a rich, slow-cooked pasta—very similar to a hearty slow cooker beef ragù with wide noodles (like pappardelle). Here’s a full recipe you can follow to recreate it:
🍝 Slow Cooker Beef Ragù with Pappardelle
🛒 Ingredients
- 1 lb (450g) ground beef (or half beef, half Italian sausage)
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (14–15 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup red wine (optional but recommended)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt & black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz (225g) wide pasta (pappardelle or tagliatelle)
- Fresh parsley or basil (for garnish)
- Grated Parmesan cheese
🔥 Instructions
1. Brown the meat
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add ground beef, cook until browned and slightly crispy.
- Drain excess fat if needed.
2. Build flavor
- Add onion, carrot, and celery to the pan. Cook 5–7 minutes until softened.
- Stir in garlic and tomato paste; cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant.
3. Deglaze
- Pour in red wine and scrape up browned bits. Let simmer 2–3 minutes.
4. Slow cook
- Transfer everything to a slow cooker.
- Add crushed tomatoes, broth, and all seasonings.
- Stir well.
👉 Cook on:
- Low: 6–8 hours
- High: 3–4 hours
The sauce should become thick, rich, and deeply flavored.
5. Cook pasta
- Near the end, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
- Reserve a bit of pasta water.
6. Combine
- Toss pasta with the ragù. Add a splash of pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
🍽️ Serve
- Top with grated Parmesan and fresh herbs.
- Optional: drizzle of olive oil or a knob of butter for extra richness.
💡 Tips
- For deeper flavor, use chunks of chuck roast instead of ground beef (shred after cooking).
- Let it sit 10–15 minutes before serving—it thickens beautifully.
- This tastes even better the next day.
If you want, I can tweak this to exactly match what you see (like chunkier meat, spicier sauce, or a no-wine version).