Everything you love about bolognese sauce made easy by cooking in the slow cooker! Make this slow cooker bolognese and pair with your favorite pasta for dinner tonight.
Calling All Comfort Food Lovers!
Our slow cooker bolognese is calling your name! Our take on this traditional Italian sauce combines ground beef and pork with a super flavorful spice blend, minced veggies, red wine, milk and allll the tomatoes. Pair it with your favorite pasta, and enjoy!
What is bolognese?Bolognese is a meat sauce that hails from Bologna, Italy and is traditionally served over pasta or used in a lasagna.
What does bolognese taste like?Bolognese sauce boasts the flavors of meat, wine and tomatoes. It is a rich sauce that tends to be more thick than chunky due to using ground meat and minced or finely diced vegetables.
- This slow cooker bolognese sauce is easy to prepare ahead of time! You can make it the night before or you can freeze it for another time, too.
- This recipe is nutrient-packed.
- Pasta is a dish that the whole family will enjoy.
- You can feed 6-8 or have enough for leftovers throughout the week.
What You Need for Slow Cooker Bolognese
How to Make Slow Cooker Bolognese
For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card for a list of ingredients and instructions.
Add the thyme, oregano, marjoram, parsley, basil, red pepper flakes, paprika, kosher salt, and pepper to a bowl and mix until combined.
Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat and add the ground beef and ground pork to the skillet. Break the meat up into small chunks. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture over the meat and toss. Cook the meat until it is mostly cooked through.
Remove the skillet from heat and using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the pan and scoop it into the slow cooker, making sure to leave the meat drippings in the skillet. Then, add the milk to the meat in the slow cooker and stir to combine with the meat.
Heat the same skillet over medium/high heat and add the red wine to the skillet. Scrape the bottom of the skillet to loosen any brown bits from the meat, and bring the meat drippings and wine to a gentle simmer.
Then, add the onion and garlic to the skillet and sauté until the onions are translucent. Last, add the celery, carrots, and the remaining dried spices to the skillet and toss with the other ingredients.
Remove the skillet from heat and add the vegetables and excess liquid to the slow cooker. Also add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire, and bay leaves to the slow cooker at this time and stir to combine.
Cook on low for 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Your house is about to smell amazing ?
When the cook time is up, turn off the slow cooker and stir the bolognese and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before serving it over your favorite pasta. ENJOY!
Slow Cooker Bolognese Tips
Check it out!
6 Crockpot Chicken Recipes
Looking for more crockpot recipes? Look no further! Check out 6 similar recipes below. And for an added bonus, check out our Crockpot Freezer Meals post where we teach you how to turn all of these slow cooker recipes into freezer meals.
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
How to Serve Bolognese
Pasta all the way! We love this recipe with pappardelle pasta, but fettuccine, spaghetti or angel hair pasta would also be delicious!
Looking for a salad to serve with this bolognese? Let us recommend any of the following:
- Favorite Kale Salad
- Ceasar Salad
- Easy Broccoli Salad
- Asparagus Salad
It is important to let your slow cooker bolognese cool completely before transferring it into an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
While you can absolutely freeze the cooked bolognese sauce itself, we recommend waiting to pair with pasta until you thaw and are ready to serve your bolognese as pasta can get mushy when frozen and thawed.
More of our Favorite…
Slow Cooker Recipes
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu
- Crock Pot Pork Roast
- Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2-lb. ground beef
- ¼-lb. Ground pork
- 1.5 cups 2% milk
- 1 cup dry red wine (we used a cabernet)
- ½ large white onion, minced
- 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
- 4 celery stalks, finely minced
- 4 large carrots, finely minced
- 2 15-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 2 bay leaves
- Begin by preparing the dried spices. Add the thyme, oregano, marjoram, parsley, basil, red pepper flakes, paprika, kosher salt, and pepper to a bowl and mix until combined. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat and add the ground beef and ground pork to the skillet. Break the meat up into small chunks. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture over the meat. Toss the spices with the meat.
- Cook the meat until it is mostly cooked through. It is ok if the meat remains a little pink as it will continue to cook in the slow cooker.
- Remove the skillet from heat and using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the pan and scoop it into the slow cooker. Leave the meat drippings in the skillet.
- Add the milk to the meat in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Let the meat sit in the milk while other ingredients are being prepared.
- Heat the same skillet over medium/high heat and add the red wine to the skillet. Scrape the bottom of the skillet to loosen any brown bits from the meat. Bring the meat drippings and wine to a gentle simmer.
- Turn the heat to low and allow the mixture to simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the celery, carrots, and the remaining dried spices to the skillet and toss with the other ingredients. Sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from heat and add the vegetables and excess liquid to the slow cooker.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, worcestershire, and bay leaves to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6 hours, stirring occasionally.
- When the cook time is up, turn off the slow cooker and remove the cover from the slow cooker. Stir the bolognese and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before serving it over pasta.
Keywords: slow cooker bolognese
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