Ultimate Slow Cooker Beef Ragu with Pappardelle
Make this rich, deeply flavorful beef ragu in your slow cooker for melt-in-your-mouth tender shredded beef. This hearty Italian comfort food is perfect served over pappardelle pasta for an easy, satisfying dinner.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 8 hr
- Total Time: 8 hr 20 min
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Low Fat
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 lbs beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into large chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine (like Merlot or Chianti)
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Season the beef chunks generously with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the beef on all sides in batches, removing the browned beef to your slow cooker insert.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the skillet. Cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until the tomato paste darkens slightly.
- Pour in the red wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Let the wine reduce by half, about 3 minutes.
- Transfer the vegetable and wine mixture to the slow cooker with the beef.
- Add the beef broth, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, oregano, and thyme to the slow cooker. Stir everything together.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the beef is very tender.
- Remove the beef chunks from the sauce and shred them using two forks. Return the shredded beef to the sauce and stir to combine. Discard the bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- About 20 minutes before serving, cook the pappardelle pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain well.
- Toss the cooked pappardelle with a generous amount of the beef ragu. Serve immediately topped with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- This deeply flavorful meat sauce tastes even better the next day, making it excellent for meal prep or make-ahead entertaining.
- If you do not have a slow cooker, you can braise this ragu in a Dutch oven in a 325 degree F oven for 3 to 4 hours.
- For a richer flavor, substitute half of the beef broth with beef consommé.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 650
- Sugar: 10
- Sodium: 550
- Fat: 30
- Saturated Fat: 11
- Unsaturated Fat: 19
- Trans Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 55
- Fiber: 7
- Protein: 45
- Cholesterol: 140