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This easy beef ragu recipe is total comfort food — with just 10 minutes of prep! Prepare this beef ragu with pappardelle pasta in the slow cooker or on the stovetop for an Italian-inspired dinner that your whole family will adore! The affordable meal serves a crowd and freezes beautifully. 

Close overhead shot of slow cooker beef ragu recipe served over pappardelle pasta in a blue and white bowl
Table of Contents
  1. What is Beef Ragù?
  2. Ingredients Needed for a Homemade Beef Ragu Recipe
  3. How to Make Beef Ragu in the Slow Cooker
  4. How to Make Beef Ragu on the Stovetop
  5. What Pasta is Best for Beef Ragu?
  6. What to Serve with Beef Ragu
  7. Homemade Beef Ragu Recipe Variations & Cooks Tips
  8. How to Store Leftover Beef Ragu
  9. More Homemade Sauce Recipes
  10. Beef Ragu Recipe {Slow Cooker or Stovetop} Recipe

There’s something so cozy about a big pot of sauce simmering in your kitchen. The smell of garlic and onion wafts through the house as you anticipate time with your family around the table. There’s no last-minute stress or effort! You can leave the ragu recipe in your Crock Pot all day while you work and come home to an amazing, restaurant-quality meal!

Making a stovetop beef ragu over the weekend? The simmering sauce will fill your home with hearty flavors of herbs, tomatoes, and slow-cooked beef. Pair the flavorful ragu sauce with your favorite pasta and you’ve got a delicious dinner that takes minimal effort. Best of all, this dish takes advantage of inexpensive ingredients (such as a beef chuck roast) and transforms them into something truly special.

What is Beef Ragù?

An Italian ragù recipe is typically defined as a hearty, seasoned Italian sauce made with meat and tomatoes. It is most often served with pasta, and includes ground beef (or shredded chuck roast, in this case), tomatoes, finely chopped carrots, celery, and onion. 

What is the difference between a ragu and a Bolognese?

While the recipes for ragu and Bolognese are similar, a Bolognese sauce is a type of ragu rather than a completely different sauce. The difference comes down to the name and a few key ingredients. Bolognese sauce is usually made with different meat — like ground beef or pork — and cream. You can use red or white wine in a Bolognese sauce, whereas a ruga is traditionally made with red wine, which gives deep flavor to the sauce. Making a homemade ragu recipe leaves more room for creativity, while a Bolognese is a specific kind of ragu.

A white Dutch oven filled with hearty slow-cooked beef ragu, garnished with fresh parsley.

Ingredients Needed for a Homemade Beef Ragu Recipe

Here are the main ingredients you need to make a homemade beef ragu on the stovetop or slow cooker. The recipe card at the end of the post contains exact ingredient measurements, as well as specific notes about ingredient differences between slow cooker beef ragu and stovetop ragu. 

  • Chuck Roast: the base of the ragu sauce. This cut of meat slow cooks to tender perfection, making it easy to shred. 
  • Vidalia Onions: sweeter than regular white or yellow onions, Vidalia onions add flavor to the sauce. 
  • Garlic, Carrots, & Celery: aromatics that add body to the beef ragu. 
  • Crushed Tomatoes: the base of the tangy tomato sauce. San Marzano tomatoes are the highest quality flavor for a ragu sauce.
  • Tomato Paste: thickens the sauce and provides a tangy punch of tomato flavor. 
  • Dry Red Wine: gives the sauce a bold, rich body and flavor. The best red wines to use are Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot. 
  • Parmesan Cheese: adds a sharp, salty flavor to the sauce. Fresh grated is best, as it melts perfectly into the sauce. 

How to Make Beef Ragu in the Slow Cooker

My mom originally gave me this recipe, which she created for the stovetop. While simmering the beef and vegetables in a Dutch oven results in a beautiful sauce, I don’t always have that kind of time! As a result, I’ve tested Mom’s recipe numerous times in my own home to create a slow cooker version that’s just as good! By using a lot less liquid in the Crock Pot, you can still accomplish a thick, rich, flavorful braised beef ragu — that’s not watered down by the slow cooker.

