Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
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Flavorful Italian comfort food that only takes 15 minutes to prep? Count me in! This popular Slow Cooker Beef Ragu recipe is easy to make and so scrumptious! Toss everything in a Crock Pot, then let it do the work for you. Serve the ragu over creamy cheesy polenta or pappardelle pasta for a delicious dinner!
This Beef Ragu recipe has been pinned over 44,000 times and was featured at #3 on Huffington Post’s list of “The Best Recipes That Came From Food Bloggers in 2014“. Needless to say, it’s popular for a reason!
“This is a fantastic recipe – it has SUCH great flavor for such few ingredients!”
-Kari
This recipe has been a hit since it first appeared on the blog in 2014. While the original recipe remains the same, I’ve updated this post to include answers to frequently asked questions, new serving options, and easy additions that can be made to the recipe.
With a quick prep time, simple instructions, and delicious flavor, you simply can’t go wrong with this classic recipe! If you’re in a hurry, you can also try my Instant Pot Beef Ragu, same tender beef goodness, made in just one hour.
Instructions
- Add sliced onion, minced garlic cloves and fresh chopped rosemary to the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Heat a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on the stove over high heat.
- Season a beef chuck roast with salt and black pepper. Once the skillet is hot, add the seasoned roast and sear for 2-3 minutes per side, then transfer it to a slow cooker.
- In a medium bowl, stir beef broth, red wine and tomato paste together. Pour the mixture over the beef in the slow cooker. Add diced tomatoes to the Crock Pot.
- Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or on low for 10-12 hours.
- After the cooking time is complete, use two forks or meat claws to shred the beef apart in the slow cooker.
- Serve the beef ragu on top of creamy cheesy polenta or tossed with pappardelle pasta.
- If serving with pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, until al dente. Drain and toss with the ragù immediately. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Optional additions and substitutions
- To sneak in some extra veggies, add diced carrots and celery at the same time as the onion. This combination of vegetables is known as soffritto in Italian. I recommend adding 1/2 cup of each vegetable to the ragu.
- To spice up the ragu, add 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes with the salt and pepper.
- To add more flavor, rub 2 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning on the beef chuck roast with the salt and pepper.
- The fresh rosemary in this recipe can be substituted with fresh thyme sprigs.
- When it comes to red wine, I recommend using cabernet sauvignon, chianti, pinot noir, or syrah in this recipe. If you don’t want to use wine, you can omit it or replce it with white grape juice.
- You can substitute a tri tip, bottom round roast, or brisket, in for the beef chuck roast.
How to serve it
- Over Creamy Cheesy Polenta – my favorite way to serve the dish!
- With pasta – preferably pappardelle or another wide, flat pasta noodle, like fettuccine.
- In lasagna – seriously, the best lasagna you’ll ever make in your life is with this beef ragu as the sauce!
- Over raviolis – to keep things simple, pick up a container of pre-made fresh cheese raviolis in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. They cook up in 2-3 minutes and pair perfectly with the beef ragu sauce, cooked down to a slightly thicker consistency.
- Over spaghetti squash – for a low carb option, serve the ragu over roasted spaghetti squash.
What to serve with it
After deciding how to serve the ragu, it’s time to decide what to serve on the side. I usually keep it simple with a salad and bread (to soak up any extra ragu sauce left behind!).
An easy caesar salad and warm baguette are perfect, but if you want to step it up a notch, here are a few of my favorite salad and bread side dishes to serve with beef ragu.
More Italian sauces to try
And don’t miss these other popular recipes for Italian pasta sauces!
Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
Video
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups beef broth
- ¼ cup red wine
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, or 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
For serving (optional)
- 12 ounces pappardelle pasta
- 6 cups creamy cheesy polenta, click link for recipe
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Add the onion, garlic, and rosemary to the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Heat a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on the stove over high heat.
- Season the beef on all sides with the salt and pepper. Once the skillet is hot, add the seasoned beef and sear for 2-3 minutes per side, then transfer it to a slow cooker.
- In a medium bowl, combine the beef broth, red wine and tomato paste. Pour the mixture over the beef. Add the can of diced tomatoes to the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or on low for 10-12 hours.
- After the cooking time, use two forks or meat claws to shred the beef in the slow cooker.
- Optional: serve the beef on top of creamy polenta or toss it with cooked pasta. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Nutritional Information: The nutrition information provided does not include the serving options.
- Gluten Free Option: This recipe is gluten free when served over polenta or with gluten free pasta. Always make sure the beef broth used is gluten free.
- Pressure Cooker Option: Click here for an Instant Pot version of this recipe.
- Thickening the sauce: to thicken the sauce, transfer it from the slow cooker to a large pot on the stove over medium high heat. Allow it to reduce and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Wine Substitute: omitting the wine in this recipe is totally fine. You can also substitute white grape juice in it’s place.
- Storage: leftovers of this ragu will stay good in the refrigerator for 5-7 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, I recommend placing the ragu back in the fridge overnight.
- Reheating: place the ragu in a dutch oven on the stove, covered, set to low for one hour. You can also reheat the ragu in a slow cooker set to low for 1-2 hours.
- Cuts of beef: Instead of a chuck roast, a bottom round roast, tri tip or brisket can be used in it’s place.
Nutrition Facts
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165 Comments on “Slow Cooker Beef Ragu”
Delicious!
I like to leave the lid off for the last hour and then you don’t get the watery sauce left at the bottom.
