognese is the ultimate comfort food- and a classic Italian pasta dish! This slow simmered rich meat sauce sticks perfectly to the ridged rigatoni noodles to soak up all the flavor.
Cooked low and slow with San Marzano Tomatoes, parmesan rind, white wine and pancetta; you have the taste of Sunday dinner in each bite. Rigatoni Bolognese only gets better the next day.
Spreading Garlic Confit over crusty bread to dip in the sauce is one of my favorite sides for this dish. Heirloom tomato salad is a nice light side for this hearty pasta too.
A Quick Glance At The Recipe
- ✅Done in: 1 hour 20 minutes
- 🛒Ingredients: 12, plus crusty bread
- 🍽️Serves: 4 servings but you can always double
- 💪Difficulty: Medium - cooked low and slow
- 👩🍳Cook Method: Stovetop Simmering
- ⏰Make Ahead Friendly: Make Bolognese sauce ahead and reheat
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Rigatoni alla Bolognese is one of those feel good comfort meals that reminds you of family and is loved by the whole family.
- Quick week night dinner with a little meal prep.
- This flavor packed pasta sauce is freezer friendly!
Jump to:
Recipe Ingredients
- Pancetta: Pancetta is an Italian salt-cured pork meat that adds depth and flavor to rigatoni bolognese and stays true to the traditional pork + beef combo.
- Whole peeled tomatoes: Always look for San Marzano on your cans of tomatoes. These are grown in Italy and are sweet and mildly tarty.
- White wine: I use chardonnay for rigatoni bolognese and Coq au Vin Blanc but any dry white wine is okay.
- Whole milk: You may think milk is an odd addition but it helps the meat tenderize and also adds depth to the bolognese.
- Chicken stock: Knorr liquid chicken stock concentrate is my favorite!
- Parmesan rind: This is a great trick to add a distinct, rich, savory flavor to your sauce. Parmesan rinds can create depth of flavor and that umami quality in soups and sauces.
- Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan is best for rigatoni alla bolognese rather than store bough grated or shredded.
- Soffritto: This is the Italian version of the French Mire Poix. Celery, onion and carrot are cut into a fine dice and cooked to caramelization with garlic.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- To keep the same robust flavor minus the meat, finely chop some softened shiitake mushrooms or portobellos to make a vegetarian rigatoni bolognese. Mushrooms are known for their umami qualities.
- For those who love bold and fiery flavors, stir in a calabrian chili oil or paste, or sprinkle red pepper flakes liberally when sautéing the veggies. If you like making this Rigatoni Bolognese spicy then you'd love this Gigi Hadid pasta recipe. It's a creamy tomato vodka sauce with a kick.
- Try a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil over the top of your burrata or zest fresh lemon over the top.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Classic Rigatoni Bolognese
Step 1: Sauté your soffritto to gain some color.
Step 2: Add the beef to brown and cook through.
Step 3: Stir in tomatoes and simmer.
Step 4: Stir in the milk, then combine with al dente pasta and enjoy!
Expert Cooking Tips
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven to cook the bolognese sauce. This will ensure that the sauce cooks evenly and doesn't burn with the long cooking time. This type of pot is best for Pork Sugo too!
- Don't overcook the pasta. Cook rigatoni pasta al dente, which means it should still have a slight firmness to it. Al dente is described in more depth here.
- Reserve some pasta water before draining the pasta. Add this starchy water to the sauce to help thicken it and create a more cohesive sauce.
- Allow the tomato paste to caramelize before adding wine. Caramelizing brings out the sweetness and adds great flavor blast to this rigatoni bolognese recipe.
🧁Krista's Food Truck & Mom POV
On busy prep weeks before a food truck weekend we don't have a lot of time to make dinner. Making Bolognese Sauce on a slow Sunday then either freezing it or keeping it in the fridge for future use saves a ton of time!
Pop that baby in the microwave or heat in a pot over the stove top as the noodles are boiling and dinner is done in a flash. 15-minute Rigatoni Bolognese dinner to the rescue!
