Creamy Fettuccine Bolognese (2024)

This creamy fettuccine bolognese is incredibly flavorful and delicious! It combines tasty fettuccine with the savory flavors that are typical for lasagna and bolognese. And the best part is that it's super easy to make!

If you love Italian lasagna and pasta bolognese, then you need to try this creamy fettuccine bolognese recipe for dinner! The bolognese sauce is super creamy, flavorful, and simply amazing.

Served with freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves, this pasta dish makes for a comforting and satisfying dinner.

Fettuccine Bolognese Ingredients

To make this creamy fettuccine bolognese, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Fettuccine: Any type of wide and long pasta works great with bolognese as the sauce perfectly clings to the pasta. I used fettuccine for this recipe, but feel free to use any other type of pasta.
• Ground beef: Bolognese is typically made with ground beef and pork, but I like to use only ground beef as I don’t eat pork. Feel free to use a blend of both if you want to.
• Soffritto vegetables and aromatics: Onion, celery, and carrots are part of an Italian soffritto (or Mirepoix) that is the base for many sauces. Garlic is added for extra flavor. I highly recommend using all of these ingredients as they are crucial for the unique taste of classic bolognese.
• Tomato paste: Tomato paste is another classic ingredient in bolognese so make sure to use it.
• Liquids: The creamy bolognese sauce is made with tomato passata, beef broth, red wine (alternatively white wine), and heavy cream. These ingredients are the perfect combination for making a delicious meat sauce.
• Herbs and spices: Adding bay leaves and ground nutmeg is super important for the flavor of the sauce, so be sure to add them.
• Parmesan and fresh basil: Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves add some extra flavor and make any pasta dish taste so much better! An alternative for fresh basil is parsley.

How to make creamy fettuccine bolognese

To make this creamy fettuccine bolognese recipe, follow these steps:

1. Sauté the vegetables, aromatics, and meat:Preheat some olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Then sauté the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. After 2-3 minutes add the ground beef and sauté until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Add some tomato paste and sauté again.
2. Add the liquids and simmer: Next, add the red wine, beef broth, tomato passata, and bay leaf. Cover the pan and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Cook the pasta: In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente. Save some pasta water. Then drain and set aside.
4. Add remaining ingredients: After 20 minutes, take out the bay leaf. Add the pasta water, heavy cream, and ground nutmeg. Stir until combined.
5. Combine: Transfer the pasta to the pan and toss until everything is combined.
6. Garnish and serve: Garnish with grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves. Enjoy!

Tips & Notes

When you make this fettuccine bolognese, keep the following things in mind so everything turns out perfectly.

• Deglaze the bottom of the pan with wine. Whenever you make bolognese sauce, let the ingredients brown while sautéing and then deglaze with wine. This makes the final sauce even more flavorful and delicious.
• Adjust the amount of beef broth you use. Depending on how long you let the bolognese sauce simmer, you might have to add more beef broth. So make sure top adjust the amount of liquids as needed.
• Let the sauce simmer for longer.Traditional bolognese usually simmers for at least 2 hours to achieve the best results. So if you have some time, feel free to prepare the sauce in advance and let it simmer for longer. If you don’t have the time, 20 minutes is great, too!
• Cook the pasta until al dente. As the pasta continues to cook in the pan, you don’t want to cook it fully. Otherwise it is going to be overcooked and mushy after tossing it in the sauce.
• Reserve some pasta water. Pasta water makes the sauce cling to the pasta and adds flavor. So make sure to save some before you drain it.

Variations

There are a few ways to adjust this creamy beef bolognese recipe to your preferences and dietary needs. Here are a few examples:

• Vegan: I absolutely love pasta bolognese and think that everyone should be able to enjoy it! So if you want to make this recipe vegan, use plant-based mince, cashew cream or my homemade cashew Alfredo sauce, and vegetable broth. The dish is going to taste a little different, but still super delicious!
• Lower fat: If you want a version that is lower in fat, feel free to use ground turkey instead of ground beef (or a combination).
• Alcohol-free: And if you want to keep this dish completely alcohol-free, omit the wine and add more beef broth. I absolutely love and recommend using wine if you can, but just omit it when adding alcohol is not an option.

Frequently Asked Questions

More simple and delicious pasta recipes

Nothing beats flavorful and delicious pasta after a long day! Here are some of my favorite recipes for when I crave pasta.

• Penne alla Vodka with Chicken
• Taco Pasta
• Baked Feta Pasta with Shrimp
• Easy Lasagna Soup
• Spicy Cajun Shrimp Pasta