A budget cut of beef, simple pantry ingredients, a bit of patience and pappardelle pasta. This Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle may be the king of all pastas. It is hands down one of my all time favourite pastas ever!
Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce
There’s this annoying thing that’s been a thorn in my backside all my working life. This thing called pride.
I’m not a professional food photographer, or food stylist, videographer or a chef for that matter. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is being proud of everything that I have on my website, knowing that even if there are people out there who can take better photos and make better videos, that I’ve done the best I can do and I’m proud of what I’m sharing.
3 years into blogging with over 500 recipes, I still get butterflies when I hit Publish on a new or updated recipe.
And having rewritten, rephotographed and made a video for this Shredded Beef Ragu which I first shared over 2 years ago, yes I’m going to have butterflies when I hit Publish on this (again!) because it’s one of my all time personal favourites. 🙂
I have a weakness for all things slow cooked, but hands down this shredded beef ragu is one of my all time favourites. I’d dare say I love it even more than traditional Ragu Alla Bolognese. It’s the shredded beef that seals the deal for me. The way it soaks up the sauce and clings to the pasta. It’s an absolute ripper!
I’m pretty sure I first learned how to make Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle from Lidia Bastianich. Years ago, her show “Lidia’s Italy” was one of the few cooking shows on free-to-air TV and I used to watch them over and over again. Almost everything I know about Italian cooking (including the reason why I was hunting down Kale a decade before it became “cool”) is because of Lidia Bastianich. Old school, real deal Italian. 🙂
Best Pasta to serve with Ragu
The question of what type of pasta to serve with different pasta sauces is a question that I get asked quite regularly. Generally, most pasta sauces will pair perfectly well with most common pasta types, like spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, penne / ziti, macaroni, shells etc.
And while this Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce will be great with any type of pasta, the best pasta for a rich sauce like this ragu is pappardelle. This wide, flat pasta is especially great for this recipe because the shredded beef clings to the wide strands.
For pappardelle, I am quite particular about which brand I use because I’ve had problems in the past with uneven cooking. I use San Remo which is a well known trusted brand here in Australia. The pappardelle is bundled into nests so they are fully submerged when dropped into boiling water, and the nests are loose enough so the bubbling water separates the strands and the pappardelle cooks evenly.
You’ll find San Remo pappardelle at all the major supermarkets as well as fresh produce stores and delis. And here’s a photo for size context – giant pasta in my Baby Hands…..
Oh – and the other reason San Remo Pappardelle is my pasta of choice for ragu is because it’s an egg pasta. The addition of egg makes the pappardelle stronger so it doesn’t break when tossed in the thick, rich sauce.
If you’ve just invested hours of patience, slow cooking the sauce to tender perfection, you’ll make me cry if you just dump cooked pasta in a bowl and spoon over the sauce. And the entire nation of Italy will cry with me. 😉 Please promise me you will toss the ragu with the pasta before serving! It is worth it, I promise. Look how every strand of the pappardelle is beautifully coated in that luscious ragu!! – Nagi xx
Watch How To Make It
Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle recipe video!
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Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta
Ingredients
Ragu
- 1.2kg / 2.5 lb chuck beef or other slow cooking beef cut, cut into equal 4 pieces (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp salt
- Black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 onion , diced
- 1 cup carrots , diced (Note 2)
- 1 cup celery , diced (Note 2)
- 800g / 28oz crushed canned tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 beef bouillon cubes , crumbled (Note 3)
- 1 cup / 250ml red wine , full bodied (like merlot, cabernet sauvignon), or sub with beef broth/stock
- 1 1/2 cups / 375 ml water (Note 3)
- 3/4 tsp dried thyme or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 dried bay leaves
To Serve (Not all Sauce is used)
- 1 lb /500g dried pappardelle , or other pasta of choice (Note 4)
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese or parmigiano reggiano
- Fresh parsley , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Pat beef dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Sear Beef: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat in a heavy based pot. Add beef and sear each piece aggressively on all sides until very browned (3 – 5 minutes in total), then remove onto a plate.
- Turn stove down to medium low and add remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil.
- Soffrito: Add garlic and onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery and sauté slowly for 5 minutes.
- Add remaining Ragu ingredients and return the beef to the pot (including pooled juices). Turn the stove up and bring it to a simmer, then turn it down to low so it’s bubbling very very gently. (Note 7)
- Slow cook: Cover the pot and let it cook for 2 hours or until beef is tender enough to shred. (Note 5 for slow cooker and pressure cooker).
- Shred: Remove beef then coarsely shred with 2 forks. Return beef to the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes until sauce is reduced and thickened – beef will soften slightly more during this step.
- Final season: Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning to your taste with salt and pepper. ALSO, add 1/2 tsp sugar if sauce is a bit sour for your taste (Note 6). Place the lid on and set aside until ready to serve (it’s even better the next day and freezes well for months!).
To Serve (Note 4):
- Bring a very large pot of water with 1 tbsp of salt to the boil.
- Add pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time as per the packet instructions.
- Meanwhile, place 5 cups of the Ragu in a very large fry pan, dutch oven or use 2 normal size fry pans. Heat over high heat while the pasta is cooking.
- When the pasta is ready, transfer it directly from the pot into the fry pan using tongs.
