Easy Beef Bolognese with Creamy Polenta

This easy recipe for beef bolognese sauce is delicious over creamy polenta (or you can substitute pasta, if you prefer). This non-traditional bolognese makes it possible to have a cozy, comforting dish on the table in just 30 minutes!

This beef bolognese is one of my go to meat sauce recipe. Its simple, relatively quick and delicious. And absolute perfection served over warm, creamy polenta or pasta! On a cold night, this dish is all I need to warm me up from my head to my toes. So cozy!

Although it closely resembles it, this is not your traditional bolognese. Traditional bolognese sauce often includes a mixture of beef and pork that is simmered for hours. This is definitely an all-beef recipe and a shortcut method. While you can’t beat the flavor brought on by slowly simmering a sauce for hours, its not always possible and sometimes (often in our home) you just need a shortcut.

My bolognese sauce vs. a traditional bolognese

In addition to being a short-cut version of a traditional, long-simmered traditional bolognese sauce, there are a few additional tweaks I have made to my version. I have outlined them below and given you some tips and options to make changes and make it truly traditional if you like.

First and foremost, you came here for a beef bolognese sauce, as stated in the title of this recipe, and that is what you are getting! This version uses all ground beef whereas traditionally in many recipes a beef and pork mixture is used. You can certainly use a mixture if you like.

My bolognese sauce gets a lovely hint of flavor from cinnamon (don’t worry, its not overpowering). I personally love this surprise flavor and it’s something that I am used to adding in meat sauce since my background is Greek. Greek meat sauces sometimes add cinnamon, such as in Pastitsio or Makaronia Me Kima recipes (Pasta with meat sauce). If that is not your thing, just omit the cinnamon or replace it with a pinch of nutmeg.

I also omit pancetta which is often included in traditional bolognese recipes because I wanted to keep this recipe simple and easy. I also wanted to keep it all-beef. If you do want to keep this sauce as traditional as can be, you can definitely add finely diced pancetta to the ground meat when you are browning it in the pan.

Ingredients in this Bolognese Sauce

• Olive oil
  
  
• Ground beef: Many traditional bolognese recipes use both ground beef and ground pork. I often use all beef but you can also use a mixture to keep it traditional. Pancetta is also often used. As this is an all-beef recipe, I do not use it but you can add diced pancetta to the ground meat when you are browning it if you wish to.
  
  
• Vegetables: Finely diced onion, carrots and celery. I like to chop them up finely so they disappear into the sauce. You can also pulse them a few times in a food processor to help get them into small pieces in a matter of seconds.
  
  
• Tomato paste: I use tomato paste but sometimes replace it with passata. If you do this, make sure you reduce the liquid (e.g. the beef stock) to account for the excess liquid or just simmer the sauce for a longer period of time to help the extra liquid evaporate.
  
  
• Beef stock: Beef stock adds more flavour but you can also use water instead.
  
  
• Dry red or white wine: To keep it alcohol-free, you can replace this with beef stock or water.
  
  
• Herbs and Spices: parsley, Italian seasoning, cinnamon stick (as mentioned above, if you want to omit the cinnamon, you can or you can replace it with a pinch of nutmeg.)
  
  
• Sugar: helps cut the acidity of the tomato.
  
  
• Milk: Stirred into the sauce at the end for added creaminess. Whole milk is often used but you can replace it with 2% milk or similar.
  
  
• Salt and pepper: to taste

Note: Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to Make Easy Beef Bolognese Sauce

While a traditional bolognese simmers away for hours, this quick version is ready in less than half an hour!

1. Brown the meat: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add the ground beef. Brown the meat for a few minutes, being sure to break up any large pieces.
   
   
2. Cook the veggies: Add the onions, carrots, and celery and continue to saute until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables have softened.
   
   
3. Add the liquids and seasonings: Add the tomato paste, beef stock, red wine, sugar, parsley, Italian seasoning, and cinnamon stick. Simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the wine to evaporate. Then cover the skillet and let it simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Add more water if needed.
   
   
4. Stir in milk: Stir in the milk and let it simmer for a few more minutes. Discard cinnamon stick.

That’s it! This quick and easy weeknight beef bolognese is ready to be served with polenta (or you can omit the polenta and serve it over pasta instead.

How to Make Creamy Polenta:

1. Bring 3 cups of chicken broth to a boil.
   
   
2. Add 3/4 cups polenta and lower to medium heat. Cook for approximately 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
   
   
3. Remove from heat and stir in butter, Parmesan cheese and pepper.
   
   
4. Spoon polenta into dishes. Top with the bolognese sauce and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.

Storing leftovers and reheating

Once cooled completely, leftover sauce and polenta can be placed in an airtight container and stored in the fridge.

You can reheat the sauce and polenta separately on the stove top. I like to do this over medium heat and stirring often to ensure it warms through evenly. You will need to add a little more liquid to the polenta to re-hydrate it. You can use a little water or broth for this.

What to serve with this dish

I LOVE serving this beef bolognese sauce over creamy Parmesan polenta, as outlined in the recipe but if you want to switch things up, it’s also great served over pasta. Whatever you serve it over, I highly recommend some crusty bread to soak up all that delicious sauce!

As a side dish, I love to serve this with a crisp, fresh salad like my Healthy Caesar Salad or Radish Cucumber Salad. Vegetable side dishes also go great with this meal like steamed broccoli or green beans. Green Beans Almondine is another fun option.

Looking for more easy weeknight dinner ideas? You may also like:

Cheesy Beef & Noodle Casserole
Easy Stove Top Ground Beef and Noodles
Healthy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
Easy Penne Pasta with Ground Turkey
Easy Boursin Chicken Orzo Bake
Pork Tenderloin Sheet Pan Dinner

This post was updated on December 17th, 2022 with improvements to the recipe.