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Photo Credit: Elizabeth Newman

Giada's 20-Minute Bolognese

2 MINPrep Time
18 MINCook Time
6Servings
(4)
by Giada De Laurentiis
Beginner
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Newman
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Bolognese is one of my all-time favorite dishes, but the reality is I often don't have the time on a weeknight to make it happen. This recipe is my shortcut!

Using canned cherry tomatoes is the secret here - they're so sweet and delicious already, they don't require much cooking time. My favorites are Corbara and Datterino. You can use any other canned tomato here, but you might need to cook it for a few more minutes!

Lastly, if your bolognese doesn't seem reduced enough, don't worry - once you throw the pasta in with the sauce and add the cheese, then let it all marry together for a minute, the sauce will thicken up beautifully.

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Giada's 20-minute bolognese

Prep Time

2 minutes

Cook Time

18 minutes

Image of Giada's 20-minute bolognese

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Heat a medium dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, and wait one minute for it to heat up. Add the onion, carrot and garlic to the pan and stir to combine. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook for 4 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and fragrant.
  2. Add in the ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until completely cooked through, continuing to break it up as you stir, for about 3 minutes.
  3. Stir in the canned cherry tomatoes. Before discarding the cans, fill each one up with ¼ cup of water and swirl around to get the remaining bits of tomato sauce, and add that to the pan as well. Either use the spoon to gently break them up or scissors to cut them up in the pan. Nestle in the parmesan rind and basil. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat the medium and simmer the sauce for about 10 to 15 minutes, until slightly thickened.
  4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Season generously with kosher salt. Add the pasta to the water and cook according to package instructions for aldente pasta. Using a slotted spoon or spider, add the pasta directly from the pasta water to the sauce. Add the Pecorino or Parmesan cheese directly to the bare pasta. Toss the pasta with the sauce to coat, thinning if needed with the pasta water to ensure it clings to the pasta. Serve drizzled with more olive oil and sprinkled with more parmesan cheese and basil if desired.

Nutrition

Nutrition

per serving
Calories
632
Amount/Serving % Daily Value
Carbs
65 grams
Protein
30 grams
Fat
28 grams
Saturated Fat
10 grams
Trans Fat
1 grams
Cholesterol
65 milligrams
Sodium
1294 milligrams
Fiber
4 grams
Sugar
6 grams
Unsaturated Fat
15 grams
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6 comments

  • Author's avatar image
    Tristazōllio - Sep 11
    ★★★★★
    ★★★★★

    Very similar to my Sicilian nonna’s bolognese recipe – authentic Italian deliciousness!!
    Note: prep time might take a little longer than 2 mins. Took me 10-15 mins, until I was familiar with the recipe. Ciao!

  • Author's avatar image
    Lee - Sep 13

    Made this last night: SO GOOD! And so easy to make! Thank you!

  • Author's avatar image
    Lucy Dasfaias - Jul 19

    Looks delicious! Can I first sauté the ground beef and then drain Or is this important in the process of this recipe not to drain ?

  • Author's avatar image
    Eddy Torres - Jun 09
    ★★★★★
    ★★★★★

    Having yellow rice with pigeon peas tonight. Positive this will be delicious and bomb good!

  • Author's avatar image
    Raye-Ann deRegnier - Jun 09
    ★★★★★
    ★★★★★

    This was so good! I used ground chicken and unfortunately forgot to buy an onion so I had to chop up some old green onions. I also forgot to buy the basil so I added a tsp of Calabrian chili paste. The sauce was so delicious, it was better than Rao's, and didn't take long to make. A very forgiving recipe too as it didn't suffer at all from these substitutions.

  • Author's avatar image
    Sharon Rackham - Jun 09
    ★★★★★
    ★★★★★

    SO EASY AND ABSOLUTELY DIVINE. VERY FAST YET TASTES LIKE IT COOKED THE OLD FASHIONED WAY! BRAVA GIADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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