  • Whisk together the red wine and tomato paste until smooth. 
  • Add the red wine mixture to the slow cooker, along with the salt, sliced onions, garlic, celery, carrots, Parmesan cheese, and crushed tomatoes. 
  • Season a beef chuck roast with salt and place it into the slow cooker. 
  • Cover the pot and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours.
  • Shred the slow-cooked meat then stir it back into the sauce.  

How to Make Beef Ragu on the Stovetop

Cooking a tender, hearty beef ragu on the stovetop requires a bit more effort, but the end result is the same – a completely delicious sauce full of flavor with tender beef and vegetables, perfect with your favorite kind of pasta. 

  • Season the beef roast, then brown the meat on each side in a large Dutch oven. Remove and set aside. 
  • Saute the onions, carrots, and celery in the Dutch oven. Add the tomato paste and stir. 
  • Deglaze the pan with red wine, scraping up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. 
  • Simmer the wine sauce, then add the meat along with water, Parmesan cheese, and crushed tomatoes. 
  • Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 3 hours, covering halfway through cooking.
  • Remove the meat, shred it on a tray or cutting board, return it to the pot, season to taste, and serve.

How do I add more flavor to my beef ragu sauce?

This slow-cooked beef ragu is already packed with flavor, but there are plenty of ways to turn it up a notch. First and foremost: add fresh herbs! Flavor the sauce with bay leaves, fresh basil, thyme, or rosemary. Add additional spices like red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, or dried herbs like oregano, parsley, or an Italian seasoning blend. Finally, use beef broth instead of water if you’re cooking the beef ragu on the stovetop. Beef broth will add a rich flavor to the sauce that enhances the flavor of the beef.

Why is my beef ragu watery? 

If the sauce is too watery at the end of cooking, it’s likely that the liquid did not cook off enough. Making ragu in the slow cooker requires less liquid than on the stovetop, so you’re more likely to run into this problem with the stovetop method. There are a few easy ways to fix a watery ragu:

  • Allow the ragu to keep cooking uncovered — this will help the excess liquid evaporate. It’s almost impossible to overcook a ragu, but if you’re worried about overcooking the meat, let the ragu continue to cook after you’ve removed the beef. Add the beef back into the sauce once it reaches your desired thickness.
  • Make a cornstarch slurry with cornstarch and water and stir it into the hot ragu until it thickens. I recommend doing this before adding the meat back into the sauce. 
  • Add more tomato paste. Start with 1-2 tablespoons and taste before you add more. 
  • Add your drained pasta with a little bit of leftover pasta water. The starch from the pasta water will actually help thicken the sauce while it finishes cooking. 
A bowl of pappardelle pasta served with a hearty beef ragu and fresh basil leaves.

What Pasta is Best for Beef Ragu?

Beef ragu is often served with pappardelle pasta — a large, very broad, flat pasta noodle. If you’re like me and you have trouble finding pappardelle in your local grocery store, you can toss the ragu sauce with another sturdy pasta. You can serve beef ragu with:

  • Rigatoni
  • Ravioli
  • Fettuccini
  • Tagliatelle
  • Or use the sauce in your favorite lasagna recipe!

What to Serve with Beef Ragu

Beef ragu is essentially a complete meal — it has plenty of vegetables, tender meat, and satisfying pasta. On the side, you can pair the braised beef ragu with any of these easy options:

An overhead image of slow cooked stovetop beef ragu cooked in a white Dutch oven, and a wooden spoon.

