Slow-Cooked Rigatoni Beef Bolognese (Dutch Oven)
Some days just call for a big pot of slow-cooked bolognese. This Dutch oven bolognese is one of my family staples – a rich beef and tomato sauce with bacon, red wine and loads of flavour, slowly cooked in my enamel cast iron Dutch oven until it’s thick and delicious.
Toss it through rigatoni with plenty of freshly grated parmesan and torn basil, then add garlic bread and a simple green salad on the side. Proper comfort food and, even better, the Dutch oven does most of the hard work. Winner winner!
If you’re new here, you might not know I also run a small online store where I keep many of the tools I cook with every day, along with a few timeless homewares for good, slow living…
Why you’ll love this recipe
It’s proper family comfort food. Rich, slow-cooked beef and tomato sauce tossed through rigatoni with loads of parmesan. From toddlers to grandparents, this one is always a winner.
Cook once, eat twice. I’m all for getting multiple dinners out of one cooking session. Serve it with pasta tonight, then use the leftover bolognese for stuffed spuds, lasagne or stash a batch in the freezer.
The Dutch oven does the hard work. Once you’ve sautéed the vegetables and beef, everything goes into the oven to slowly cook at 150°C/300°F. No standing over the stove stirring a pot for hours – put your feet up and let the cast iron do its thing.
Why cook bolognese in a Dutch oven?
An enamel cast iron Dutch oven is just made for slow-cooked sauces like a bolognese. You can sauté the onion, bacon and beef on the stovetop, add the rest of the ingredients, then pop the same pot straight into the oven. Cast iron holds a lovely, steady heat while the heavy lid keeps moisture in – that’s key when you want the sauce to slowly cook, reduce and develop loads of flavour.
Ingredients
- Beef mince & streaky bacon – The base of our bolognese. The bacon adds an extra layer of flavour as the sauce slowly cooks.
- Onion, garlic, celery & carrot – The vegetable base of the sauce. I also add button mushrooms, but you can leave them out if mushrooms aren’t your thing.
- Red wine – I normally use a cabernet or a shiraz. I often grab the odd cheaper bottle with the groceries and keep it in the pantry specifically for slow-cooked recipes like this one.
- Tomato passata – My preference for bolognese because it gives the sauce a lovely smooth texture. You can substitute canned diced tomatoes if that’s what you have.
- Porcini powder – I totally LOVE this stuff! It adds loads of depth to slow-cooked soups, stews and sauces. If you can’t find it, a few dried porcini mushrooms will do a similar job.
- Tomato paste & beef stock – For a rich, full-flavoured sauce.
- Oregano, bay leaf & fresh thyme – The herbs I use to flavour the bolognese as it slowly cooks.
- Rigatoni – Those big tubes are brilliant for catching all that rich bolognese sauce. Not a rigatoni fan? Spaghetti, penne, capunti or bucatini all work too.
- Parmesan & fresh basil – For serving. And lots of parmesan, obviously.
How to make bolognese in a Dutch oven
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F.
- Sauté the onion. Add the olive oil to a large enamel cast-iron Dutch oven over low heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and translucent.
- Add the bacon and garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Brown the beef. Add the beef mince and cook over low-medium heat until browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
- Slow cook the bolognese. Add the remaining bolognese ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer, pop the lid on, and transfer the Dutch oven to the preheated oven. Cook for 1½ hours.
- Cook the rigatoni. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Before draining, reserve about ¼ cup of the pasta water.
- Bring it all together. Add the cooked rigatoni and reserved pasta water to the bolognese and stir everything together. Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan and torn basil leaves.
Equipment
24cm enamel cast iron Dutch oven – I cook this bolognese in my 24cm Le Creuset French oven. It’s the perfect size for this recipe and gives you plenty of room to brown the beef before adding the sauce ingredients. I’ve also made this in a 22cm, so any similar-sized Dutch oven or heavy-based casserole will do the job.
Large saucepan – For cooking the rigatoni.
Cook’s knife, chopping board & wooden spoon – For all the usual chopping, sautéing and stirring.
My Go-To Cast Iron Pot
If there’s one piece of kitchen equipment I couldn’t live without, it’s my 24cm Le Creuset enamel Dutch oven. Steady heat, beautiful cooking and it goes from the stovetop straight to the table.
