This Slow Cooker Bolognese tastes just like what you would get served in Italy - it's rustic, rich, bursting with herby tomato goodness and the meat is melt in your mouth tender. But we have let the slow cooker do all the work for us! A fuss free family favourite for an easy weeknight meal.
I think most families can agree on a spaghetti bolognese when it comes to dinner time. Everyone loves the thick and rich meaty sauces as it clings to the al dente spaghetti that is gently sprinkled with cheese.
It's a classic family favourite, but it really should be cooked slow and slow for best results. If you have every seen an Italian Grandmother cook a bolognese, it's a labour of love.
If you want to cook a hearty bolognese on a busy weeknight, chances are you don't have hours to spend standing over the hob, stirring it as it bubbles away.
So, why not let the slow cooker do all the work for you? With just a little prep, this can be thrown in the slow cooker and forgotten about until you need to cook the spaghetti to go with it.
A bolognese needs time to bubble away, to thicken, and to let all the flavours release. You just don't get that same comforting flavour by cooking it on the hob for 30 minutes. Which is why we put the slow cooker to work on nights we are craving a bolognese. They were basically made for dishes like this.
Jump to:
Why should you try it?
- All the flavour of a slow and low cooked bolognese with minimal effort
- A family favourite
- Great for batch cooking
- Freezable
Step by step
One: Prepare the vegetables.
Two: Put 1 tsp of oil in to a large pan and add the onion, mushrooms, carrot and garlic and gently cook for 3 minutes. Set aside.
Three: Put the rest of the oil in the same frying pan and add the beef mince. Gently cook for 3-4 minutes until browned.
Four: Add the vegetables to the slow cooker.
Five: Add the browned meat to the slow cooker with the vegetables.
Six: Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Prepping the bolognese
In an ideal world, the best slow cooker recipes are where you just dump everything in with no prep involved and it can start cooking. But this recipe does need a little prep, like browning the onions , carrots, mushrooms and meat first and it really shouldn't be skipped as it really does give the meat a deep and richer flavour.
If you have a slow cooker that you can brown/sauté in, then this will make things much easier - otherwise you will need to do that stage on the hob. The slow cooker we used is a 4.5lt Crockpot DuraCeramic(aff), which is perfect for this.
You could always prep the meat and onion earlier and then just dump it all in the slow cooker when you needed to. We used beef mince, but you could use a mixture of beef and pork to get a nice flavour mix.
What vegetables to add
We also think that vegetables are essential to a good slow cooker spaghetti bolognese. I mean, the meat is the main ingredient, but as well as giving it a nutrient boost and some extra colour, we find that it adds a nice chunky texture once all the meat it broken down.
We went with mushrooms, onion and carrot to keep it quite traditional. If you wanted to "hide" the vegetables, then make sure to chop them up really small - but we like the chunkiness.
Other vegetables you can add include celery, peppers, courgette (zucchini) and you can even stir some spinach in about 30 minutes before it is cooked if you want to give it a proper green veggie boost.
Can I make it vegetarian?
If you are looking for a vegetarian bolognese that you can cook in the freezer, or you just fancy trying something different, then you can make a bolognese with either a mix of mushrooms, cooked lentils or a meat alternative like Quorn mince. Cooking times will vary though. Why not try our Mushroom Bolognese for a vegetarian alternative?
What to serve this with
We went the classic route and served ours with a good quality spaghetti. However with leftovers we often serve it on a crispy jacket potato, with rice or even in a quesadilla. Sometimes it's just a big bowl of it with a crusty chunk of bread in it.
How to cook bolognese in the oven
If you don't have a slow cooker, but also don't want to be standing over the hob for hours cooking this, then it can be slow cooked in the oven. Do everything you need to on the hob first, then add everything in to a big casserole dish and put in the oven at 170°C/325°F/Gas 3 for 2 to 3 hours.
FAQs
If you find that you have too much liquid in your bolognese when it has finished cooking, then you can add a little cornflour (cornstarch) to it. I find that the tomato puree makes the sauce nice and thick though.
You can keep this bolognese in the fridge for about 2-3 days, but this recipe is made to be frozen! When we were expecting our first child we made about 4 batches of this and portioned it all out and kept it in the freezer.
You don't know how good it was being sleep deprived new parents and just being able to get a healthy, hearty and comforting meal like this out of the freezer. All we had to go is cook some pasta and then reheat the bolognese.
Extra tips
- If you wanted to add a bit of creaminess to this dish, then add a glug of single cream about 15 minutes before the bolognese has finished and stir well.
- Want to give the dish a veggie boost? Add some peppers and courgette and then stir in some spinach about 30 minutes before it is cooked.
- Looking for a vegetarian bolognese? You could use just mushrooms or even Quorn mince or cooked lentils. Cooking times will vary though
- You don't have to add red wine to this dish, just simply leave it out with no need to replace it with anything.
- Don't have a slow cooker? This can all be slow cooked in the oven at 170°C/325°F/Gas 3 for 2 to 3 hours.
What people are saying
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Recipe card
Slow Cooker Bolognese
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced
- 6 mushrooms diced
- 1 large carrot peeled and diced
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 500 g beef mince
- 800 g chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato puree (tomato paste)
- 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 75 ml red wine
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried basil
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables.
- Put 1 tsp of oil in to a large pan and add the onion, mushrooms, carrot and garlic and gently cook for 3 minutes. Set aside.
- Put the rest of the oil in the same frying pan and add the beef mince. Gently cook for 3-4 minutes until browned.
- Add the vegetables to the slow cooker.
- Add the browned meat to the slow cooker with the vegetables.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Notes
- If you wanted to add a bit of creaminess to this dish, then add a glug of single cream about 15 minutes before the bolognese has finished and stir well.
- Want to give the dish a veggie boost? Add some peppers and courgette and then stir in some spinach about 30 minutes before it is cooked.
- Looking for a vegetarian bolognese? You could use just mushrooms or even Quorn mince or cooked lentils. Cooking times will vary though
- You don't have to add red wine to this dish, just simply leave it out with no need to replace it with anything.
- Don't have a slow cooker? This can all be slow cooked in the oven at 170C for 2 to 3 hours.
Eddie
Hi is the vegetable stock cube just dropped in no liquid?
Dannii
Yes. The liquid come from the red wine and tinned tomatoes.
Stephen
I read you never add onions and garlic at the start as to avoid that horrible metallic taste you get at end of cooking with slow cookers. Add the last hour, is this correct? Tks.
Dannii
I have never had this issue. I think adding the onion and garlic at the end adds loads of flavour.
Jill
I make a big recipe of bolognese a few times each Winter. Freezes great. Love that you add mushrooms to yours.
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
I'm in love with the flavors in this. So deep and intense.
Pam
We love our slow cookers and recipes like this one are a good example of why. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Demeter
I would’ve never thought to make this in a slow cooker. Such a great idea to make it even easier!
Suzy
One of my all time favorite sauces to make! Really love the added touch of the balsamic!
danielle wolter
This is so easy to make and the flavor is incredible! Great recipe :-)