Quick Bolognese

A good meat sauce doesn’t need to cook all day to be delicious. This one can be made in under 30 minutes, and is a wonderful inexpensive weeknight meal.

The idea to use balsamic vinegar instead of red wine comes from Diane of Balanced Bites, who was there for me when I was having a “how can I make sauce without wine?!” crisis.

Quick Bolognese

1 onion, small dice
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 pound ground beef (grassfed if possible)
12 ounces Italian sausage, removed from casings if in links (check ingredients!)
20-24 ounces jarred tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
pinch salt
pinch red pepper flakes, if desired
1 tablespoon bacon fat

• In a large cast iron or stainless steel sauce pan, heat the bacon fat over medium heat.
• Add the onions and cook, stirring every minute or so, until fragrant and softened, about 7-10 minutes.
• Add the garlic and saute one more minute.
• Sprinkle in a pinch of salt.
• Add the beef and sausage, and break it up with a spatula as much as possible.
• Once the meat is browned, add the tomatoes. rosemary, red pepper flakes, and bring to a simmer.
• Turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• When it’s nearly done, add the balsamic vinegar and simmer another minute or two.

All of the links on zenbelly.com are for information purposes, however some are affiliate links to books, products or services. Any sponsored posts are clearly labelled as being sponsored content. Some ads on this site are served by ad networks and the advertised products are not necessarily recommended by Zenbelly.