Homemade Beef Ragu Recipe Variations & Cooks Tips

  • Note the different amounts of liquid called for in the different cooking methods. Stovetop beef ragu requires water and more red wine because you simmer the ingredients with the lid ajar — which releases steam and allows the sauce to thicken. The slow cooker, by contrast, needs the lid closed — which means that condensation falls back into the sauce. As a result, you will omit the water and drastically reduce the amount of red wine when preparing the slow cooker ragu.
  • This recipe calls for kosher salt. If you’re using regular table salt, you will likely need to decrease the amount of salt that you add to the dish. Just taste and adjust to your liking!
  • Don’t want to use red wine? You can substitute with an equal amount of beef stock.
  • If you can find San Marzano crushed tomatoes, they’re the best!
  • Is Beef Ragu spicy? No, not at all! This mild sauce is incredibly kid-friendly. That said, you can easily add heat to the dish by stirring in crushed red pepper to taste.
  • How to thicken Beef Ragu: if you find that your sauce looks too thin — even after you have added back in the shredded beef — you can continue to simmer the sauce without a lid until the ragu reaches the desired consistency.

How to Store Leftover Beef Ragu

  • How to freeze Beef Ragu: This sauce will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To preserve the ragu even longer, package in an airtight container (or in a Ziploc freezer bag) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • To reheat Beef Ragu: Thaw frozen ragu in the refrigerator overnight. Place in a saucepan, cover, and cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until warmed through.
An overhead image of a bowl of homemade beef ragu served over pappardelle pasta, fresh basil, and grated Parmesan cheese.

More Homemade Sauce Recipes

Close overhead shot of slow cooker beef ragu recipe served over pasta in a blue and white bowl

Beef Ragu Recipe {Slow Cooker or Stovetop}

5 from 7 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 8 hours
0 minutes
Total: 8 hours 10 minutes
Servings 8 people
Calories 375 kcal
Total comfort food — with just 10 minutes of prep! Prepare this Beef Ragu recipe in the slow cooker or on the stovetop for an Italian-inspired easy dinner!

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ – 3 lb. chuck roast
  • 3 teaspoons kosher salt divided
  • 3 Vidalia onions thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic smashed and peeled
  • 1 stalk celery finely diced
  • 1 carrot peeled and finely diced
  • 6 oz tomato paste
  • 1 ½ cups red wine for stovetop method
  • ½ cup red wine for slow cooker method
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • cups water for stovetop method
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • For serving: pappardelle or other sturdy pasta

Instructions

SLOW COOKER METHOD:

  • Spray a slow cooker with cooking spray. Whisk together tomato paste and ½ cup red wine; transfer to slow cooker. Add onions, garlic, celery, carrot, Parmesan cheese, crushed tomatoes and ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir.
    3 teaspoons kosher salt, 3 Vidalia onions, 3 cloves garlic, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot, 6 oz tomato paste, 1 ½ cups red wine, ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • Season beef with ¾ teaspoon salt and place in the slow cooker.
    2 ½ – 3 lb. chuck roast
  • Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours. You know it’s done when the beef is fall-apart tender. Discard garlic cloves and use two forks to shred the beef. Add remaining 1 ½ teaspoons salt, stir, and serve over pasta.

STOVETOP METHOD:

  • Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season beef with ¾ teaspoon salt; brown in hot oil (about 4 minutes per side).
    2 ½ – 3 lb. chuck roast
  • Remove meat to a platter.
  • Reduce heat to low; add onions and additional ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir frequently, scraping bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as the onions cook and caramelize for 25-30 minutes. NOTE: If you don't have the time or patience to cook the onions for this long, that's fine — just sauté them for about 7 minutes (until tender). The caramelizing adds extra rich flavor, but it will still be delicious with a shorter time too!
    3 Vidalia onions
  • Add garlic, carrot and celery; cook for 2 more minutes.
    3 cloves garlic, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot
  • Clear space in the bottom of the pot; add tomato paste, and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes.
    6 oz tomato paste
  • Add wine and deglaze the pot by scraping up bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
    ½ cup red wine
  • Simmer for 3 minutes. Return meat to the pot; add 2 ½ cups of water, Parmesan cheese and crushed tomatoes. Reduce heat to very low; cover halfway (leaving the lid ajar to let the steam escape). Simmer for about 3 hours, or until meat is fall-apart tender.
    ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2½ cups water, 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • Discard the garlic cloves. Remove meat to a rimmed baking sheet (or cutting board) and shred with two forks. Return shredded beef to the pot, and stir in remaining 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Serve over pasta.

