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This classic Beef Ragu recipe has got to be on your menu if you want to take your bolognese sauce up a notch. Cooked low and slow, this rich, comforting and deeply flavoured dish is perfect for a special meal, but is also really easy to do!
This Beef Ragu recipe is one of my all-time favourites for when I’ve got people round for dinner and want to serve something cosy, comforting and full of flavour.
This classic Italian-style dish is crowd-pleasing and impressive, but doesn’t take too much time to prep.
It’s still essentially a one pan recipe with simple ingredients but cooking it low and slow makes a real difference to the flavour.
After a few hours in the oven the beef falls apart deliciously. You need to leave time for it to cook, but it’s so worth it!
Why is this the best Beef Ragu recipe?
⭐️ Simple ingredients but an impressive and delicious dish
⭐️ Slow cooking makes beef tender and so flavourful
⭐️ Perfect make-ahead comforting meal
What is Beef Ragù?
The best way to describe Beef Ragu (in our very anglicised version, at least) is a bit of an elevated version of a classic Spaghetti Bolognese.
Spag bol is good for us as a family on a weeknight, but if I want to make something a bit more special, it’s Beef Ragu instead!
It’s basically the same dish with a similar amount of prep, but the cooking time is longer for Ragu which results in even more flavour.
To get technical (and accurate) Ragù, in Italian, is a meat-based sauce, whereas bolognese is a specific dish. In the UK we tend to call Spaghetti Bolognese the one we make with mince, whereas Ragu uses larger cuts of beef.
Beef Ragu Ingredients
- Oil – Go for olive oil for the best flavour.
- Beef – This dish is ideal with beef shin, cut up into chunks. See the notes below for an alternative option.
- Vegetables – Onions, carrots and celery.
- Garlic – You’ll need 4 cloves for this recipe. It’s fine to use frozen or jarred as well as fresh if you like.
- Herbs – Fresh rosemary and a bay leaf.
- Tomato base – Tinned chopped tomatoes and tomato puree, the best quality you can.
- Red wine – About 250ml of anything you have makes all the difference to the resulting flavour.
- Hot beef stock – Use your own freshly homemade or a cube is also fine.
Substitutions
- Beef – Shin is the best cut of beef for ragu. It’s absolutely delicious and falls apart beautifully when cooked low and slow, but it can be a little tricky to find in the supermarket. Your local butcher will likely always have some, but if you’d like to switch it for something a little easier to get hold of, you can use diced braising steak and it will still be delicious!
- Vegetable mix – If you want to skip a little of the prep, use a frozen soffritto mix to replace the onions, carrots and celery. You will need about 500g of the mix (sometimes this is called ‘vegetable base mix’ or something similar in some supermarkets.)
- Beef Ragu without red wine – If you’d rather not use wine, you can replace it with 250g beef stock and add 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to add a little depth of flavour.
How to make Beef Ragu
1. Brown the beef in hot oil in batches. When brown, take it out of the pan at pop on a plate (as per the full recipe below).
2. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the onions, carrots and celery, then add the garlic and rosemary, followed by the tomato puree.
3. Pour in the wine. Add the bay leaf, tins of tomatoes and stock, along with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Add the browned beef back in.
4. Bring to the boil, then place in the oven and cook as per the recipe below. Use a spoon and a fork to break the meat up then stir it back through. Check the seasoning then serve.
Storing
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully in the microwave or on the hob before serving. Add a splash of water if it needs it.
In the freezer This is a fantastic make-ahead freezer recipe! Making a few batches at once is always a good idea if you have space.
Just wait until it’s totally cold and then portion into freezer-proof containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Serving suggestion
I always love Beef Ragu with pappardelle, as the big flat pieces of pasta help hold more sauce, but you can serve it with any pasta if you like.
This would also be delicious with potatoes or with rice, if you want to mix things up a bit.
More delicious slow cooked beef recipes…
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Beef Ragu
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) Beef shin, Cut into 5cm chunks
- 2 Onions, Finely diced
- 3 Carrots, Peeled and finely diced
- 4 Garlic cloves, Peeled and crushed
- 2 Rosemary sprigs, Leaves removed and chopped
- 4 tbsp Tomato puree
- 250 ml (1 cups) Red wine
- 1 Bay leaf
- 800 g (28 oz) Chopped tomatoes
- 500 ml (2 cups) Hot beef stock
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160℃/320F.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large casserole dish over a medium high heat and brown the beef for 4-5 minutes on each side. (Don’t be afraid to get some really good colour on it. You may need to do this in batches.) When brown take it out of the pan at pop it on a plate.
- Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the onions, carrots and celery, with a pinch of salt, for 10 minutes then add the garlic and rosemary. Cook for 5 minutes more, until the veg has softened.
- Add in the tomato puree and stir through for a few minutes.
- Pour in the wine and leave to bubble for a few minutes.
- Add the bay leaf, tins of tomatoes and stock, along with a good pinch of salt and pepper, and add the browned beef back in.
- Bring everything to a boil then pop the lid on and place in the oven for 3 ½ hours, taking the lid off for the last half an hour until the sauce is rich and the meat is falling apart
- Use a spoon and a fork to break the meat up then stir it back through, check the seasoning, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
Can you do this in the slow cooker?