Beef Ragu (2024)

My Beef Ragu recipe cooks for hours until the beef is incredibly tender and flavorful. Serve it with pappardelle pasta for a hearty and impressive dinner! Recipe includes a how-to video!

Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

This cozy and satisfying beef ragu recipe is inspired by my late Italian great-grandmother’s family-famous fettuccine. While I should preface this recipe with the fact that this is not her recipe (sadly, I don’t have it), she did teach me what good Italian food should taste like, and this is most definitely it.

My version is rich, thick, hearty, and warm-you-straight-down-to-your-toes satisfying. It is *perfect* cold weather comfort food, and takes only 30 minutes to prep before going in the oven. You’ll love how tender the meat gets after cooking for hours, (much like with my beef stew).

If you’re intimidated about cooking a roast–don’t be. We’ll be breaking it down into smaller pieces and searing on the stove for just a few minutes before the oven does the rest. This is a mostly hands-off recipe, and great for preparing in advance! I highly recommend serving with some garlic knots or breadsticks for the full stick-to-your-ribs experience.

One note before we begin: Do not use a non-enameled cast iron pot! The iron will react with the tomato sauce and will make the final dish taste distinctly metallic after cooking all that time. I’ve learned this the hard way 🙁

What You Need

This beef ragu is a flavor explosion of carefully-selected ingredients, including:

• Beef. Chuck roast is the best choice here. It shreds nicely and becomes super tender and flavorful after cooking for a few hours.
• Veggies. We use a mirepoix; carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and tomatoes. We’ll also throw in some herbs including bay leaves and thyme.
• Red wine vinegar. It’s Imperative (Yes, capital “I” — it’s very important!) that you cook down the red wine vinegar as indicated, otherwise your beef ragu will have a vinegary taste. When cooked properly, it improves the tenderness of the beef and makes the sauce rich and flavorful. Cook it until you can no longer smell the acidity when you waft the steam from the pot towards you. When in doubt, always opt to cook for more time rather than less.
• Pasta. I like to use thick pappardelle or tagliatelle noodles or even fettuccine. Broad noodles are best for this type of sauce.

SAM’S TIP: If you don’t want to use vinegar, a dry red wine (like merlot) could be used instead. You can increase this to ½ cup, but still reduce it on the stovetop as indicated.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Beef Ragu

1. Sear the meat – Season your beef with salt and pepper, then sear it over medium high heat until browned on all sides. Remove the beef to a plate.
2. Cook the veggies – Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter. Once melted, toss in the carrots, celery, and onion and cook until softened.
3. Create a flavorful base – Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then stir in the tomato paste.
4. Deglaze the pan – Add the red wine vinegar, scraping the pan as you do to incorporate any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cook until the vinegar is 50% reduced and no longer has a pungent odor.

5. Add the remaining ingredients – Stir in the beef broth, tomatoes, water, and crushed red pepper. Once simmering, add the beef and herbs.
6. Cover and cook – Cover the pot with a lid and cook at 350F for 3 hours.
7. Test for doneness – Once the beef is tender, remove it to a plate.
8. Create the sauce – Mash the vegetables in the pot until smooth.

9. Shred the meat – Shred the beef, then return it to the pot. Taste test for seasoning.
10. Enjoy! Toss with cooked pasta and top with grated parmesan, or serve as desired.

SAM’S TIP: If you plan to serve your beef ragu with noodles, save some of the pasta water! It helps the sauce cling beautifully to the noodles. If you’re tossing everything together, I also recommend just starting with ¾ lb of noodles (as the noodles absorb a lot of the sauce) and only add more if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Looking for more comfort food? Try my baked ziti or stuffed shells!

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together!I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe andvideobelow! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me onInstagram, and you can also find me onYouTubeandFacebook

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