Pappardelle Bolognese

My Pappardelle Bolognese is the date night meal you are looking for because it is the perfect match! The large, bouncy, pappardelle pasta pairs exquisitely with the rich and meaty bolognese sauce.

The sauce has a hearty combination of ground beef, ground pork and pancetta which all come together to create a flavorful, classic sauce. 

The bolognese is totally worth the time you put into preparing it, and because this sauce is so bold in flavor, you will feel that it is celebrating your evening right along with you.

Other date night pasta recipes you will love are: shrimp scampi Alfredo, baked pasta and meatballs, and this chicken baked ziti.

The base of the sauce has onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms which add earthy flavors to the sauce. The bolognese really gets bulked up with the meat added in which takes it from a meat basic sauce to a hearty triple-meat sauce. The crushed tomatoes add a lovely texture and the aroma of the perfect blend of spices will transport you to Italy. Just simmer for an hour and swirl in a touch of heavy cream at the end. The cream lends a rich body to the sauce that completes my bolognese.

As you ladle the sauce on to the the al dente pappardelle, the long pasta ribbons gently support the weight of this hearty sauce. Now your pasta is ready for a generous dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese to complete this wonderful Italian meal. 

Reasons Why You Will Love My Pappardelle Bolognese

• It’s a comforting, delicious meal and once you make it, it will be sure to become a year-round meal.
• It’s all made in the Dutch oven so there is minimal clean up!
• It’s versatile. Use different ground meats like veal, lamb or ground turkey, bulk it up with more veggies, or serve over a different noodle shape.
• It’s super comforting, cozy and an ideal date night dinner with a glass of red wine.
• It’s protein packed and full of big, rich flavors.
• Pasta and meat sauce…who wouldn’t love it?!

Ingredient Notes

• Yellow onion: The strong flavor of yellow onions mellow out during cooking.  Be sure to finely chop the onion so your sauce isn’t too chunky.
• Carrots: Carrots add natural sweetness to the sauce. Finely dice them or use a box grater to grate them into small shreds.
• Mushrooms: I like using white mushrooms. Use a box grater to get them into a fine, chopped texture.
• Kosher salt: the wider salt grain helps salt food in a more gentle way than table salt.
• Chili flakes: I like adding in chili flakes just to give your sauce that extra kick. Leave out if sensitive to spice.
• Freshly grated nutmeg: This adds to the lovely authentic flavor of your bolognese. You can find whole nutmeg in the spice section of most grocery stores and I use a microplane to grate it into the sauce.
• Tomato paste: Adding tomato paste helps hold the flavors together in your bolognese sauce.

• Ground beef & ground pork: I like using a blend of both beef and pork for a great combination of flavor and fat.
• Pancetta: I love the depth of texture and flavors that pancetta adds to the bolognese sauce. It’s more of an authentic bolognese ingredient, feel free to leave out if you’d prefer.
• White wine: White wine adds a subtle flavor to the sauce. You could also use red wine if preferred.
• Crushed tomatoes: I love the texture of crushed tomatoes or passata. If you only have whole tomatoes on hand, try breaking them up prior to adding into sauce or even blitzing in a blender first, then adding them in.
• Beef broth: Adds more depth of flavor and a silkiness to this yummy sauce.
• Heavy cream: This is optional but I really like adding in the cream for a thicker, richer sauce with a slight pink color. You can also use whole milk.

More Date Night Recipes

Looking for more ideas of what to make for date night? Make sure to check out my Date Night Series for some of my top picks!

Date Night Series

Step by Step Directions

For the full instructions, scroll to the recipe card down below.

1. Chop and prep all of the veggies and seasonings you need.
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven and saute the veggies for 6-7 minutes.
3. Add in the meats and cook until no longer pink.
4. Drain any excess grease.
5. Add in the seasonings, then the tomato paste & wine.
6. Add tomatoes, beef broth and bay leaves.
7. Simmer 1 hour.
8. Add heavy cream and parsley.
9. Simmer at least 30 minutes.
10. Serve over pappardelle and garnish.

Tips and Variations

• Great make ahead meal! If you are making this for a weeknight meal, you can always prepare the bolognese the day before to get extra simmer time. It is the ideal make ahead or meal prep meal, as the layers of flavors continue to deepen over time.
• What to serve it with: Pappardelle Bolognese pairs well with so many options: caprese salad, roasted broccoli, garlic bread, a simple green salad, roasted asparagus, etc.
• Use red or white wine: I used white wine in this recipe for a more subtle flavor, but if you want a more bold flavor added to the hearty bolognese then pick your favorite red.  One rule of thumb that I like to follow is always use a wine that you like to drink as well!
• For even more depth of flavor, add in sun dried tomatoes and let them simmer along with the crushed tomatoes. 
• Stir often while simmering the sauce to keep it from sticking.
• Taste and adjust seasonings as the sauce cooks: The key to the best bolognese sauce is to build upon layers and layers of flavors.

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