Spaghetti Bolognese

Name: Spaghetti Bolognese
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil; 2 garlic cloves (, minced); 1 onion (, finely chopped (brown, yellow or white)); 1 lb / 500g beef mince (ground beef) (OR half pork, half beef (Note 1)); 1/2 cup (125 ml) dry red wine ((sub water or beef broth/stock)); 2 beef bouillon cubes (, crumbled OR granulated beef bouillon (Note 2)); 800g / 28 oz can crushed tomato ((or tomato passata)); 2 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tsp white sugar (, if needed (Note 3)); 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 2 dried bay leaves; 2 sprigs fresh thyme ((or 1/2 tsp dried thyme or oregano)); 3/4 tsp cooking salt (kosher salt); 1/2 tsp black pepper; 400 g / 13 oz spaghetti (, dried); Parmesan cheese (and finely chopped parsley (optional))

Instructions

Prep:10minCook:30min

Recipe video above. My everyday Bolognese recipe I make over and over again. This Meat Sauce has terrific depth of flavour for such a quick recipe - though if you have the time, it's stellar cooked slowly for a couple of hours. My 3 "secret" tips are: Worcestershire Sauce, Beef Bouillon Cubes and a touch of sugar.

Updated at: Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:02:42 GMT