Notes

  • Note the different amounts of liquid called for in the different cooking methods. The stovetop version requires water and more red wine, because you simmer with the lid ajar — which releases steam and allows the sauce to thicken. The slow cooker, by contrast, needs the lid closed — which means that condensation falls back into the sauce. As a result, you will omit the water and drastically reduce the amount of red wine when preparing the Crock Pot ragu.
  • This recipe calls for kosher salt. If you’re using regular table salt, you will likely need to decrease the amount of salt that you add to the dish. Just taste and adjust to your liking!
  • Don’t want to use red wine? You can substitute with an equal amount of beef stock.
  • If you can find San Marzano crushed tomatoes, they’re the best!
  • Is Beef Ragu spicy? No, not at all! This mild sauce is incredibly kid-friendly. That said, you can easily add heat to the dish by stirring in crushed red pepper, to taste.
  • How to thicken Beef Ragu: if you find that your sauce looks too thin — even after you have added back in the shredded beef — you can continue to simmer the sauce without a lid until the ragu reaches the desired consistency.
  • How to freeze Beef Ragu: This sauce will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To preserve the ragu even longer, package in an airtight container (or in a Ziploc freezer bag) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • To reheat Beef Ragu: Thaw frozen ragu in the refrigerator overnight. Place in a saucepan, cover and cook over low heat, stirring regularly, until warmed through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 of the recipe based on a 2.5 lb. roast in the slow cookerCalories: 375kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 32gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 1350mgPotassium: 1173mgFiber: 4gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 1857IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 130mgIron: 5mg
Keyword: beef ragu recipe, ragu recipe, slow cooker beef ragu
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Blair Lonergan
blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

Read More

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Comments

    1. That’s right, Lola. You’re slowly caramelizing the onions to draw out their sweetness and add layers of flavor. They get to be a dark brown color and super-sweet. If you don’t have the patience or time to mess with caramelizing the onions, that’s fine — you can just saute them until tender (about 5-7 minutes). The flavor won’t be as rich, but it will still be delicious! 🙂

  1. 5 stars
    All I can say is it was fantastic, I did add a bit more onions, but other than that I stuck to the recipe as written. Next time for me I will add a bit more broth or crushed tomato, because the leftovers were on the dry side, but still delicious.
    The 2 of us ate this for 2 nights and I took it for lunch. Next up Stuffed cabbage rolls in bowl.

  2. 5 stars
    Needed a meal ready as I was having a procedure done and didn’t want to come home and cook. I had this in the crockpot ready to go in 15 mins. Was able to come home and relax and 9 hrs later dinner. The pasta was perfect size for this rich yummy sauce. I sat back and realized there were no spices, none and it was so good!! The flavor was rich and my husband said it was the best goulash he had a in a long time. Thank you again for another wonderful dinner.

    1. Hi, Jean! In the stovetop instructions in the recipe box at the bottom of the post, Step #6 tells you to add the wine and deglaze the pot. Hope that helps, and enjoy!

  3. 5 stars
    This is a delicious recipe! My only adjustment was slicing my garlic cloves and leaving them to break down into the sauce, I LOVE garlic. Otherwise I followed the recipe for stovetop and it was amazing!

  4. 5 stars
    Made this last night. It was fantastic Blair. This will be on my rotation menu. Never made. this. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas to your family.

    1. Wonderful, Cindy! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to let me know. Merry Christmas to you, too!

  5. 5 stars
    Blair-I made half the recipe in the slow cooker. (There are only two of us.) I froze enough for another meal. It was delicious and I will definitely prepare it again. It’s so easy to get going and requires no attention in the crockpot. Your recipes are great!

    1. That’s awesome, Judith! Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, and that you can enjoy it again at a later date. 🙂