Lamb Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Our Lamb Bolognese Sauce Recipe is a delicious, flavorful Bolognese sauce made with our traditional soffritto, white wine, peeled tomatoes, and ground lamb. Then it’s all tossed with rigatoni pasta and served with grated cheese on top. A delicious meat sauce that coats any Italian pasta you serve it with, and it’s elegant enough for entertaining guests.
Lamb Bolognese Sauce Recipe
It’s been a while since we made our favorite pasta dish with our mom’s classic bolognese sauce, only this time we made it using ground lamb instead of beef. We have to tell you. It was so comforting and flavorful, we felt the need to share this recipe.
We first got the inspiration on our recent trip to Europe. Upon our late arrival at the hotel in Vienna, we were literally ‘starving’ and asked if possible for the chef in the kitchen could kindly make an exception to serve us lunch.
And, of course, anything she would recommend, we would be delighted. So they kindly served my family a dish of rigatoni with lamb ragu, and it was delicious! Only the lamb ragu was made like a Bolognese sauce.
It was so good and comforting, it gave me the idea to make it at home, and add it to our list of The Sunday Sauce recipes.
Ingredients Needed for our Lamb Bolognese Sauce Recipe:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- White Wine (any good drinking wine)
- Ground Lamb
- Imported Italian Peeled Tomatoes
- Fresh Basil
- Salt & Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Butter
- For Serving: Rigatoni Pasta
How To Make Lamb Bolognese Sauce?
This is a relatively easy recipe to make. After the first time you make it, you’ll know how to make it always. Plus, our full recipe is located at the bottom. But first, let’s go over our steps so you can understand what’s involved before you start.
1. First, cook the Soffritto: you will need time to simmer and cook the soffritto, which consists of olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, carrots, and celery until softened, about 15 minutes, and on low heat.
2. Second, add the Ground Lamb: Then add the ground lamb and cook until the pink color is no longer visible, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Next, let’s Deglaze the Pot: Now, let’s deglaze the pot by pouring in the wine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Puree the Peeled Tomatoes: Now, let’s puree the tomatoes in the blender, one at a time. Pour them into the lamb mixture. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to your taste. Stir in some fresh basil. Simmer the sauce on the lowest heat for 1 hour, uncovered. Stir the lamb Bolognese sauce occasionally while cooking.
5. Add the Butter: After one hour of simmering, taste and adjust the seasonings. Turn off the heat and toss in the butter. Stir to combine. It’s now ready to serve with your rigatoni pasta.
6. Cook the Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Toss in 2 teaspoons of salt into the water. Then toss in your rigatoni pasta and cook until tender to the bite (or follow the directions on the package). Drain the pasta, and bring it back to the pot. Ladle a few spoonfuls of Lamb bolognese into the pasta, and stir to coat.
Then serve. Serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the table. It’s delicious!
Recipe Tips & Notes:
- Take Time to Build Flavors: Simmering the soffritto (onion, garlic, celery, and carrots) and browning the lamb are crucial steps in building the flavors. So, don’t rush the process and let the soffritto caramelize. At the end, you will have the best bolognese with rich, deep, and complex flavors.
- Add More Herbs: Sometimes, lamb can have a slight gamey taste to it compared to beef. If you prefer, you can add additional herbs to this recipe, like fresh parsley, some oregano, or dried rosemary.
- Freezing for Meal Prep: Also, you can easily double the recipe using two pounds of ground lamb and then freeze half for use at a later date. It freezes beautifully and for up to one month (at best).
- Adding Cream: You can make the sauce a little creamy if you prefer. Stir in some heavy cream at the very end (about 1/4 cup) into the sauce, and heat thoroughly. Then serve.
What’s the Difference Between Meat Sauce and Bolognese Sauce?
Bolognese originated in Bologna, Italy, and it’s named after their famous sauce. The Northern Italian meat sauce is where the meat is the star, and it is enriched with complementary ingredients and simmered, not rushed.
