Bolognese Sauce (Gluten Free & Dairy Free)

We have been eating this Bolognese sauce pretty much weekly since April. I've said this in the past, but when my family finds a recipe we really love, we'll eat it weekly. Someone will request this Bolognese every week and no one protest because it's that good! It comes together pretty easily, it freezes and re-heats so easily and it makes the most delicious dinner!

We eat this Bolognese one of two ways - either with gluten free spaghetti or with spaghetti squash. 7 months ago putting pasta sauce on a squash made me want to cry. Yes, you read that right. I was about ready to cry over losing pasta. I'm a pasta girl through and through but I actually like this sauce best on spaghetti squash. Again, you ready that right. That was not a typo. I promise! This sauce is best with spaghetti squash! You could use this bolognese however you like, but I cannot recommend spaghetti squash more highly!

This recipe comes from Genius Kitchen, you can find it HERE. I switch up the original recipe quite a bit. For starters, it's not dairy free. So, I've made adjustments where necessary to make it dairy free. And next, I don't include the bacon. What!? I love bacon, but I think there's a time and a place for bacon and I don't really like bacon in pasta sauce. Otherwise, just little switches to adjust the recipe to better fit my family.

Start by heating 3 Tablespoons of olive and 4 Tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan. Note that if you want to make this recipe dairy free, you cannot use butter. You could use coconut oil or a vegan butter replacement here instead.

Chop up 1 medium onion, 2 stalks of celery and 2 carrots. Add the veggies to the pot. Mince 4 cloves of garlic and add them to the pot as well. The recipe actually calls for 1 stalk of celery and 1 carrot, but I doubled that to add a little extra nutrients. Cook the veggies and garlic over medium-high for about 10 minutes - the onion should be translucent.

Add 1 cup of dry white wine and 1 cup of bone broth. I shared a soup recipe last week that has sneaky bone broth in it and here is another one! I'm all about sneaking in bone broth wherever possible! Cook until the wine and the bone broth have mostly evaporated.

Then, add in 1 3/4 pounds of ground beef along with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 Tablespoon of oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. Cook this mixture for about 20 minutes - the meat should lose it's red color.

Add one 28oz can of crushed tomatoes. Increase the heat slightly to bring the sauce to boil. Once the sauce has boiled, lower the sauce to simmer. Let the sauce simmer over low heat for 2-4 hours. The longer you can leave it to simmer, the better! While the sauce is simmering, stir it occasionally to prevent it from sticking.

As the sauce is approaching the end of it's cook time, cook your favorite pasta or pop a spaghetti squash in the oven. Top the pasta or the spaghetti squash with the bolognese sauce and enjoy!

The sauce easily serves 4 of us and we have leftovers for lunch the next day. I think this sauce could easily be stretched to serve 8 but most comfortable serves 4 to 6 people. Should you have any leftovers that you want to save for a later meal, you can freeze this sauce in an airtight container and thaw it when you're ready to eat it.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE
serves 4-6

ingredients
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 Tablespoons butter (for dairy free option, use vegan butter or coconut oil)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped (I use 2 carrots)
1 celery stalks, finely chopped (I use 2 stalks)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup bone broth
1 3/4 lbs of ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 Tablespoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes

directions
1. Heat olive oil and butter (or butter replacement) in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add in the onion, the carrot, the celery and the garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes - until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
3. Add in the white wine and the bone broth and cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
4. Add in the ground beef, the salt, pepper, sage, oregano, red pepper flakes and nutmeg. Cook for about 20 minutes - the meat should be cooked and no longer read.
5. Add in the crushed tomatoes. Increase the heat slightly and cook until the sauce comes to a boil. Once the sauce boils, turn the heat down to low and let the sauce simmer for 2-4 hours. The longer the better. While the sauce is cooking, stir it occasionally to prevent it from sticking.
6. As the sauce approches the end of it's cook time, cook some pasta or a spaghetti squash. Top the pasta of spaghetti squash with the bolognese sauce and enjoy!

As usual, let me know if you have questions!