Rich and hearty, this Bolognese Sauce recipe made in the Instant Pot brings the flavors of an all-day simmer to your table in less than half the time. Serve Bolognese over pasta, or layer with Béchamel in lasagna.
Being of half Italian heritage, I’ve been making (and eating) Bolognese sauce for as long as I can remember. Whether it’s a classic, meaty recipe, or a lighter mushroom variation, Bolognese is a stick-to-your-ribs type of sauce that warms and comforts.
To be honest, I can be picky about dishes like Bolognese, and I was skeptical about making it in the Instant Pot.
I wondered if I’d be able to come anywhere near close to the flavor (or aroma) that you get when you simmer a sauce slowly on the stove.
With a few tweaks to my family’s recipe, the sauce that emerged from the Instant Pot pleasantly surprised me. While I know that Bolognese sauce made with pressure cooking won’t always replace a slow simmer in my kitchen, the Instant Pot sauce was rich and full-flavored, and ready in a fraction of the time.
Delicious Bolognese sauce in about an hour and a half? Don’t mind if I do!
What is Bolognese Sauce?
Bolognese (or Ragu alla Bolognese) is, traditionally, a slow-cooked meat sauce. Its origins are believed to be traced to the area of Bologna, Italy in the 1700s.
I couch that statement with “believed,” because Bolognese sauce, its history, and what belongs in an “authentic” recipe are all topics that have been subject to debate and interpretation.
Interesting Read: Why You Won’t Find Spaghetti Bolognese in Italy
While individual ingredients vary across Bolognese recipes, the common thread between them is that the meat is the star of the show. Ragu Bolognese is not a thin, delicate sauce. It’s hearty, meaty, and only moderately “saucy”.
What are the Ingredients for a Bolognese Sauce?
Bolognese is most often made with minced and sautéed ground beef, pork, and pancetta (cured, unsmoked pork belly). Some recipes add veal, and less commonly, offal.
Most Bolognese recipes, including my family’s, start with a soffritto of carrots, celery, and onions (with or without garlic), cooked in olive oil.
Many go light on the tomatoes, some only calling for a bit of tomato paste added to the browned meat. We’ve always made our Bolognese sauce with our favorite San Marzano tomatoes.
A touch of dairy is added to almost all Bolognese, either by way of milk or cream. To be clear, though, this is not a creamy, dairy-heavy sauce. The splash of dairy serves to soften the acidity of the wine and tomatoes.
Adapting Our Bolognese Sauce Recipe For the Instant Pot
The most obvious difference in preparation of classic stovetop Ragu Bolognese and one made in the Instant Pot is a drastically shortened cook time.
After sautéing the soffritto and meats, classic Bolognese is simmered for 3-4 hours. Using the pressure cooker setting on the Instant Pot after the sauté, the sauce cooks for only 20 minutes on high pressure. This shortened cook time also necessitates a smaller overall quantity of liquid in the recipe.
In adapting my family’s Bolognese sauce recipe for pressure cooking, I made a few ingredient adjustments to make sure that the sauce would still have a rich flavor without a slow simmer.
White wine is most commonly used to deglaze the pan after browning the vegetables and meats. Here, I decided to go with a dry red wine to give the sauce an extra depth of flavor that pressure cooked foods can sometimes lack.
I also added a bit of tomato paste in addition to the San Marzano tomatoes. I don’t find that I need the rich flavor of tomato paste with a classic preparation, as the crushed tomatoes concentrate so beautifully on their own over 3 hours.
To make the best bolognese recipe in the Instant pot, the deep tomato flavor of the paste helped to give the sauce that all-day-cooked taste.
How to Use Bolognese Sauce
Since it’s a hearty sauce, Bolognese is best served with a pasta that can stand up to its weight. Tagliatelle (pictured) is the classic pairing, as are wide pappardelle noodles.
I’ve also served Ragu Bolognese with penne, campanelle, bucatini, and gnocchi. Very thin pastas, like angel hair, aren’t the best choice here.
Want to brush up on your pasta shapes? Check out this Pasta Shapes Dictionary from the National Pasta Association.
You can also use this sauce to make an incredible Lasagna Bolognese. Typically prepared without ricotta cheese, the dish is composed of layers of pasta, Bolognese, and creamy Béchamel. It is, hands down, my favorite type of lasagna.
Watching your carbs? This Bolognese sauce recipe is also delicious served with spaghetti squash.
Bolognese Sauce Recipe (Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-1/2 cups diced yellow onion
- ½ cup diced carrots
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 pound ground beef chuck
- ½ pound ground pork
- 4 ounces diced pancetta
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 28 ounces crushed San Marzano tomatoes , in purée
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup Italian parsley , divided
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- pinch ground nutmeg (to taste, optional)
- kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- cooked tagliatelle, pappardelle, or your favorite pasta , for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in the Instant Pot insert on the hottest sauté setting. Add onions, carrots, and celery, and cook until softened and lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add ground beef, pork, and pancetta to the Instant Pot with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper. Sauté, breaking up meats with a spoon, until browned and most of the juices have evaporated.
