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!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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.)
Could this be done without red wine?
Hi Nagi and Good Boi Dozer,
Just made this recipe. Can’t wait to eat it. I wanted to share something I’ve been doing for 55 years. When tomato sauce requires a long cooking time I put it in a 350 oven. Using a cast iron enameled old pot. Have not burnt my sauce once doing this. Looking forward to a delicious dinner. Thank you for all the great recipes. You are my number 1 go to for recipes.
I will be cooking this for the third time tomorrow. This time for 10 people. Whilst I’m often nervous before a cook up with multiple people, I have confidence in what this meal can deliver. I appreciate the traditional elements of it. Steps are easy to follow and the final result is well satisfying. Thank you for publishing it.
I pressure cook this recipe for 45mins and then simmer until it’s thickened. With home made pasta this is in my top 5 favourite meals.
The ads on this site are ver frustraing almost to the point O cant use it. I takr screen shots or write the recipe out it is that bad!!!
You are on fire, this ragu and the pasta fritters are the best recipes I’ve seen using leftover pasta.
I’m male 70 on my own in a caravan and it’s difficult to cook complex meals.
Hugs for you and Dozer !
Thankyou !
Another fantastic recipe
This was delicious! Can you scale this up for a party? Will the cook time be the same in the slow cooker?
Excellent dish, we loved it! Nagi has a new fan.
I followed the directions exactly. Unfortunately, the instant pot version seems to be an afterthought here. I knew it didn’t look like enough liquid (and wondered about the no salt suggestion, since you’d assume the final consistency is the same either way) but went with it. The chuck roast chunks were not shreddable in 40 minutes (I’d do an hour to be safe), and the “aggressively seared” beef combined with the heavy pour of tomato paste made the whole thing taste burnt and bitter. I ended up adding more water, cooking it longer, and adding a full tsp of sugar (I normally never put sugar in my tomato sauce), and that made it decent, but definitely not as good as I was hoping.
Superb recipe – as others have said, this turned out excellent with great balance and depth of flavor.
I added a bit of goat cheese (2-4oz) just after emulsifying the sauce with pasta water. This gave it a nice creamy dark red color, velvety texture, and complimented the flavor overall.
Will be adding calabrian chiles to the next batch.
Made this tonight, it was absolutely gorgeous. Going to be a new family favourite. Thank you 🩷
Hi, I was wondering if I could make lasagna with the Ragu?
I was wondering the same?
I don’t see why not. Just make sure that you don’t use the no-boil noodles just because the sauce may not be loose enough to have enough liquid to cook the no- boil noodles. Otherwise I would definitely make lasagna with it!
I made lasagne with this sauce tonight. It was super delicious.
I did! It was delish!
Was thinking exactly the same thing
I have it is absolutely delicious!
Should I still add the bouillon cubes if making in a slow cooker and not adding the water?
Cooked this using a slow cooker and it was absolutely incredible. I actually kept the additional water in the recipe and the sauce came out perfect – silky and perfect consistency for pasta. I did 5hrs on low and 1hr on high to finish. I added fresh rosemary as well as fresh thyme, and a few shallots which made it even better IMO. Such an amazing recipe and really easy to follow, minimal mess and clean up. Will 100% be making again!
I followed this recipe to the tee (added the optional recommended sugar and fresh thyme) and this is now my favourite pasta dish and will be on high rotation. Thank you, Nagi.
I’ve made this several times – excellent to make ahead and just cook pasta and put together when guests arrive. The taste is restaurant quality! So yum thanks
I made this and it was a huge success. Sent the leftovers to my daughter and flatmates and it was devoured in minutes so 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I have no idea what recipe those that say this is lacking in flavour and was underwhelming are cooking. You need to use your common sense when following a recipe. You cannot just go by the letter of the recipe, especially if you are in another country, using a different cut of beef etc. I used beef brisket, and it took 4 hours on my stove top. The positive of this was I did not have to reduce the sauce down. Beef will shred when it is ready to shred. Use the given ingredients in the recipe yes, but as far as cooking times etc these can vary greatly. The end result was exceptional. My only change was adding chilli flakes as we like our food with a little kick. Also made Nagi’s focaccia. If you have not made this, you need to. It is another level.
I totally agree with you! I’ve been cooking for a very long time and am Italian and was always taught to taste my food as I was cooking it to make sure that there was enough seasoning.
Right?! This recipe is wonderful! I have made it several times now, always to rave reviews… I think Nagi has created something really special.
I have to assume the “that’s bland” crowd seasoned their beef before searing, but missed the “season to taste” near the end, and didn’t salt their food!
I was expecting to love this dish after reading the comments. My husband and I found this was was a little underwhelming. The 5 year old loved it though, winner with him. Love every other recipe I’ve cooked of Nagi’s