Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce

This easy Bolognese sauce is made right in the slow cooker! It’s a hearty and flavorful meat sauce with tender ground beef, tomatoes, onion, and smoky pancetta. This slow cooker spaghetti sauce is a cozy dinner any night of the week, but it’s a family favorite on Sundays.

Make spaghetti Bolognese on pasta night, or use this meaty slow cooker Bolognese in more recipes, like lasagna and unstuffed shells!

Why I Love This Bolognese Recipe

My mother-in-law is Italian, and one of her long-standing traditions is “Sunday Sauce”. This Bolognese sauce originated in my MIL’s kitchen, and since then, it’s found its way into my cookbook, and into my slow cooker! With its savory ground beef and rich tomato base, this slow cooker spaghetti sauce will always be one of my favorite things to make on a Sunday. Here’s why:

• Hands-free. Slow cooker Bolognese is my answer to Sunday Sauce when a busy weekend doesn’t leave much room for a full day in the kitchen! Prep the sauce in the morning, and leave it to cook for the day. Come home to an incredible-smelling house and a cozy dinner waiting.
• Layers of flavor. I use the leftover fat from searing the bacon (or pancetta) to sauté the veggies, and jazz up the tomato in the recipe with basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes. Boom! So. Much. Flavor.
• Sauce for days. This recipe makes a BIG batch of meat sauce. I always have plenty of leftovers, and Bolognese tastes even better the next day. Plus, it freezes great for future meals, so or freezer is always stocked.

Bolognese Ingredients

Here are some notes on what you’ll need to make this easy Italian Bolognese. Scroll to the recipe card after the post with a printable ingredients list and recipe amounts.

• Pancetta – Or bacon, diced.
• Butter – Depending on how fatty the bacon is, I’ll sometimes skip the butter and sauté the vegetables in the bacon grease.
• Onion, Celery, and Carrots – Finely chopped. Fun cooking fact: This veggie trio is called a “mire poix” in French cooking, or “soffrito” in Italian. It’s the base for so many soups and sauces, from Bolognese to chicken noodle soup.
• Garlic – Adapt the amount to taste.
• Ground Beef – Lean ground beef has plenty of flavor without being too greasy, perfect for cooking into a sauce. Beef is the traditional choice, but you can make this recipe with ground pork, chicken, turkey, or a mix of ground meats if you’d like.
• White Wine – I like to use a dry white, like Pinot Grigio. This can be a lighter red wine, too, like Pinot Noir.
• Crushed Tomatoes – Canned tomatoes work perfectly.
• Seasoning – Bay leaves, salt, and pepper. I like to add 1 teaspoon of basil, 1 teaspoon of oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper when I add the tomato sauce.
• Half-and-Half – Half-and-half, or milk, does a few things in Bolognese recipes: it helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes and wine, adds richness, and tenderizes the meat.

How to Make Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce

This slow cooker recipe starts on the stovetop (unless your slow cooker has a sauté function like mine does), but either way, the prep is super quick. Follow these easy steps and scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions.

• Sauté. First, cook your pancetta (or bacon) until the fat renders. Next, sauté the vegetables to soften them up. I sautéed my veggies in the bacon grease, but if you’re using pancetta as the recipe is written, you’ll need to add 1 tablespoon of butter. Either way, it will be great!
• Add the ground meat. Once the veggies are soft add in lean ground beef and cook that, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add some white wine and cook until it reduces slightly.

• Transfer to the slow cooker. Transfer the contents of the skillet to your slow cooker. Lastly, in go the crushed tomatoes. Place a few bay leaves into the sauce.
• Cook. Cover to cook on high heat for 3-4 hours (or on low for 6-8). Right before serving, stir in a little half-and-half for richness and dig in!

Recipe Tips

• Save yourself some chopping time. Most grocery stores sell what’s called a “vegetable base mix” consisting of pre-diced carrots, onion, and celery. You can find it fresh or frozen. It saves the time it takes to finely chop the veggies!
• Skip the skillet. If you’re really pressed for prep time, you can skip sautéeing the meat and vegetables and simply combine all the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker (apart from the cream). Cook as directed and stir the half-and-half in at the end. You may notice that the sauce is a bit more oily when the ground beef isn’t pre-cooked.

Make Spaghetti Bolognese! 

Our favorite way to serve this slow cooker Bolognese is over a heaping plate of spaghetti with a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese. To serve with spaghetti, simply boil the pasta according to the package directions. Afterward, stir the spaghetti into the Bolognese sauce with a couple of spoonfuls of pasta water, and serve.

You can also use homemade egg noodles, or try zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash for a low-carb option. Serve your pasta Bolognese with garlic knots or dinner rolls for mopping up the extra sauce. Just add a side of salad or asparagus.

More Ways to Use Slow Cooker Bolognese

In this house, leftover Bolognese is the perfect meat sauce for plenty of ground beef pasta recipes and beyond. Here are just a few of my favorites:

• Casseroles. Use your slow cooker Bolognese as the meat sauce in baked mostaccioli or a cheesy noodle bake. It’s also a tasty filling for meaty stuffed shells or skillet lasagna.
• Sandwiches. Simmer to thicken the sauce and serve it between fluffy buns for Italian-style Sloppy Joes, or spoon it over a meatball sub.
• Soups and stews. Use your Bolognese sauce as a base for soups, stews, or chili. I’ll sometimes use it in my Brunswick stew or beef chili and then play around with the other ingredients and seasonings.

Storing and Reheating Leftover Sauce

• Refrigerate. This slow cooker Bolognese sauce will last airtight in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
• Reheat. To reheat your Bolognese, warm it in a saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave in increments until it’s hot all the way through. Stir every so often so that it heats evenly.
• Freeze. Bolognese sauce freezes super well. I’ll often make a big batch and portion it into soup containers marked with the date, to freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the sauce in the fridge overnight and reheat.

More Dinner Recipes

• Buttery Shrimp Scampi Pasta
• Creamy Angel Chicken Pasta
• Instant Pot Meatballs
• Simple Fettuccine Alfredo

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