Making homemade bolognese sauce is easier than you'd think! This healthy bolognese is a tasty, delicious dish that you can make from scratch in only 25 minutes.
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If you like tasty pasta dishes, I think you'll also love healthy spaghetti sauce, minced beef pasta bake or garlic basil pasta.
Ingredients
To make the best healthy bolognese sauce, you will need lean ground beef, garlic, onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms, canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce (UK: passata), basil, salt and pepper.
You can omit or replace the vegetables with other veggies that you like, however I highly suggest trying this combination as it tastes great!
Instructions
Finely dice the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms. Grate the garlic, or chop it very finely.
Heat up some olive oil in a large pot on medium heat, and add the vegetables. Sautee for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
Then, add the ground beef, and sautee until the meat has browned. Add the remaining ingredients, give it a stir, then cover the pot with a lid and leave the sauce to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Serve the bolognese warm over pasta, or check out more serving suggestions below.
Top tips
Here are all my best tips to succeed with your bolognese:
- Leaving the dish to simmer for a while makes all the difference. This is key to making a great bolognese, as it helps the flavors really develop.
- If you're not a fan of vegetables, you can either leave them out, or chop them so finely that you can't taste them. You can also cook them separately first, and puree them with a blender!
Serving suggestions
Although bolognese is most commonly enjoyed with spaghetti or other types of pasta, you can also serve it with or in a variety of other dishes. Here are some great sides to make it a full meal:
Pasta bake: Use the sauce to make a pasta bake, casserole or other baked pasta dish.
With grains: Serve the bolognese with rice, quinoa or other grains as an alternative to pasta. You can use cauliflower rice for a low carb option.
In sandwiches: I actually love to use bolognese to make a sloppy joe type sandwich. Add warm bolognese as a filling, optionally topped with cheese or ketchup.
With toppings: You can add some parmesan, fresh basil leaves, pine nuts or fresh chili on top of your bolognese when serving it.
Variations
You can make so many different variations of this dish, which is a great way to simply use whatever ingredients you have available. Try any of these ways to change it up:
- Replace the ground beef with ground chicken, turkey or a vegetarian option like Quorn for a leaner alternative.
- Try adding additional vegetables such as zucchini, spinach or peppers.
- Feel free to add any fresh herbs too - these can give the sauce a lovely fresh flavor, and is a great way to use up leftover herbs.
- Make spicy bolognese by adding diced chili!
Leftovers
Leftover bolognese stores really well. This is actually one of my favorite dishes to make in a big batch, for this exact reason. If you double or triple the recipe, you can store it in portion sizes for quick and convenient future meals!
Refrigerated: You can store the pasta sauce in a refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat it in a microwave or in a pot on the stove top, and serve it hot.
Frozen: You can also freeze bolognese for up to 12 months. I like to freeze it down in portion sizes for easy dinners. Thaw the frozen sauce in a refrigerator overnight, then reheat and serve.
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely! You can make your bolognese healthy by using lean beef and vegetables. You can also serve bolognese with zucchini noodles, wholewheat pasta or protein rich chickpea pasta.
You can always add herbs, seasoning and vegetables to make bolognese taste better.
Recipe
Healthy Bolognese
Ingredients
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms. Grate the garlic, or chop it very finely.
- Heat up some olive oil in a large pot on medium heat, and add the vegetables. Sautee for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Then, add the ground beef, and sautee until the meat has browned. Add the remaining ingredients, give it a stir, then cover the pot with a lid and leave the sauce to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve the bolognese warm over pasta, or check out more serving suggestions below.
Notes
- Leaving the dish to simmer for a while makes all the difference. This is key to making a great bolognese, as it helps the flavors really develop.
- If you’re not a fan of vegetables, you can either leave them out, or chop them so finely that you can’t taste them. You can also cook them separately first, and puree them with a blender!
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