Easy Bolognese Meat Sauce
An incredibly flavorful bolognese sauce, made in under an hour? Yes, it's totally possible with this easy Italian meat sauce recipe! My go-to weeknight sauce is made with roasted cherry tomatoes, garlic, ground meat and Italian herbs.
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Ingredients
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 1 pound ground beef
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place the tomatoes and garlic on a baking sheet covered with foil.
- Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then top with ¼ tsp black pepper and fresh basil.
- Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
- Remove the roasted tomatoes from the oven.
- Grab the corners of the foil and transfer all of the ingredients from the baking sheet into a blender or food processor.
- Add the tomato paste, dried parsley, dried oregano, remaining 1 tsp black pepper and salt to the blender.
- Blend until smooth, then set aside.
- Add the ground beef to a large pot, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium high heat.
- Cook the ground beef through, this should take 6-8 minutes.
- Drain any grease from the pot, then add the tomato puree from the blender and stir to combine.
- Cover the sauce, reduce the heat on the stove to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Add your favorite cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to combine, or serve the sauce over spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles for a gluten free, low carb meal.
- Optional: top with a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil right before serving.
Notes
- Simmer Time: the sauce will be good to go after simmering on the stove for just 15 minutes. But if you have more time, you can let the sauce simmer on low for up to 4 hours.
- Italian Seasoning: Replace the dried parsley and oregano with 1 tablespoon of my homemade Italian Seasoning mix for even more flavor!
- Ground Meat: the ground beef can be replaced with ground turkey, ground pork or Italian sausage.
- Leftovers: can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition Facts
Serving 4servingCalories 302kcal (15%)Carbohydrates 10g (3%)Protein 15g (30%)Fat 22g (34%)Saturated Fat 6g (30%)Cholesterol 53mg (18%)Sodium 480mg (20%)Potassium 716mg (20%)Fiber 2g (8%)Sugar 6g (7%)Vitamin A 965mg (19%)Vitamin C 29.6mg (36%)Calcium 40mg (4%)Iron 3.1mg (17%)
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