What I have found over the years of making this sauce is browning the meat first before adding it into the slow cooker tastes incredible. I used to throw it all in the slow cooker without browning the meat first, but we had an aversion to the 'stewed meat' flavour. This Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese will make Italian Mamas proud.

Ingredients of Slow cooker bolognaise

  1. Prepare 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
  2. Prepare 2 of brown onions, finely chopped.
  3. You need 4 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic).
  4. You need 1 kg of lean ground beef.
  5. Prepare 1/2 cup (125 ml) of red wine (optional -- can be replaced with beef broth).
  6. It's 2 of x cans of crushed tomatoes.
  7. Prepare 1 cup (250 ml) of beef stock.
  8. You need 6 tablespoons of tomato paste.
  9. You need 1 of large carrot, chopped.
  10. It's 1 tablespoon of vegetable stock powder (or 2 beef bouillon cubes, crushed).
  11. You need 2-3 teaspoons of salt, adjust to your tastes.
  12. Prepare 2 teaspoons of dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped).
  13. It's 2 teaspoons of dried basil (or 2 teaspoons fresh basil, finely chopped.
  14. Prepare 1-2 teaspoons of sugar (or a natural granulated sweetener that measures equally to sugar).
  15. Prepare to taste of Cracked pepper,.
  16. You need 1/4 cup of fresh, chopped parsley.

Slow cooker bolognaise instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic; cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Fry until just beginning to brown (about 2-3 minutes); transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker bowl..
  2. Return the skillet to the stove; pour in the wine while scraping any bits of the fried meat from the pan. Bring to a gentle simmer and transfer to the slow cooker bowl..
  3. To the slow cooker bowl: add in the crushed tomatoes, beef stock, tomato paste, carrot, stock powder (or crushed bouillon cubes), salt, oregano, basil, sugar and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. Add in the chopped parsley before serving..
  4. In the last 15 minutes of cooking time, boil pasta in salted water following packet instructions. Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta water. Pour the reserved water back into the pasta along with 2 cups cooked bolognese sauce. Stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the pasta. Serve with parmesan cheese and (extra) chopped parsley, if desired..
  5. To freeze: cool completely before transferring any remaining sauce into air tight containers. I use disposable containers since the sauce tends to stain. Nutrition information is based on per serve out of 9 serves. The recipe states serves 8, but you will have about 2 serves of left overs!.

Check it every hour for doneness and add more of the reserved tomato juices as needed if the bottom of the pot becomes dry. All you have to do is cook some pasta and grate a little Parmesan cheese and you have a feast. Two meals sorted in one go! This double recipe serves eight or you can save half to use in lasagne, moussaka or tacos later in the week. This slow cooker bolognese sauce is the perfect homemade sauce for pasta!

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