Hey there –
I’m so excited to try this recipe out tomorrow! Question – what type of red wine do you recommend?
Hi Jessica, I used a cabernet, enjoy!! 🙂
We made this today. So delicious and so easy. It tastes like something much more complicated went on in the kitchen than two sleepy people opening cans and chopping an onion on Sunday morning.
Definitely going into the rotation!
PS: We found an appropriate-sized chuck roast in the freezer after all, because our freezer’s magic like that, but next time I may try the brisket.
Made this yesterday. IT WAS AWESOME! I will admit that I added a healthy pinch of sugar & one grated carrot. Served it over Creamy Mascarpone Polenta. Like the one you mentioned in the post. Just spooned some up for my son’s lunch – I had to lick the spoon, of course – OMG! so good the next day! Thank you so much for this.
Yay Lianna! So glad you loved it!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Do you think a brisket would work? I have one just the right size in the freezer and this sounds SOOOO good!
Hi Teresa, yes, I think a brisket would be great for this!
Hi again! If you need to substitute for the red wine…that is the acid part of the recipe, to balance the sweet and fat of the other ingredients. You could add 2 TBSP of Balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice, or the acid of your choice. I go with the Balsamic, as I always have that, and do not have the wine so often, or I might not want to open a bottle just to use a 1/4 cup for a recipe 🙂
I buy the small 6 pack bottles of red wine for cooking and just keep them in my pantry….I think there is about 1 cup in each bottle and its saves from having to waste a whole bottle of wine. You can get these in red or white.
Hi! You say that you have a vintage slow cooker. The newer ones cook a lot hotter than the older [I WISH I had a “vintage” slow cooker !!] I wanted to suggest that for those of us with newer crock, you may want to start it on high, and after 2 hours turn it down to low. Or cook on low for the whole time. Thank You for a great recipe, and THANK YOU for being so specific about the age of the crockpot, that will make all the difference in my getting the same yummy result as you did 🙂
Hi Gail! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. That’s great information to pass along!
6-8 hours on high seems kind of long. Is that correct? I’d have expected it to be 6-8 hours on low. Has everyone been cooking on high?
That’s how long it took in my crock pot. Gail mentioned above that some of the newer slow cookers cook a lot faster than older ones such as what I used. I would say to start it on high and check in after 4 hours or cook it on low. Hope this helps!
Yes! Absolutely delicious! The condo smelled amazing and I bet the neighbors were jealous. This shot up to the best things ever made in my crockpot. Going to try the leftovers tonight with the polenta suggestion! CIAO!
So great to hear Jed!! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Enjoy the leftovers!!
Can you substitute a top sirloin for the chuck? Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Annie! Generally a top sirloin is going to be best cooked with a dry, quick method, where as the chuck steak is perfect for wet, slow cooking. You could give it a try but I can’t necessarily guarantee you’ll get the same result. Hope this helps!
Hi. I made this yesterday in my vintage (1978) slow cooker. It is an excellent recipe – about as easy as it gets. I finished seasoning it with some black pepper and a few shots of balsamic vinegar. I’m so glad that I came across your recipe.
Yay Brian! I love it! Thanks so much for sharing! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Could you make this in a dutch oven, instead of a crockpot? I do not have a slow cooker
Hey Lindsey! I just made this recipe in my dutch oven today- cook for 1.5 hours at 325 F in the oven. I used a little extra liquid in case of evaporation. The meat wasn’t quite as tender as I was hoping for (alas I don’t think it will be unless it was cooked in a slow cooker) but it wasn’t hard to shred into the sauce either!
Hi! this looks amazing but can we something to substitute for the red wine?
Making this for dinner tonight… Let’s see how this goes!
My family don’t like onions or onion flavor at all. will this work without the bed of onions at the bottom of the pot? Or do you have an alternate suggestion? Thanks!
Hi Cassandra, you can simply omit the onions from the recipe. Enjoy!
Cassandra, you might want to try substituting leeks for the onions. Not as strong, but still has a savory flavor that should work great.
This looks amazing and i definitely plan to make it. I just wanted to check that the sauce will freeze and then reheat well in the future?
Thanks Heidi! I haven’t tried freezing the sauce, but I did refrigerate it and eat it for several meals that week, and it re-heated beautifully! I would imagine the same would work for freezing the sauce!
Hi! This looks amazing, Whitney! I’m planning to make this tomorrow and am wondering if you could tell me how big your slow cooker is? I have a very small one so I sometimes have to adapt the recipe first to cut it in 1/2 or a 1/3 before I put everything in just to realize it’s too full 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Molly, I’m sorry I just saw this comment! I did see on Instagram that you were able to make it though, so yay! It’s a 5 quart crock pot, by the way. Glad it worked out 🙂
That looks awesome! Do you need to reduce it after it’s done cooking in the crock pot?
Hi Adam, thanks! You could reduce the sauce if you wanted to, but I didn’t, totally your call, both ways, delicious 🙂
I have just finished adding these ingredients to my shopping list. This is happening in my kitchen tomorrow. And I can’t freakin’ wait!
Yes, yes yes! I can’t wait for you to enjoy this amazingness in your kitchen! I’m seriously obsessed 😉
No kidding, this recipe is the bomb! So yummy!
Thanks PKizzle, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
WOW! That doesn’t even justify how delicious it is/was. I had to use sage because I didn’t have Rosemary. I doubled it because we love leftovers. Cooking time is longer; I started the 8 hours low, 2 hours high and then an hour on low. TENDER!