More Hearty Pasta
Slow-Cooked Spaghetti Bolognese
My slow-cooked spaghetti bolognese is the ultimate comfort meal – rich, meaty, and simmered low and slow for hours to build deep flavour. I use a mix of beef and pork mince, plenty of garlic, tomatoes, red wine, and herbs to create a sauce that clings beautifully to pasta. It’s a labour of love, but one that rewards with every spoonful. Ideal for batch cooking or freezing, and even better the next day, this bolognese is a staple in my kitchen.
Ingredients
- 500 g Beef mince
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp sundried tomato pesto
- 2 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
- 400 ml Beef stock
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 100g frozen baby spinach (optional)
- Salt & pepper, to season
- Pasta, to serve
- Parmigiano Reggiano, to serve
- Flat-leaf parsley, to serve
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and cook onions until soft and starting to colour - about 5-10 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and tomato pesto and fry for 5 minutes, or until dark red. Add garlic and stir through.
- Next, add beef mince to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until cooked through with a deep brown colour.
- Stir through the diced tomatoes, beef stock, bay leaves, sage and basil.
- Bring to the boil, and once bubbling steadily, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer covered for three hours, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover, add the spinach and stir through. Simmer an additional hour, or until sauce is thick and deep reddish in colour.
- Toss through pasta and generously sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano and parsley.
Notes
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 474Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 642mgCarbohydrates: 16gNet Carbohydrates: 0gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 34g
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Slow-Cooked Spaghetti Bolognese
A Taste of Tuesdays
Slow-Cooked Spaghetti Bolognese is one of those nostalgic dishes that pulls me right back to childhood. Every Tuesday night like clockwork, my mum would make her signature bolognese, letting it simmer away for hours on the stovetop while the house filled with the kind of rich, tomatoey warmth that made you feel completely safe and loved. Being the foodie child I was (and still very much am), Tuesday night dinners were the highlight of my week. Nothing fancy, just comfort on a plate and leftovers for toasties the next day if I was lucky.
Nowadays, Tuesday evenings aren’t exactly made for slow cooking. Between work, errands, and life in general, I don’t have hours to babysit a pot of sauce midweek. So, I’ve resigned this indulgent meal to the weekends. It’s a ritual now – on a lazy Saturday or long weekend, I’ll start the process early in the afternoon. The sauce bubbles away gently on the stove while I potter around, and by dinner time the flavours have developed into something that feels a bit like a hug. It’s heaven. Utter, absolute heaven.
The beauty of this spaghetti bolognese just good ingredients, cooked low and slow with the right amount of care. A good beef mince, a few pantry staples, and plenty of time is all it needs. The end result is so much more than the sum of its parts. And no, there’s no sugar here. I’ve never been one to add sugar to a tomato sauce and I think it’s completely ridiculous and unnecessary. If it’s too sharp, it just needs longer on the stove and a generous pinch of salt. Trust me, it works every time.
Salt is Your Friend
I think one of the greatest sins in cooking is under-seasoning. A dish can have all the right ingredients, be cooked with love, and still fall flat if it’s not seasoned properly. And that’s especially true for something as simple and wholesome as bolognese. When there’s no gimmicks or flashy ingredients, the salt really has to carry its weight. It’s not about making the dish salty, it’s about making sure every ingredient shines – a good pinch here and there really brings it all together.
That said, I’m not suggesting we go full salt-bae. Taste as you go. Add slowly and with intention. But don’t be afraid of it either. Salt unlocks flavour. It draws out the natural sweetness of tomatoes, the richness of the beef, and the mellow savoury undertones of the herbs. And if you’ve got a good quality stock on hand, that’ll lend its own depth too. You’re building layers here, one salty step at a time.
And while we’re on the subject, can we please stop pretending sugar is a necessary ingredient in savoury sauces? Sugar is the opposite of sour – so why would you add it to something acidic? Tomatoes tend to lean acidic, not bitter, not sour, so what they need is time, salt, and a bit of starch to mellow them out and bring the flavour into balance. And if you’re buying tinned tomatoes, try finding ones without citric acid. Honestly, your sauces will taste so much better without that extra tang getting in the way.
Weekend Rituals and Simple Pleasures
I’ve found that making this slow-cooked spaghetti bolognese has become more than just a meal prep session. It’s a bit of a weekend ritual now – a way to slow down and give myself the gift of time. That first aroma of garlic hitting the olive oil, the gentle sizzle of onion, the swirl of tomato paste and pesto creating that rich base… it’s the kind of alchemy that reminds me why I love cooking in the first place. And why I’ll never give it up, no matter how busy life gets.
By the time it’s ready, I’ve usually got the table set with a bit of fresh parsley, a bottle of red open, and a chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano waiting to be shaved generously over the top. And let’s be honest, it’s even better the next day. I’ve been known to eat it straight from the fridge cold, and I have no regrets. It’s just one of those dishes that gets better with age and attitude.
And on those weekends when I have friends or family over, it’s the kind of thing that makes everyone feel welcome. There’s no pretence, no fuss. Just a big pot of saucy pasta, good company, and maybe a crusty loaf of bread to mop it all up. That’s the kind of meal I want more of in my life. Familiar, forgiving, and always delicious.
Ingredients Breakdown
This bolognese starts with a classic base: beef mince browned in a little olive oil until golden and rich. From there, onion and garlic add a mellow sweetness and depth, softening slowly to form the backbone of the sauce. Tomato paste and sundried tomato pesto come in next to amp up that umami richness, blending into a thick, sticky foundation that carries the rest of the ingredients beautifully.
Diced tomatoes and a splash of beef stock bring body and boldness, simmering away until the whole pot smells like Sunday afternoon. I like to throw in a couple of bay leaves for an earthy warmth, along with a pinch of dried sage and basil for balance. Sometimes I’ll stir through some frozen baby spinach towards the end if I’ve got it on hand. It’s not traditional, but I like the colour and the little boost of greens.
Seasoning is crucial. Salt and pepper, added at the right times and in the right amounts, can make or break the dish. And when it’s finally done, I serve it over a big tangle of pasta, showered in Parmigiano Reggiano and scattered with flat-leaf parsley. It’s not fancy. But it’s perfect.
I am putting this on my menu for next week. Love spaghetti bolognese but never tried it in a slow cooker!
I love slow cooking Bolognese sauce, it really elevates the flavours.
Love this recipe! Thanks for sharing! Anything to make life easier.
Love this recipe! It was super flavorful and SO easy! Will definitely be making again!
We love slow cooked spaghetti bolognese. So easy and sounds delicious.