We love hearty pasta recipes with tons of flavor! Try out these other favorites like Easy Cheese Tortellini Pasta, Baked Feta Tomato Pasta, Tuscan Sausage Pasta, Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta, and this delicious Old Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese.
Expert Tips
Chop the vegetables to small and uniform sizes! The texture of this dish is improved by having very finely chopped veggies that are in uniform sizes. You want to make sure that the veggies are tender (especially the carrots) by the time the sauce is done cooking! Substitute the meat! I like the different flavors and added fat that the ground pork lends, but you can substitute the ground pork with additional ground beef. I don’t recommend substituting it with something like ground chicken or turkey since that might come out a bit try! You can also try using spicy Italian sausage instead of ground pork for a bit of heat! Make sure to let the tomato paste cook a few minutes! The tomato paste will release more flavors and deepen in color when it is cooked for a few minutes before any other liquids are added to the pot. Don’t skip that step! Rigatoni bolognese is amazing paired with some crusty garlic bread and a simple side salad!
More Italian-Inspired Recipes to Try
Classic Lasagna Creamy Tomato Sausage Penne Four Cheese Baked Ziti Slow Cooker Spaghetti & Meatballs Chicken Parmesan
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag us on social when you share a photo of your CDLC creation! Simple to Make: While there are multiple steps in this process that take a bit of time, each step is super straightforward, making rigatoni bolognese quite simple to make. Traditional bolognese sauce is simmered for hours to get all the flavors to perfectly meld, but you don’t have to simmer for that long in order to get an absolutely divine bolognese sauce. If you follow the steps provided here, you will have an amazing homemade pasta dish that is sure to impress!
Veggies: Onion, Carrots and Celery are finely chopped and added to the pan first along with some olive oil. Traditional bolognese uses the combination of onion, carrots and celery and it adds a ton of flavor and nice addition of veg! Garlic: Garlic is always needed in an Italian-inspired tomato sauce! Don’t be shy, you’ll need a heaping tablespoon of minced garlic here. Meat: Pancetta, Ground Beef & Ground Pork are all added to the sauce in order to make a meaty, umami flavored sauce. Sugar: A little bit of sugar helps to offset the acidity of the tomatoes. I promise your sauce won’t turn out sweet! Tomato Paste & Canned Diced Tomatoes: First you will add the tomato paste to the mix and let it brown and caramelize in the pan before adding canned diced tomatoes. I love the brand Mutti for both of these! Chicken Broth: To thin the sauce a bit without diluting the flavor, opt for chicken broth. Red Wine: Red cooking wine adds a depth of flavor that you will not otherwise get! You can look for cooking wine specifically or use a dry red wine you have on hand. Oregano: Dried Oregano is the only herb that you need to add here. There are a lot of flavors already in the sauce and a hint of herb is all you need! Milk: Milk makes this sauce a little bit creamier and takes the bite off of the acidic tomatoes. Pasta: Rigatoni is amazing here, or you can use any other tube shaped pasta! Shredded Parmesan: To serve, top it off with shredded parmesan!
