Nonna’s Bolognese Sauce

Recipe from my Italian mother-in-law, this classic sauce is a family favorite! It comes together in about 20 minutes, then simmers for another 30 or more for the best flavor! Serve with your favorite gluten-free pasta and you have an easy, 2 pan, crowd-pleasing dinner! Plus, probably some extra for another day.

Nonna's Bolognese Sauce gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com
Nonna’s Bolognese Sauce

Simple, Cozy and Delish!

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Update Spetember 13, 2020, National Celiac Awareness Day…

We are the Healthy Gluten-Free Family in support of my youngest son, who was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2010, just before his 5th birthday. (You can read our full story here.)

The gluten-free world has changed a lot in the past 10 years, but some things haven’t: My son loves to try new foods & flavors, loves to cook, has a huge appetite (never so much as now as a teen!), and these are some of his favorite foods:

—Gluten-free pasta with BOLOGNESE SAUCE — read on for all the details!
— CORN FRITTERS
—ALMOND BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP ENERGY BITES
—MINI SPINACH PIE BITES
—FLUFFY OATMEAL PANCAKES

And fun fact…

Did you know that while Celiac Awareness Month is in May, National Celiac Awareness Day is September 13th, in honor of the birthday of Dr. Samuel Gee, the first researcher to recognize that symptoms of celiac disease were related to diet….

Original Post…

This Bolognese sauce is a classic!

Recipe from my Italian mother-in-law, it is an honor and joy to finally share it with all of you!

My mother-in-law is a bit of a legend when it comes to her cooking, especially her pasta sauces.  This particular one is my son’s favorite. She showed us how she makes it earlier this Fall, and it has been on repeat ever since. Hence the name, Nonna’s Bolognese Sauce.

As we have made it A LOT in the last few weeks, I decided it was finally time to share it!

So simple, so easy and so delicious!

Nonna's Bolognese Sauce gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

All you need is 5 main ingredients plus spices.

You’ll need a onion, ground beef, tomato paste, tomato sauce and wine. Plus olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and water.

Nonna's Bolognese Sauce gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

And it comes together quickly.

First you saute the onion, adding the garlic when it’s just about cooked.

Then you add in the meat and saute it with the onion, seasoning it when it’s about half way cooked.

Then you add in the wine and listen to the fabulous sizzle! When the wine cooks off, you add in the oregano.

Stir in the tomato paste, then the tomato sauce.

Then add in boiling water (boiling it is key according to my mother-in-law!) and let it cook up!

That’s it!

You can add more water as it simmers to get a desired thickness.

Then cook up your favorite gluten-free pasta.  Here we use Le Veneziane rigatoni (Amazon affiliate link) but you can read about all our favorite pastas, here.

Then, to make it taste extra creamy and just like the restaurants… when you make the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the salted pasta water.

Place a large ladle full of sauce in the pan the pasta cooked in, then add the cooked pasta, some additional sauce and mix it together. Add some of the reserved pasta water as desired to make the sauce creamier.

Nonna's Bolognese Sauce gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

You could even add a drizzle of olive oil before or after mixing it all together.

Top with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil as desired, and enjoy!

Hope you love it as much as we do!

Nonna's Bolognese Sauce gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Scroll down for the recipe and leave a comment if you try.

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Recipe

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5 from 2 votes

Nonna's Bolognese Sauce

Recipe from my Italian mother-in-law, this classic sauce is a family favorite that comes together in about 20 minutes, then simmers for another 30 or more for the best flavor! Serve with your favorite gluten-free pasta and you have an easy, 2 pan, crowd-pleasing dinner! Plus, probably some extra for another day.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free
Servings: 4 -6 servings
Author: Healthy Gluten-free Family

Ingredients

Nonna's Bolognese Sauce

  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 lb fresh ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 6 oz cans plain tomato paste
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 4-6 cups water boiled

For serving

  • Your favorite gluten-free pasta
  • Olive oil for drizzling optional
  • Parmesan cheese optional
  • Fresh basil optional

Instructions

Nonna's Bolognese Sauce

  • In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add and sauté onion for about 5 minutes or until tender. Add minced garlic and saute an additional 1-2 minutes.
  • Add fresh ground beef, mix to combine and saute 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to the meat & onion mix and continue cooking another 3-5 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked.
  • Add wine (hear it sizzle!) and stir to combine. Then let wine boil off, approximately 5 minutes (generally you will no longer smell it).
  • Add oregano and mix to combine.
  • Add tomato paste and mix into meat/ onion mixture to combine.
  • Add tomato sauce and mix to combine, cook 1 minute.
  • Add boiling water, starting with 4 cups and stir well. Add more water as desired. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes.
  • Add more water depending on desired thickness.
  • Enjoy!
  • Can be made ahead. When it heats up, sauce will thin up a bit and you can always add a touch more water.
  • Freezes well.

Serving

  • Prepare your favorite gluten-free pasta according to package. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of salted pasta water.
  • Place a large ladel full of sauce into the hot pot the pasta just cooked in. Add the cooked pasta and more sauce. Stir and add reserve pasta water as desired to make extra creamy. Add a drizzle of olive oil as desired.
  • Serve into bowls. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired, top with fresh chopped basil if desired or even a drizzle of olive oil..
  • Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Mention @HealthyGFFamily or tag #HealthyGFFamily!

 

2 thoughts on “Nonna’s Bolognese Sauce”

  1. 5 stars
    Quick, easy and delicious. The white wine was the winning secret ingredient I’ve always been missing when I’ve tried to make bolognese sauce!

    Reply

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