Whereas the American meat sauce is simple and usually served with spaghetti. Plus, Bolognese from Northern Italy also often includes the addition of milk or cream, whereas American meat sauce does not.
What kind of pasta is best served with Lamb Bolognese Sauce?
Traditionally, the Bolognese sauce is served with fresh egg pasta like tagliatelle or pappardelle, rigatoni (as we have it here), or even mezzi rigatoni, and never drowned, just lightly coated. Simply because the sauce coats the noodles and rigatoni perfectly. When serving, you can add additional bolognese sauce on top.
Then it is finished with a modest sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. It’s a dish to be savored, not rushed… and it’s the best!
and ENJOY!
Storing & Freezing
Always remember to allow the sauce to cool completely before storing it in sealed containers. Then transfer to the refrigerator, and it will stay fresh for up to 3 days. Do the same when freezing. The sauce is best frozen for up to 2 months. After that, you will need to make a new batch.
Don’t forget! Your comments help us. If you make our Lamb Bolognese Sauce Recipe, let us know and leave a comment and a star rating below! Snap a photo and hashtag it on Instagram and Pinterest; be sure to tag us @2sistersrecipes.
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Lamb Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Our Lamb Bolognese Sauce Recipe is a delicious, flavorful Bolognese sauce made with our traditional soffritto, white wine, peeled tomatoes, and ground lamb. Then it's all tossed with rigatoni pasta and served with grated cheese on top. A delicious meat sauce that coats any pasta you serve it with, and it's elegant enough for entertaining guests.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion - chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic - chopped
- 5 stalks of celery - chopped
- 2 carrots - finely chopped
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) white wine or red wine
- 2 cans (28 ounces each) peeled tomatoes - pureed in the blender
- 1/2 stick (4 Tbsp.) unsalted butter
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. of cayenne pepper
- freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- handful of fresh basil (stems removed)
- 1 pound (16 ounces) rigatoni pasta
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil on moderate heat. Toss in the chopped onions, garlic, celery, and carrots, known as the soffritto. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Then add the ground lamb and cook until the pink color is no longer visible, about 5 to 10 minutes. Now, let's deglaze and pour in the wine, scraping any flavorful browned bits stuck on the bottom with the wooden spoon. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Next, puree the cans of peeled tomatoes in the blender, one can at a time. Pour them into the lamb mixture. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, and stir in some fresh basil. Simmer the sauce on the lowest heat for 1 hour, uncovered. Stir the lamb Bolognese sauce occasionally while cooking.
- After one hour of simmering, taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference. Turn off the heat and toss in the 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Stir to combine. Then COVER with a lid.
- It's now ready to serve with pasta. Try it with your favorite tagliatelle, pappardelle, or rigatoni pasta (as we did here).
- Cook the Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Toss in 2 teaspoons of salt into the water. Then toss in your rigatoni pasta and cook until tender to the bite (or follow the directions on the package). Drain the pasta, and bring it back to the pot. Ladle a few spoonfuls of Lamb bolognese into the pasta, and stir to coat. Then serve. Serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the table. Serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the table.
Notes
Recipe Tips & Notes:
- Take Time to Build Flavors: Simmering the soffritto (onion, garlic, celery and carrots), and browning the lamb are crucial steps in building the flavors. So, don't rush the process and let the soffritto caramelize. At the end, you will have the best bolognese with rich, deep and complex flavors.
- Add More Herbs: Sometimes lamb can have a slight gamey taste to it compared to beef. If you prefer, you can add additional herbs to this recipe, like oregano or dried rosemary.
- Freezing for Meal Prep: Also, you can easily double the recipe using two pounds of ground lamb and then freeze half for use at a later date. It freezes beautifully and for up to one month.
- Adding Cream: You can make the sauce a little creamy if you prefer. Stir in some heavy cream at the very end into the sauce, heated thoroughly, about 1/4 cup.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 cups of Sauce Serving Size: 1 cup of sauce (only)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 300
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