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This rustic Italian Beef Ragu requires minimum skill or effort as it is made easily in a slow cooker. The rich and chunky ragu is packed with vibrant flavour and is so satisfying to eat. Use it with pasta or in lasagna and freeze the rest!
Not planning to use a slow cooker? Check out my Tuscan Ragu!
I am going to admit openly that I am not a big fan of crock pots. Mine doesn’t get used very often, mostly because I enjoy the cooking process and am too much of a control freak to let the This is an affiliate link.slow cooker take over.
I also find meals cooked in a crock pot taste too similar to each other. They taste like stew. I like stew but not every day of the week.
I am however, a HUGE fan of tender, melt-in-your-mouth, big and bold flavour meat. And if a slow cooker has to take the centre stage for this to happen, so be it. I suppose I can share the limelight…for one day.
Italian ragu
Have you ever had a really tasty and satisfying Italian beef ragu at your favourite Italian restaurant? I am talking about rich and satisfying meat based tomato sauce that’s been cooked for hours allowing for deep flavours to build and blend into a beautiful medley.
I really love rustic dishes that look scruffy and taste earthy. While this may not exactly be food art it is a beautiful sight nonetheless. And I can’t even begin to describe how tender and flavourful this ragu is!
Truth is, not all incredible food needs to be high cuisine. Sometimes all we need is kick-ass flavour to turn dinner into something special.
And this ragu has heaps of flavour, with savoury beef, sweet and acidic tomatoes and rich red wine. Truly this is the king of pasta sauces!
What is Italian Beef Ragu?
Just imagine a 4 pound hunk of beef smothered in plum Italian tomatoes, fresh rosemary and thyme. Then it is sprinkled with salt and pepper and minced garlic and drowned in half a bottle of Chianti. It is then left simmering slowly for 12…that’s right, 12 hours over low heat.
How can it not taste divine?
Italian Beef Ragu and Bolognese sauces are twins but not exactly the same. There are differences but they are so subtle that many Italians use the words interchangeably.
The main characteristic of the beef ragu is it’s heavily meat-based sauce. If you see more meat than tomato, you’ve got yourself a proper Italian beef ragu.
The bold taste of this sauce will leave you gobsmacked. I mean in a complete disbelief that you barely lifted a finger for this awesomeness to come out of your kitchen. Crock pot, you win.
Beef ragu pasta
You are probably wondering how to eat this delicious sauce. Well, seeing that it’s Italian I served it with pappardelle pasta and and generous grating of parmesan cheese.
Actually you can serve this beef ragu with any pasta of your choice. Just bear in mind that it’s a robust sauce, so your pasta should match it.
No delicate capellini or even spaghetti will do quite as well. It will, however, taste great with This is an affiliate link.rigatoni, This is an affiliate link.penne or any other sturdy pasta.
Recipe Tips and notes
- Because of the slow cooking process and the number of other flavours added to the beef, there isn’t a lot of benefit in buying an expensive cut of meat. This is a good recipe to save money on a cheap cut of meat, which will become tender and flavourful as it cooks.
- The red wine is an amazing source of flavour for a ragu and I always keep a bottle on hand to use in recipes like this. If you don’t want to cook with wine, it can be replaced with beef stock.
- Barley is optional, but is a great way to thicken the ragu while adding nutrition. Barley doesn’t add a lot of flavour beyond a subtle nuttiness, but makes the ragu creamier by releasing starch during the cooking process.
- A hearty pasta sauce needs a hearty pasta, so choose a thick pasta like pappardelle, fettuccine or tagliatelle.
Serving suggestions
Serving this ragu with pasta may be the most obvious way to go, but it also could be the best. The rich sauce and chunks of beef coat pasta beautifully, especially when using a thick and hearty pasta like pappardelle or tagliatelle.
It’s a rich pasta sauce, so is at its best when paired with something lighter that can cut through the beef. My go-to is a caprese salad with sweet tomatoes and fresh basil, but a simple green salad will also do nicely. I also love adding garlic bread to soak up any remaining sauce.
Although this delicious beef ragu is Italian by origin don’t let it stop you from serving it with anything you can think of. At the end of our dinner tonight, we all agreed this meat would taste absolutely amazing in a burrito, served on top of rice or even with some potatoes.
Storage and leftovers
This Italian beef ragu incredibly versatile and because you cook a whole roast you are bound to have lots of leftovers.