Top this Rigatoni Bolognese recipe with parmesan, burrata or eat as is. It doubles as a quick afterschool snack and works well for company when the sauce is made ahead of time.
Recipe FAQs
Theoretically, the best pasta noodles for bolognese are those that can hold the thickness of the sauce. Try bolognese with tagliatelle, gnocchi, or tortellini. Creste de Gallo is another favorite noodle with ridges that I use in spicy lobster pasta. But hey, if it makes life easy for you, go ahead and use any kind of pasta! You can even cook up a batch of kids’ pasta, and I mean those animal-shaped ones.
Spaghetti sauce and bolognese sauce are used interchangeably. But they represent very different things. Both have tomato as a base, but if your sauce has only tomato, basil, and other herbs, it’s spaghetti sauce, marinara sauce, red sauce or gravy. If it’s a chunky sauce that has meat, white wine and milk in it, then it’s Bolognese.
Fresh tomatoes will work incredibly well in this rigatoni bolognese recipe! Puree Roma tomatoes to make tomato paste and peel some San Marzano tomatoes. It will take more time to cook, soften, and release its flavors, so do expect to be watching the pot for a while.
To store extra Rigatoni Bolognese, transfer the sauce into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. It tastes even better the next couple days! You can then reheat it in a microwave or in a pot again, adding milk or chicken stock if needed. Freeze for up to 2 months.
More Pasta Recipes You'll Love
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📖Recipe
Rigatoni Bolognese
Equipment
- 2 stock pots
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 colander
Ingredients
Bolognese Sauce
- 1 drizzle olive oil
- 4 oz pancetta small dice
- 2 carrots peeled, small dice
- 1 medium onion small dice
- 1 stalk celery small dice
- 1½ lbs ground beef
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme off stem, rough chop
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 1 cup dry white wine I use chardonnay
- 15 oz san marzano whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock I use Knorr liquid stock concentrate
- 1 parmesan rind optional
- 1 cup whole milk
Pasta + Toppings
- 1 lb rigatoni cooked al dente
- tt kosher salt for pasta water
- 1 drizzle olive oil for pasta water
- 2 oz parmesan grated ( I like to grate mine fresh)
- ¾ oz fresh basil chiffonade
Instructions
Making the Bolognese
- Heat a large stock pot over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and the pancetta. Cook 3-4 minutes until it begins to brown
- Add the carrots, onion and celery. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes until veggies begin to soften
- Add the ground beef, season with salt and pepper. Break up the meat as it cooks. Drain ¾ of the grease
- Once ground beef is fully cooked, add thyme, nutmeg and bay leaf. Stir in tomato paste and let cook another 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow tomato paste to caramelize and become a darker rich red
- Pour in the white wine, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot. Let the wine reduce by half
- Add tomatoes and chicken stock and parmesan rind. Bring to a simmer and reduce by half again
- Stir in milk then let simmer another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in a small ladle of pasta water to bring the sauce together
Making the Rigatoni
- Boil 4 quarts of water with salt and oil then cook pasta according to package directions for al dente pasta
- Drain pasta, toss with Bolognese sauce then top with freshly grated parmesan and basil
Notes
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- Use a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven to cook the bolognese sauce. This will ensure that the sauce cooks evenly and doesn't burn with the long cooking time.
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- Don't overcook the pasta. Rigatoni pasta should be cooked al dente.
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- Reserve some pasta water before draining the pasta. This starchy water can be added to the sauce to help thicken it and create a more cohesive sauce.
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- Bolognese sauce is traditionally cooked low and slow for several hours to allow the flavors to develop and the meat to become tender. So, take your time!
- Stir in a small ladle of pasta sauce right before you finish simmering to add body to the sauce.
Liz
Made for dinner tonight and every plate was licked clean! Delicious and easy to make!!
Krista Stechman
This makes me so happy to hear! Thank you!