Pappardelle with Beef & Mushroom Bolognese
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This Pappardelle with Beef & Mushroom Bolognese pairs wide ribbons of pasta with a rich, slow-simmered sauce for a comforting dinner that’s made for cooler evenings.
Adding mushrooms to a traditional-style Bolognese brings extra depth to the sauce and works beautifully alongside the ground beef. Spoon it generously over pappardelle, finish with plenty of cheese, and you’ve got the kind of pasta dinner that deserves a place in your fall and winter rotation.
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Why You’ll Love This Beef & Mushroom Bolognese Recipe
- Made for pappardelle: Those broad pasta ribbons are particularly good at carrying a hearty, chunky sauce.
- Mushrooms stretch the beef further: They’re an easy way to add more substance to the Bolognese without simply adding more meat.
- Worth letting it simmer: Giving the sauce time on the stove allows all those savory flavors to come together.
- Great for a relaxed weekend dinner: Put the sauce on to simmer, pour yourself a glass of wine, and let the stove do its thing!
- The sauce is the versatile part: Don’t have pappardelle? Serve your Bolognese with another pasta shape you already have in the pantry.
Looking for another bowl of pasta? Browse our Pasta Recipes for more dinner inspiration.
Pair Pappardelle Bolognese With…
Bolognese is substantial enough to be the main event, so I’d keep anything alongside it fairly simple.
How Do I Make Beef & Mushroom Bolognese?
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Pappardelle with Beef & Mushroom Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 8-10 ounces mushrooms chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef beef mince
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste tomato purée
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup red wine
- 14 ounces crushed tomatoes (1 x 14-ounce can)
- Fresh parsley chopped
For Serving
- 1 package pappardelle
- Melted butter to taste
- ½ cup Gruyère cheese shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and black pepper, and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the mushrooms and ground beef. Cook for 5-6 minutes, breaking up the beef as it cooks, until browned and the mushrooms have released their liquid.
- Stir in the tomato paste, then add the bay leaf, oregano, and thyme. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste.
- Pour in the red wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until most of the wine has evaporated.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Simmer gently for 25-30 minutes, until the Bolognese has thickened.
- If serving with pappardelle, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain well.
- Toss the hot pappardelle with melted butter to taste. Add the Gruyère, Parmesan, and chopped parsley and toss to combine.
- Remove the bay leaf. Spoon the Beef and Mushroom Bolognese over the buttered pappardelle and garnish with additional cheese and fresh parsley. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Tips
- Chop the mushrooms fairly finely so they blend into the ground beef and create a rich, hearty Bolognese.
- Let the beef brown and the liquid released by the mushrooms cook off before adding the tomato paste and herbs.
- Let most of the red wine evaporate before adding the tomatoes to concentrate the sauce’s flavor.
- Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Substitutions
- UK readers: Ground beef is beef mince, tomato paste is tomato purée, and you can replace crushed tomatoes with finely chopped canned tomatoes.
- You can serve the Bolognese with another pasta shape if pappardelle isn’t available.
- The buttered pappardelle, Gruyère, and Parmesan are optional, so the Bolognese can also be paired with your preferred pasta and toppings.
Leftovers
- Allow the leftover Bolognese to cool before transferring it to an airtight container and refrigerating it.
- If possible, store the Bolognese separately from the cooked pasta for the best texture when reheating.
- Reheat thoroughly until piping hot throughout before serving.
Freezing
- Freeze the Beef and Mushroom Bolognese sauce separately from the pasta in a freezer-safe, airtight container.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat thoroughly until piping hot throughout before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Save the Sauce for Another Day
If you’re already spending the time making a slowly simmered Bolognese, consider making extra sauce for another meal. Portion it up once cooled and you’ve got a head start on a future pasta night—just cook fresh pasta while the sauce reheats.
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