There are a lot of ways to use leftover ragu other than serving it with pasta. I’ve actually used it in two different recipes: Rustic Three Cheese Lasagna and Italian Beef and Roasted Red Pepper Quesadillas.
This ragu freezes absolutely beautifully! And let me tell you, you will be so pleased to find a container of this goodness on a night when you can’t possibly face spending a long time in the kitchen!
Crock Pot Rustic Italian Beef Ragu
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1.5-2kg / /3-4lbs beef roast, the cheapest cut will do
- 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 2-3 sprigs handful each fresh rosemary and fresh thyme, stems discarded and leaves finely chopped
- 1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 375ml / 1½ cups red wine, such as Chianti
- 3x400g / 14oz cans chopped tomatoes, crushed tomatoes for North America
- 2 tbsp pearl barley, optional
- 1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 500g / 1lb fresh or dried pappardelle pasta, or rigatoni
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 handfuls grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Chop onion, carrot and celery, mince garlic and chop rosemary and thyme and put everything on the bottom of a crock pot.
- Cut roast into 2″-3″ cubes and brown them in olive oil in a frying pan over high heat in stages, don’t overcrowd the meat so it browns nicely. Add it to the vegetables.
- Taking the frying pan off the heat, pour wine into the pan and use wooden spoon to loosen all the delicious bits from the bottom of the pan, that's where much of the flavour is concentrated. Pour the wine into the crock pot along with canned tomatoes.
- Sprinkle barley all over, which will add texture and more flavour to your ragu, not to mention fibre and nutrients. Add a teaspoon of salt and freshly ground pepper. Cook on low for 10-12 hours.
- In the last hour take the lid off and shred the beef with two forks, add one more tablespoon of fresh rosemary and thyme and a splash of water or wine if the meat is too dry. Cook for one hour longer.
- At the end of cooking time stir in butter for more flavour and to add a gloss to your ragu.
- Before serving cook your pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions. Combine 1/3 of beef ragu with hot pasta and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The recipe says chopped tomatoes but crushed tomatoes for North America so here we have both chopped and crushed, so which one would it be? Also when you take the lid off to shred the beef, do you put it back on for the last hour or leave it off?
Thanks!!
Hi Pam, 1. I recommend using crushed tomatoes because they are better suited for this recipe, diced tomatoes sold in North America don’t cook down enough to form a sauce. So this recommendation was made not due to availability rather the quality of diced tomatoes in the States and Canada.
2. You will have to put the lid back on, otherwise it will not generate enough heat for cooking.
Hello! Can you please tell me if I halved the ingredients (for 5 portions instead of 10) would you still recommend 12 hours in the slow cooker or should I do less time? Thank you!
Yes, the timing will not change.
I don’t have any diced tomatoes but I’ve got tomato sauce! Would that work???
I am afraid you will need diced tomatoes here.
Help!!! I was going to throw this in the crockpot before leaving for work this morning but my son forgot his ID badge for school & my daughter was being moody 🙄 so long story short….I ran out of time. is there any way I can cook this on the stove or in the oven?
Absolutely! Throw it in the oven for 2 hours-2.5 hours at 350F/180C. I would cover with a lid for 1 hour, then uncover for the rest of the time. Check occasionally to make sure it’s not drying out. If it is getting dry, add a splash of water.
Hello, is there any substitute for carrot?
Butternut squash or parsnips might be good substitutes or you can simply leave the carrots out.
This is the first time I’m making this. Made a horrible mistake and realized the canned tomatoes I put in has green chilis. I hope this still turns out. I know it will alter the flavor. 😩 So disappointed.
Oh no, I completely understand, I am so hard on myself when I make mistakes. It should still taste good even though it will be slightly spicy! 🙂 Keep me posted!
Lovely recipe and really like the suggestion to save and freeze portions as we are a family of two
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it, Gillian.
Will this all fit in my 6 qt. Crock Pot or should I use my 7qt.?
Thanks!
It will fit in the 6 Q. one, Minny!
What is the best way to reheat?
It depends on your preference but stove top or microwave both work well here. If I have a large batch in the freezer, I usually reheat on a stove top with about 1 cup/250ml of crushed tomatoes added in to make it bit saucier.
What is the pasta?? Yum!
It’s called pappardelle and I wrote about it in the post. 🙂