Easy Pasta with Bolognese Sauce
Make an easy Pasta with Bolognese sauce with just five ingredients - including jarred sauce and boxed pasta! A few technique tricks will help get that authentic Italian texture with sauce that clings to every bite.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 351kcal
Ingredients
- 16 oz. rigatoni or other pasta shape
- 24 oz. marinara sauce I used Rao's
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil I like California Olive Ranch
- 1/4 cup pecorino Romano cheese finely grated, plus more for serving
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil (see notes).
- Cook the 16 oz. rigatoni until just before it's al dente (about 2 minutes before the time designated on the package).
- Meanwhile, cook the 1 lb. lean ground beef in a large deep skillet until fully cooked. As you are cooking it, break it into very small pieces. I used a potato masher to make sure it got broken up enough.
- Move the beef to one side of the skillet and tilt it in order to separate the grease/liquid. Remove the grease with a spoon and discard.
- Add the 24 oz. marinara sauce to the ground beef. Stir, cover, and simmer until heated through.
- When pasta is done just before it's al dente, reserve 1-2 cups of the pasta water and drain the rest. Don't drain too thoroughly- it's OK, and actually a good thing, if it has some of the water clinging to it.
- Add the drained pasta to the skillet with the sauce (you can also move it directly from the water using a slotted spoon). If the skillet is too small, you can add the pasta back into the pot in which it cooked, and add the sauce to it.
- Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce in the skillet or pot and keep heat on medium low. Add 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, stirring to coat. Add more pasta water as necessary to help the pasta finish cooking to al dente- it will help the sauce thicken and stick to every piece of pasta (I used about 3/4 cup total).
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 1/4 cup pecorino Romano cheese. Taste and add kosher salt if necessary.
- Serve immediately with extra pecorino Romano and garnished optionally with chopped fresh parsley, seasoned with fresh ground black pepper.
Video
Notes
- Salting the pasta water: I always err on the side of a lot of salt here, but you should add salt according to your taste preference. A good guideline from America's Test Kitchen is 1 tablespoon table salt per 4 quarter of water. This will be more if you use kosher (see this post all about salt for more info!).
- Pecorino Romano - be sure to buy one made with sheep's milk, as it has a distinct taste. You can use parmesan as a substitute for pecorino Romano, if you prefer.
- Save the extra reserved pasta water for storing leftovers - stir a bit of it in before packing the pasta in an airtight container. This will help prevent it from drying out in the fridge.
Nutrition
Calories: 351kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 524mg | Potassium: 604mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 381IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 3mg