Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese sauce recipe is hearty, rich and bursting with complex layers of flavor, and is on the table in 1 hour (instead of 2-3) thanks to the Instant Pot!  Let the pressure cooker do the work for you and end up with a hearty Italian-style meal – fit for a King!

Recipes like my Homemade Caesar Salad and Cheesy Garlic Bread are great for when you want restaurant quality food, made easily at home. We love hearty Italian-inspired meals, and this is one of my Italian recipes you’ll definitely want in your dinner rotation!

BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Here in the United States, we love our Italian-style meals.  Like, a LOT.  Or at least I do lol.

Pasta bolognese is an incredibly popular dish here, although you may know it by another name.  Some call it pasta with meat sauce, spaghetti meat sauce, spaghetti sauce, etc.  None are wrong, just more like slang.

I don’t make any claims of authenticity of this bolognese sauce, as I’ve never been to Italy, and sadly have nearly no Italian heritage.  However this is my family’s favorite pasta sauce, and one that I’ve continually tweaked over the years to be perfect.

This version is adapted slightly to be for the Instant Pot, mainly because I just don’t have the patience to slow simmer a sauce for 3 hours.  Sometimes I use my slow cooker version, but even that requires some forethought to get it actually IN the slow cooker in the morning.

I love how relatively quick this sauce comes together, and it tastes like it HAS been simmering all afternoon.  The flavors are just level upon level of amazing, and they all blend together into one heavenly, indulgent sauce!

HOW TO MAKE BOLOGNESE SAUCE IN THE INSTANT POT

1. Select “saute” on Instant Pot and cook meats.  I like to saute right in my Instant Pot for easy clean up, but if you prefer, you can use a skillet for this part.
2. Add vegetables and cook until soft.  Cooking the meat first, then the vegetables helps eliminate any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.  The veggies release liquid as they cook down, which will end up cleaning the bottom of your pot for you.
3. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.  The reason we don’t add the garlic with the rest of the vegetables is so it doesn’t burn.  Odds are it wouldn’t, but I like to just give it it’s own cooking time just to be safe.
4. Add red wine and reduce.  This deepens the wine flavor, but don’t worry this sauce doesn’t taste like wine, nor is it alcoholic.  The red wine just really enhances the tomato flavor and makes this sauce taste like it simmered all day.
5. Add tomatoes, paste, seasonings and liquids.  The crushed tomatoes and tomato paste are probably nothing you didn’t expect to see – but the balsamic vinegar and beef broth may be a surprise.  I love adding a splash of balsamic to my tomato sauces, it adds a richness and subtle tang that’s amazing.  The beef broth is there as a thin liquid (so the Instant Pot can pressurize and not trigger the BURN notice), and to amplify the beefy flavors.
6. Pressure cook 20 minutes, then quick release.
7. Select “saute” again and stir in cream and basil.  Try to select LOW for you saute heat (if your pot has that option), and let the sauce simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes.  It should thicken up a bit, but if you want a thicker sauce, mix 2 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp water in a separate mixing bowl until smooth. Stir that into your sauce and simmer until thickened to your liking.

ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS

Don’t let the long ingredient list scare you off, I promise it’s not hard to make this sauce!

NO ALCOHOL?

If you don’t have wine, or would rather not add it, you can use additional beef broth or just skip that step all together.

NO FRESH BASIL?

No worries!  Use 2 tsp of dried basil and add it with the rest of the seasonings.

HATE CHOPPING?

I hear ya!  Bust out your food processor (if you have one of course) and chop up the onion, carrot and celery and garlic in there.  You can even use this to cut up your pancetta.

NO PANCETTA?

This is found in the specialty deli section of the grocery stores around here, near where the fancy cheeses are.  If you can’t find it, ask around, but if your store doesn’t carry it, you can omit it.

I would add about a teaspoon of chicken or beef bouillon to the sauce to add that saltiness that the pancetta would have added though.

VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE

• PASTAS – I LOVE this sauce over rigatoni because the tubes are large enough for the sauce to get inside, and the ridges on the outside are just perfect for getting the sauce to stick.  Fettuccini, tagliatelle and bucatini are all other common and delicious pastas to use as well.
• MEATS – Feel free to play around with the ratio of beef to Italian sausage if you’d like.  All beef, all sausage, using ground pork instead of Italian sausage, adding in some ground veal… whatever you have and like to use.
• VEGETABLES – I love to add veggies to this sauce, since all the flavors blend together and the kids just gobble up the pasta!  Minced zucchini, chopped mushrooms… you name it.
• DAIRY-FREE – to make this dish dairy-free, you can use a non-dairy milk product, or even omit the cream portion all together.
• OTHER COOKING METHODS – this is made for the Instant Pot, but I’ve detailed how to make this in a slow cooker or on the stovetop if you’d prefer.  Those instructions will be down in the “recipe notes” section of of the recipe card.
• ITALIAN DISHES – a hearty bolognese sauce is great for manicotti, lasagna, on top of garlic bread, scooped into zucchini (same method as my enchilada zucchini boats), and more!

MAKING BOLOGNESE SAUCE AHEAD OF TIME

Pasta sauces, including this one, are great to make ahead of time!  They keep for several days, and taste even better, since all the flavors had had more time to hang out together!

STORAGE

Leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container, and consumed within 4-5 days.  For best results, store the sauce separate from any pasta, as the pasta will soak up most of the moisture in the sauce.

FREEZING

Bolognese sauce is a perfect recipe to make and freeze!  Let the sauce cool completely, then transfer to freezer-safe containers.  Sauce will keep for up to 3 months.

To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE

• Instant Pot – I recently upgraded to this model and I love it!
• Slow Cooker – I’ve had this slow cooker for years and it still works perfectly.
• Dutch Oven – LeCreuset is my favorite brand, but they’re really pricey, so this Lodge version is a great alternative!

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