Easy Lamb Bolognese with Pappardelle

🔪 Ingredients for Lamb Bolognese

For the Lamb Bolognese:

• Ground lamb: one pound of American ground lamb. Freedom Run Farm sells it in 16-ounce packs at Kroger family stores (Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Fry’s), which is exactly one batch. Any American ground lamb works if you can’t find it.
• Olive oil
• Yellow onion, carrots and celery: diced fine, so they melt into the sauce instead of sitting in chunks.
• Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Dry red wine: anything you would happily drink a glass of.
• Crushed tomatoes
• Fresh thyme and bay leaves
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• Heavy cream: stirred in at the end to soften the acidity of the tomatoes and make the sauce silky.

For the Pasta:

• Pappardelle or tagliatelle: the wide, flat noodles hold on to a chunky meat sauce far better than spaghetti.
• Kosher salt: for the pasta water.

For Serving:

• Fresh parsley
• Parmesan cheese: grate it fresh off the wedge.

Equipment

• Large skillet or Dutch oven: big enough to hold the finished sauce plus the pasta when you toss them together.
• Wooden spoon: breaks the lamb into small crumbles and scrapes up the browned bits when the wine goes in.
• Large pot: for boiling the pasta.
• Heatproof measuring cup: for scooping out pasta water before you drain.
• Colander
• Tongs: for tossing the noodles in the sauce without tearing them.

📝 How to Make Lamb Bolognese

This is the one-pound, one-hour weeknight pot, finished with a splash of cream. When you want the slow Sunday version with porcini and a dollop of ricotta, make our Savory Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle instead.

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and the onion turns translucent.
2. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
3. Add the ground lamb and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until it is browned all over with no pink left. Give it time to take on real color here; that browning is where the sauce gets its depth. (More on why in our guide to how to sear meat.)
4. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens a shade and coats the meat.
5. Pour in the red wine and scrape up every browned bit stuck to the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until the wine has reduced slightly.
6. Add the crushed tomatoes, fresh thyme, bay leaves, salt and black pepper and stir well.
7. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and rich and a spoon dragged across the bottom of the pan leaves a trail that holds for a second.
8. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pappardelle or tagliatelle according to the package directions until al dente, tender with a slight bite in the center. Scoop out 1/2 to 1 cup of pasta water before you drain.
9. Remove the bay leaves. Stir the heavy cream into the sauce and cook over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce turns smooth, creamy, and a shade lighter.
10. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss gently to coat. Add a splash of the reserved pasta water as needed, until the sauce loosens and clings to every noodle.
11. Serve topped with chopped fresh parsley and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan.

🍽️ What to Serve with Lamb Bolognese

• La Scala Chopped Salad: a crunchy, tangy chopped salad is the right partner for a creamy meat sauce, and every bite resets your palate for the next forkful of pasta.
• Kale and Apple Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette: sharp apple and sturdy kale stand up to rich lamb, and it keeps the whole meal feeling like fall.
• Crusty bread: for dragging through whatever sauce is left in the bottom of the bowl.
• The rest of the red wine: you already opened the bottle for the sauce, so pour it.

Want more ways to cook with it? Browse all of our ground lamb recipes, including baked Traditional Pastitsio and Lamb Eggplant Rollatini, or head to the full collection of lamb recipes.

🧊 Leftovers and Storage

• Fridge: store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days. If you can, keep the sauce and pasta separate so the noodles don’t soak up all the sauce.
• Freezer: freeze the sauce without the pasta in an airtight container for up to 2 to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
• Reheat: warm the sauce in a saucepan over low heat with a splash of water, stirring until it is hot all the way through, then toss with freshly cooked or leftover pasta.

❓ FAQs