Y’all, my Beef Ragu recipe is slow-braised and in a rich tomato sauce that melts in your mouth. It’s got so much savory flavor making it so dang on good! Each bite has juicy beef with tomatoes, herbs and pasta! Serve up a bowl with a side of caesar salad and garlic bread, and get your whole life.
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Beef short rib ragu ingredients
- Beef: Short ribs are what I use. Swap these out with pot roast, beef shanks or even oxtails.
- Flavors: Salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.
- Aromatics: Chopped onions and minced garlic.
- Tomatoes: Crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce are both needed.
- Red Wine and Stock: You can leave the alcohol out of the ragu recipe entirely and just use more chicken stock.
- Italian Herbs & Spice: Italian seasoning, some sugar for balance, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Pasta: Pappardelle pasta’s wide, flat ribbons. Toss in some other pasta options like rigatoni, fettuccine or tagliatelle.
How to make Ragu
Get to Searing
Step 1: Liberally season both sides of beef with salt and pepper. Don’t be shy. They will need lots of flavor. Add olive oil to large pot over medium high heat on stove. Once olive oil is hot, add beef to pot.
Step 2: Deeply brown on all sides then remove from pot.
Build the Ragu Sauce
Step 3: Scrape the bottom of the pan to get the flavor back into the oil. Next add chopped onion. Sweat them for a few minutes until they soften and turn golden. Next add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Step 4: Add in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, and chicken stock. Stir in Italian seasoning, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Bring sauce to a simmer.
Cook Low and Slow
Step 5: Lastly return browned beef to pot and submerge in the sauce. Bake covered for 3 1/2- 4 1/2 hours or until beef is cooked through, tender and falling off the bone and sauce has thickened.
Step 6: Remove oil from the top then heat over medium heat to thicken the sauce.
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Step 7: Serve completed gravy by adding pasta to serving platter and mixing together with gravy to sauce the noodles then topping with meat and gravy with garnishes if you prefer.
Beef Ragu
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds short ribs beef shanks or pot roast
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes 1 can
- 15 ounces tomato sauce 1 can
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning and herbs
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta cooked
- chopped parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Liberally season both sides of beef with salt and pepper. Don’t be shy. They will need lots of flavor.
- Add olive oil to large pot over medium high heat on stove.
- Once olive oil is hot, add beef to pot and deeply brown on all sides then remove from pot.
- Scrape the bottom of the pan to get the flavor back into the oil. Next add chopped onion and sweat them for a few minutes until they start to soften and turn golden.
- Add in minced garlic and only cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, and chicken stock. Stir in Italian seasoning, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Bring sauce to a simmer.
- Lastly return browned beef to pot and submerge in the sauce.
- Bake covered for 3 1/2- 4 1/2 hours or until beef is cooked through, tender and falling off the bone and sauce has thickened. This will depend on the thickness of beef.
- Remove pot from oven and gently ladle the oil off the top of the sauce which has settled. Simmer over medium low heat to thicken sauce.
- Cook pasta according to instructions on package and drain.
- Serve completed gravy by adding pasta to serving platter and mixing together with gravy to sauce the noodles then topping with meat and gravy and garnishing with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.
Notes
How to store & reheat ragu
To store ragu, let it cool completely, then transfer it into an airtight container. When you’re ready to enjoy it again, reheat it slowly on the stove over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s warmed through. This method ensures the roast stays tender and flavorful, just like when it was first cooked!How long will beef ragu last in the fridge?
It will last for up to 3-4 days.Can I freeze ragu spaghetti sauce?
Absolutely boos. Once it’s cooled completely, add leftovers to freezer bags, sign with the date then freeze them up. You can freeze up to 3 months. When you wanna enjoy again, let the ragu thaw in the fridge overnight.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Get It Marbled: Make sure you cuts of meat are nice and marbled. That equals more flavor in the end.
- Brown It Up: Don’t skip browning the meat. That searing at the beginning starts the flavor development.
- Pick the Good Stuff: Make sure you use an incredible wine that you would actually drink. Avoid using the cooking wines you find on the shelves in the grocery store. That ain’t it boos.
- Make Sure You Deglaze: When I tell ya to scrape those bits of browned bits up from the bottom of the pan, do it. It gets all those caramelized notes in the mix.
- Low and Slow Boos: The way to let those flavors intensify is to let them cook at a low and slow pace carefully allow that beef to cook down and tenderize while enriching the sauce even more.
Recipe help
Absolutely boos. In fact, you should! It tastes even better after resting for a day in the fridge and reheating. The extra day lets those flavors mingle into something super special.
Nope boos. You can leave it out. Just replace with more stock and add a splash of balsamic or apple cider vinegar to give a little extra note of tang and essence.
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Pot roast in a red wine sauce has to be good! (I love my red wine). 🙂 What a comforting, delicious dish, Jocelyn. This I need to try! 🙂
Thanks so much Marcie!
This is the perfect dish for a glass of nice wine! This pot roast looks delicious! Definitely making it, since my husband loves pasta (he isn’t Italian either).
Gosh I think all husbands must adore Italian food.
I love Ina’s tip! Only cooking with wines that you would drink ensures great flavor. I definitely need to check out the Love Cork Screw products. This roast looks heavenly!
Hooray don’t you just love Ina?
Delicious! The meat looks so tender!
It is super tender. It literally melts!
This Italian Pot Roast looks amazing!!!! and if you think your husband is Italian because he loves Italian food that much, then Paul might be Mexican! 😛 gimme a big bowl of this now .. yummm!!! looks so good!
Yep girl, Frederick is starting to like Mexican food now so I might be moving over to that field soon ahha. Thanks boo!
YES! An Italian meal isn’t a meal without wine. And thank you for bringing up the Ina Garten quote– it’s so true! Speaking of which, though I’m not a huge Buzzfeed fan, you have to check out this page they did on her. My sister and I laughed so hard when we read it together! http://www.buzzfeed.com/samstryker/ina-garten-is-our-one-true-queen
OMG I just read it! That is so hilarious. Gosh Ina is such a class act.
I could definitely go for a big bowl of this right now. Looks so comforting. And love the name! Definitely agree…anything with the name Nana HAS to be good!
Yep agreed. Nana equals good food in my book.
I also totally agree on the wine. Ina’s weeknight bolognese is so good and the wine has a lot to do with it. Anything with “gravy” in it sounds amazing, too. This looks delish!
Hooray thanks so much Monica.
Oh you are right, a great wine makes a great Italian meal!! Love this pot roast!
Thanks so much hon!