Variations and substitutions
Swap out the beef mince for ground pork mince or ground turkey. Or head over to my Dutch oven pork bolognese if that’s more your thing.
Take the heat level up a notch or two with some chili flakes or chili powder in the tomato sauce.
Depending on the season, I sometimes add extra vegetables to the sauce. Zucchinis especially work well when you’ve got an end-of-summer glut.
Not a Rigatoni fan? Swap out for different pasta shapes. Penne, capunti, and bucatini are all popular choices along with the obvious choice, spaghetti.
Cooks notes
I aim to cook my pasta al dente, and sometimes find that packet instructions overcook your dried pasta. When cooking dried pasta, I usually take two minutes off the advertised cooking time, as the pasta will continue cooking once it is mixed into the delicious bolognese sauce.
Don’t throw away the Parmesan rind! Any leftover rind, keep in the fridge and occasionally throw it into the bolognese pot before it goes into the oven. Added flavor right there!
Dutch ovens are brilliant at holding onto moisture, so if your bolognese is a little looser than you’d like after 1½ hours, simply remove the lid and give it another 15–20 minutes in the oven to reduce.
What to serve with pasta bolognese
I’m a garlic bread and green salad kinda girl, however, there are so many options. This skillet focaccia recipe is a cracking side for pasta dishes and is on a weekly rotation in my family!
Another side salad that I love to serve with tomato-based pastas is a caprese salad. Full of tomatoes and basil, it’s an obvious winner!
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Keep this one for later
Can you freeze slow-cooked bolognese sauce? Yes! This is one of those recipes that’s absolutely worth making a double batch. Store this pasta sauce in the fridge for 3-4 days or in a freezer-safe, airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Cook the pasta on the day (or the day before) it’s consumed.
I prefer to freeze the bolognese sauce on its own and cook the pasta fresh when we need it. I nearly always have a batch tucked away in the freezer – it makes an easy dinner on those nights when cooking from scratch just isn’t happening.
To reheat, pop the sauce into a saucepan or Dutch oven over low heat and gently warm it on the stovetop. For individual portions, you can also reheat it in the microwave.
FAQ’s
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Cast Iron Cooking 101
From slow cooked stews to warm bread fresh from the oven, this guide will help you feel confident cooking with cast iron at home.
Slow-Cooked Rigatoni Beef Bolognese (Dutch Oven)
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 serves 1x
Description
My Rigatoni Bolognese is a family staple, a classic Italian dish, and one of my go-to recipes. Serve alongside a green salad and garlic bread.
Ingredients
The sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 brown onions, sliced
- 500g beef mince
- 80g streaky bacon, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 4 button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp porcini powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 c beef stock
- 700g jar passata
- 1/2 c red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs thyme
To serve
- 400g rigatoni
- freshly grated reggiano parmesan or grana padano
- fresh torn basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F.
- In a cast-iron French oven, add the oil to the pan. On a low heat, saute the onion until translucent.
- Add the bacon and garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the minced beef to the pot. Cook on low-med heat until the mince is just cooked.
- Add to the pot the remaining ingredients. Stir to fully combine and bring to simmer point. Pop the lid on the pot and put it in the preheated oven to slow cook for 2 hours.
- In a large saucepan, cook the rigatoni to the packet instructions. Drain and stir through the bolognese sauce.
- Serve with freshly grated grana padano or reggiano parmesan and freshly torn basil leaves.
Notes
Keep this pasta sauce in the fridge for 3-4 days or in a freezable, airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Cook the pasta on the day (or the day before) it’s consumed. I freeze batches of the bolognese sauce and reheat them for an easy weeknight dinner.
I cook this recipe in my 22cm or 24cm Le Creuset casserole.
To reheat, either pop it into a saucepan or Dutch oven on low heat and warm it gently on the stove or pop it into a microwave-safe container and reheat it in the microwave. Add a splash of water while reheating to beef up the sauciness!
Please note all recipes on this website are in US measurements. Eg, 1 cup / 240ml, 1 tablespoon/15mls. Oven temperatures refer to a fan-forced oven.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: slow cook
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 1177
- Sugar: 13.9 g
- Sodium: 1550 mg
- Fat: 61.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 100.9 g
- Protein: 45.4 g
- Cholesterol: 132.9 mg
Loved this bolognese recipe. Very rich and tasty!
So happy you enjoyed it Sim x
Easy, delicious, family favorite
Great to hear, thanks Cassy