- Add 3/4 cup of pasta water into the fry pan.
- Gently toss the pasta (I use 2 wooden spoons) for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce water evaporates and leaves you with a thick Ragu sauce that coats the pasta.
- Yell for your family to sit down at the dinner table because you need to serve it immediately!
- Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan, or even better, with parmigiano reggiano.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Today’s recipe is brought to you with thanks to San Remo. When they asked if I would consider showcasing one of their products in a recipe, it seemed meant-to-be because I wanted to republish this Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu and in fact, I had made the video using San Remo pappardelle pasta before they approached me! I figured it was a sign. ❤️ San Remo is Australia’s most well known pasta brand and is available at supermarkets all around Australia, including the pappardelle I recommend using for this recipe.
Life Of Dozer
Pappardelle pup. (Try saying that 10 times real fast after a few glasses of wine.)
I was delighted at the greedy enthusiasm of the family for this meal. I followed the recipe exactly (I trust all Nagi’s recipes). Easy and delicious – definitely a keeper.
AMAZING! Even with some shortcuts! Due to chronic pain I can’t cook all the Nagi recipes I want to and that is painful in itself! And for my family! My daughter asked for pasta, beef and no cream. Of course Nagi had something! Frozen Sofrito mix (no additives) at Coles. Did the Slow Cooker version 7 hours. Took meat out to shred and added to sauce poured into a big pot. 20 minutes and it was very thick. Did not need to do any other steps except cooking pasta. My daughter came back for seconds! That is huge! I am so happy to be able to still cook Nagi’s amazing food and make my family happy ❤️
The best ragu I have ever tasted and so easy to make. I make big batches if this ro freeze for tasty, easy dinners.
This is the second recipe I have made from this site that have been fails. Both recipes do not account for enough time needed. If you watch the video for this recipe, it states 1.5 hours cook, the recipe notes state 2 hours before shredding the meat. Even at 2hours the meat still needed MUCH more time. It’s definitely disappointing and I have not had these problems with other site recipes. The worst is when your dinner guests are still waiting for dinner to be served.
For anyone interested in trying the recipe I would suggest giving yourself MUCH more time.
I have made this on repeat for the past 12 months. It’s blown me and everyone away every single time. I’m going to change it up and bit and do lamb… what would you recommend? Could I put a few shanks in there. What lamb you reckon would work best for this?
This was outstanding!! So simple, cheap, but restaurant quality! Loved your sausage ragu big time, but it doesn’t agree with me for some reason, so thankfully this is the new OG! Never thought I’d replace my bolognaise, but this will be my go to from here on in. Thank you Nagi, yet again! ❤️❤️
Loved this recipe! Last time I think it was too watery because I did it in the slow cooker & added beef stock. I’m confused by the instructions – it says not to add water for the slow cooker so does that mean you need to use the cubes & no water, and you can’t use liquid beef stock?
Nagi, a lovely Ragu, I changed it up slightly I used beef and chicken stock, as I was low on beef stock, I used a couple of spoonfuls of a lovely sugar free apricot jam to sweeten (which always works wonders) and instead of wine I used a splash or two of dry Marsala… it was lovely. Thank you
Hi Nagi, I’ve got beef chuck roast to use for this recipe but it’s already in approximately 1 inch cubes, do I need to change the cook time?
This was an excellent recipe. I’m adding capers to the ragu to cut through the richness too. Yum
I’ve tried a few different ragu recipes before, but you can’t beat this. I cooked this today in the slow cooker for 5 hours, it is absolutely sensational! Thank you
Hey! Just wondering if I could slowcook the sauce using a Dutch oven? Would 350 degrees be adequate or would I want to go lower?
Hi Nagi, I’m looking forward to making this for an Italian themed dinner party, with your tiramisu for dessert! I’m not that confident cooking this on my stove as I find it too hot, and unfortunately my slow cooker has just died. Could I cook this in the oven for 2hrs instead?
I’m confused about the stock – it says two cubes crumbled but is there liquid added to this?
Hi has anyone used gravy beef? Would it be ok?
Thanks
This is divine!!! I make this recipe constantly and I get compliments every time. Absolutely delicious and super easy to put together.
Is it okay to leave it simmering on the stove for alot longer than 2.5 hours?
I made this today, I added some extra chuck and red wine. A bit of sugar and an extra oxo. I cooked it for 4 hours on very slow on top of stove in heavy pot. It’s just for me. . I divided into 10 containers for freezer and I squished out the pot with bread when no one was watching. 🤭. Absolute yummy. Great recipe Nagi. Thank you.
Easy to follow and lovely flavours.
Will definitely keep for future.
Have made this a few times now and my favourite variation is to add a cup of pumpkin with the other vege, then blitz the sauce with a stick blender before adding the beef back in, it makes it into a nice thick, glossy and moorish sauce! Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!!
Restaurant quality. Infact way better.
Delicious. I followed the steps and then popped it in the slow cooker on low for about 7 hours. It was a hit with the family! Lovely flavours and compliments from all. Thanks Nagi x
I’ve done this but it seems very full of liquid! Did you remove any? Thanks!
I have Recipe Tin Eats so pleased to have this update – googled and of course Nagi has the answer for pressure cookers:)