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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This recipe is baking in my oven right now. The whole house smells heavenly, and I can hardly wait until I can dig in!
Hooray let me know how it turns out!
Mmm! Nothing like a rich, hearty, meaty pasta dish to make a girl happy! This looks amazing! I want this soon!
This is a super great recipe. I used short ribs in place of the pot roast and then added Italian sausage followed the recipe to a T and it was wonderful. Will be making again and again and again. Only thing I will do next time is cut back on the 2T of sugar, maybe just one.
Hooray I am sooo glad you enjoyed it Lisa!!! That Italian sausage addition sounds fantastic!
Hi, how many pounds of short ribs did you use, & how much sausage. Was sausage bulk or links. This sounds yummy I can’t wait to try it along with fresh made pasta
I used 2 pounds of beef shanks so you can use roughly the same amount.
I tried this recipe over the weekend, Jocelyn, and it was fantastic!
Hooray that is fantastic! I am so glad you enjoyed it.
THIS WAS AMAZING! I’m eating leftovers as we speak! I used short ribs and a mondavi pinot noir and WOW!! My husband said “This is high end restaurant quality”. I can’t even begin to describe the depth of flavor and it’s PERFECT over the rigatoni with some grated Romano cheese. Great way to end my no-carb month! Will definitely make this again for our friends!
Hooray I am so glad you enjoyed it Amy! It is my husband’s absolute favorite!!
*faint*
I JUST WANT ALL OF THIS. I WANT TO EAT 10 BOWLS WORTH!
Yep 10 bowls sounds good to me girl!
Man, this looks soooo good, especially with all this cold weather that’s rolling into town. This will warm me right up!
I need as much warming up as possible. Its 0 degrees outside!
This looks like the best way imaginable to serve pot roast! Wish I had a big bowl of it for dinner tonight!
I know that’s right girl!
What a great gravy! And I totally agree with the wonderful Ina Garten, only cook with wine you would actually drink. Makes a big difference. Happy New Year!
Gosh it makes such a huge difference! Thank you so much Suzy!!! Happy New Year to you a well!!
This looks tasty, my family would love it! Thanks, pinned!
Hooray thank you so much Paula!!