Bolognese Sauce Recipe (Instant Pot)

This rich meaty Bolognese Sauce is prepared in an Instant Pot in just an hour!

We also have options for the slow cooker or stovetop and is quite simply delicious!

Making Bolognese in the Instant Pot is quicker than making Bolognese the traditional way, but still packed with all the rich flavor you want in this classic sauce. It’s chocked full of flavor!

This classic Italian meat sauce is great for dinner and perfect for feeding a crowd. I often make a double batch and freeze it. It’s perfect over a steaming bowl of thick pasta and out of this world in lasagna.

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Bolognese Sauce is also called ragù. In Italy, ragù is a term used to describe a type of meat sauce that has been cooked for many hours over low heat. This Bolognese Sauce recipe is perfect for the Instant Pot because it dramatically shortens the cooking time with the same deep rich flavor.

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Ingredients needed for Bolognese Sauce:

• Olive oil
• White Onion, Carrots, and Celery – (also known as Italian soffrito)
• Pancetta
• Ground beef and Ground Pork
• Garlic
• Tomato Paste
• Red Wine – dry variety such as Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Merlot, or Sangiovese
• Crushed or whole Tomatoes (peeled, seeded, and finely chopped). We prefer the San Marzano variety
• Italian Parsley (flat leaf)
• Cream or Half & Half

To Serve:

• Parmesan Cheese – shredded
• Pasta for serving – fettucine, tagliatelle, pappardelle, tortellini or gnocchi

How to make in the Instant Pot:

It takes a little time to make this sauce, but every step is really easy, and worth it for this rich meaty sauce! Just follow the step-by-step below and you cannot fail.

Traditional Bolognese Sauce is better when you build the sauce in this order:

• Make a “Soffrito” which is a mixture of carrots, celery, and onions that are uniformly chopped in a medium dice
• Sauté with soffrito with olive oil until soft and translucent. Soffrito is an important building block in Italian cooking.

One of the nice things about the Instant Pot is that you can sauté everything right in the pot, much like a dutch oven, on the stovetop. Sautéing starts to build the flavors.

• Add the diced pancetta and lightly brown. This will really deepen the flavor of the sauce.

• Add the ground pork and ground beef and season well with salt and pepper. Cook until most of the juices have evaporated and the meat is lightly browned.

• Add the tomato paste and chopped garlic and allow the flavors to blend for a few minutes.
• Pour in the red wine. Deglazing the pot with wine (scraping up any of the brown bits on the bottom of the pan) adds a lot of flavor. Don’t skip this step because those brown bits are packed with flavor! Simmer until the wine is mostly evaporated.

• Before pressurizing in the Instant Pot add the additional liquids – crushed tomatoes and water, as well as half the parsley.

Cooking Times:

• Since the meat is already cooked, the Instant Pot will just need to pressurize for 20 minutes to deepen all the flavors.
• If you are cooking in a slow cooker double the water (to 1-1/2 cups) and cook for about 6-7 hours.
• If cooking on the stovetop double the water (to 1-1/2 cups) and cook over low heat for about 3 hours.

How to cook Bolognese in a slow cooker or on the stovetop:

The recipe is the same as cooking in a pressure cooker, except for the cooking time, and the addition of more water (noted above and in the recipe card below).

• In a slow cooker begin cooking on high for 2 hours and then cook on low for an additional 5 hours or until thickened.
• On the stovetop cook on medium for about 30 minutes, and then turn to low, and simmer for another 2.5 hours or until thickened.

Finishing the Sauce:

Finishing this classic Bolognese Sauce in an Instant Pot is the same as in a slow cooker and a dutch oven. Once you have the thick consistency you want, add a small amount of cream and parsley, blend and serve. Remember this is not a creamy sauce. The added cream helps neutralize the acidity of the tomatoes and wine.

The best type of pasta to use for serving:

Bolognese Sauce is traditionally served over a wide noodle, such as Tagliatelle, Pappardelle, or Fettucine. These sturdy cuts of pasta will stand up to the weight of the sauce. It’s also terrific with tortellini and gnocchi.

Finish with a sprinkling of shredded Parmesan cheese. We prefer Parmigiano Reggiano for the most authentic flavor!

Freezing and refrigerating Bolognese Sauce:

This sauce freezes beautifully. Allow the sauce to cool completely before preparing to freeze.

I like to freeze it in a variety of glass jars (based on the amount you know you’ll want to reheat later). It’s easy to thaw out a glass jar by simply placing it in a bowl of warm water, or leaving it in the refrigerator overnight.

You can also store prepared Bolognese in the refrigerator safely for about 3 days.

Looking for an Instant Pot?

If you are still looking for an Instant Pot we recommend the Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 quart. It’s the ideal size for this recipe and is easy to use.

Suggested Wine Pairings:

The history of Bolognese sauce dates back to late 18th century Italy. When thinking of wine pairings for this classic dish look no further than Italy itself. Sangiovese is one of the great indigenous grapes from Italy which makes this medium-bodied wine a perfect pairing for our classic Bolognese Sauce.

Your weekday wines:

• Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva, Italy
• Tenuta La Badiola 642 II Canapone Red Wine, Italy

Your weekend wines:

• Castello Banfi Sangiovese Rosso di Montalcino, Italy
• Antinori Guado al tasso II Bruciatto, Bolgheri

A special occasion wine:

• Castello Banfi Sangiovese Brunello Di Montalcino, Italy
• Bibi Graetz Testamatta Sangiovese, Italy

Other dinner ideas:

• Perfect Pan-Seared Scallops
• Slow Cooker Irish Pot Roast
• Classic Beef Stew
• Garlic Mushrooms over Pasta
• Cornish Game Hens with Roasted Root Vegetables