Do you go out to a fancy restaurant or do you stay home and make a nice ground beef pasta? What better way to celebrate any special occasion than a bowl of delicious homemade Red Wine Pasta Bolognese, garlic bread, and a bottle of wine.
When making Red Wine Pasta Bolognese, I highly recommend using a Merlot for the red wine. One of the first times I tried this pasta, I used a really bold Cabernet, and the wine flavor was a little too overpowering.
Another tip when making this Red Wine Pasta Bolognese pasta is to use Campanelle noodles. I’ve literally tried making this recipe with 5 different kinds of noodles! 5! It is amazing to me how a simple noodle can change the overall taste of the dish. Rigatoni noodles were too thick, and all you could taste was noodles. Angel hair pasta was too thin and stringy, making the pasta taste more like spaghetti. Orecchiette and Mini Penne were too small. Campanelle noodles ended up being perfect! Because of their shape, the noodles picked up the perfect amount of Bolognese in each bite!
Serve this pasta with some garlic bread and a bottle of wine, and you’ve got the perfect night in! I love serving this pasta with 3 Ingredient Garlic Bread.
Perfect Red Wine Pasta Bolognese
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion - chopped
5 cloves garlic - minced
1 pound ground beef (minced beef) - 90% lean, 10% fat
3 teaspoons salt - divided
2 teaspoons ground black pepper - divided- 1 cup dry red wine - preferably Merlot
1 can passata or crushed tomatoes (tomato puree with seeds removed) - 28-ounce
3 tablespoons tomato paste- 1½ tablespoon oregano leaves
- 2 teaspoons basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice (also called pimento or Jamaican Pepper)
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg- 1 pound Campanelle noodles - cooked according to package*
Optional: 3 ingredient garlic bread
1 small pack Parmesan cheese - finely grated
1 bunch basil - fresh, chopped
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil.
- Add the onion and garlic and stir for about 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the ground beef and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes until the meat is cooked through. Remove the pan from the stove and drain out the fat from the meat.
- Return the pan to the stove and add the red wine. Let the wine cook with the meat for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, parsley, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
- Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors blend and to let the wine cook down.
- Serve over Campanelle noodles and top with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