- Add garlic and tomato paste to the Instant Pot, and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Deglaze the insert with red wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, until most of the wine has evaporated.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes in purée, water, and 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Bring to a simmer. Place lid on Instant pot, seal, and set the unit to HIGH pressure for 20 minutes.
- Quick release pressure and carefully lift lid when the float drops. Switch the Instant Pot to the lowest heat sauté setting and bring to a bubble. Simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened to your desired consistency.
- Stir in heavy cream, remaining 1/4 cup chopped parsley, and ground nutmeg (if using). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Toss with cooked pasta, adding a splash of pasta water to help the sauce coat, and serve with freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano on the top.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.
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I just had a question regarding the Instant pot everyone is referring to. What is it? Is it the same as a pressure cooker?
Hi Alba! Yes, an Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker, but you can also use it as a slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, and for some models, a yogurt maker. Personally, I most often use it for the pressure cooker function.
I am new to the Instant Pot, but I made this tonight, and you made me look like a pro. This was the best bolognese I’ve ever had. I wanted to lick out the pot afterwards, it was so good. The recipe was perfect. I would not change a thing. I will be making this a LOT. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with all of us.
I was a little unsure how my Italian husband would like it, and although it’s not like his family’s recipe…it was delicious and he went back for seconds.
It was my first ever recipe in my pressure cooker so thanks for a great (fast) experience.
I didn’t have some items. Had to substitue some items (ground pork and pancetta). Used all ground beef and cheated with bacon bits. OMG, was awesome!!!
Used this to make cheese and spinach manicotti.
Thank you so much for an excellent recipe.
Best sauce ever!!!
Boyfriend and i cheated first day due to time constraints for baked manicotti. We were running behind due to my work, we put this sauce over plain ramen noodles. I couldn’t believe how good even “cheap ramen noodles” could be gourmet.
Putting this in my meal planning.
Thank you :)
Love the sauce! Made it tonight and am so grateful. Definitely saves time over my usual sunday sauce. Yay for you and yay for the Instant Pot.
Loved the recipe! Also curious if anyone has substituted lamb for the beef, and if any adjustments are needed to the recipe?
I made this last night for my daughter and grandson. It was a hit! Thank you so much for the fun recipe.
Made this for dinner tonight, quick and easy and so delicious. The dish had abundant flavor. It was served over homemade tagliatelle pasta. The best part was how quick making it with the Insta Pot was. Started cooking at 5:30 and we were enjoying our delicious meal at 6:25. Thank you for sharing.
I just made it tonight and it was a hit! It was so delicious and I can not wait to make it again!
Thank you!!!!
Delicious, 1st time using a pressure Cooker and this meal blew our mind. Great recipe, can’t wait to show it off.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Shane! It’s one of my favorites for the Instant Pot. Such a timesaver, without loss of flavor!
this was delish!!! made it tonight and everyone loved it. thank you for the recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it as much as we do, Lauren! I’m starting to crave it again and need to make a pot! :)
I used this recipe last week. Thanks so much! The flavor was superb and exactly what I was hoping for. Deep meaty flavor. BTW, I used pinot noir as the dry red wine ingredient.
I should note this was the first time I used my Instant Pot and I have never used a pressure cooker before. So, I was anxious when I received a “Burn” error while trying to use high pressure. The troubleshooting guide suggested the sauce might be too thick and recommended scraping the bottom. I did so but didn’t have any luck as I received the same message again. Not really knowing what I was doing, I added another 1/2 cup of water, used low pressure, and doubled the time for pressure cooking (since I was reducing pressure). Thankfully, it worked out well.
Later, I turned to the Internet to figure out if this was a common issue. Apparently, thick sauces with tomatoes might be more difficult to cook, especially in a newer model. The advice given was to put the tomatoes in last and not to stir it into the sauce (let it sit on top of the other ingredients). I will attempt that next time as I am definitely making this again (and again)!
This is amazing. I lay a pound of veal cutlets in before I put the lid on instead of the ground beef and it cooks perfectly.
I have been wondering if I could do spaghetti sauce in the Pot. This is basically my families recipe (Swiss Italian) with the addition of parsley to the soffritto, and to season a couple of stalks of rosemary, Italian seasoning, oregano, a little paprika and nutmeg and a little sugar to cut acid. Sometimes dried mushrooms soaked in hot water and then chopped fine. Can hardly wait to try this. Thank you.
This sauce looks amazing. I’ve never had this kind of sauce before so will definitely have to try it. Your pictures are also stunning.