Make the best homemade Short Rib Ragu recipe! Slowly braised in a Dutch oven in rich hearty sauce, the meat is fall-apart tender. I love serving with with pappardelle pasta to make it a perfect comforting meal for Sunday dinner.
What is Ragu?
The term “Ragu” means a slowly braised Italian meat-based sauce. It is usually made with beef, cooked in a flavorful tomato sauce, and often served with pasta, gnocchi, or polenta.
Because we braise short ribs over low heat for a long time, it helps tenderize and breakdown connective tissues, making the meat super tender. Despite it takes a few hours to make this recipe, it’s absolutely worth it!
Ingredients and Substitution
- Short Ribs. I prefer to use boneless short ribs rather than bone-in in this recipe, as they have less fat (and you can trim excess fat), so the ragu won’t be too fatty and greasy.
- Onion, Celery, Carrot. This three vegetable combo is usually called “Soffritto” and makes the best base for any ragu, stew, or soup.
- Garlic. I only use two garlic cloves. If you love garlic flavor, you can easily add more.
- Tomato Paste. It provides richness to the dish.
- Worcestershire sauce. This is one of my favorite ingredients to provide rich and complex flavors to ragu and stews.
- Crushed tomatoes. You can use crushed or diced tomatoes in this recipe.
- Chicken broth. I like to use my Homemade Chicken Stock, but you can also use a prepackaged store-bought one.
- Heavy cream. It helps to create a wonderful creamy texture, brinning all the flavors together.
- Parmesan cheese. Similar to heavy cream, Parmesan cheese helps to create creamy velvety texture and elevates the flavors.
- Parppardelle. I love to use pappardelle in this recipe, but you can also use any large pastas, like rigatoni, capricci, or fisilli.
How to make it
Pat dry boneless short ribs, trim off the excess fat, and then generously season with salt and pepper from both sides.
Preheat a Dutch oven over medium/high heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Once the oil is hot, brown the meat in two batches. Sear for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until the meat is nicely browned. Then transfer to a plate and set aside.
Lower the heat to medium/low and add chopped onion, celery and carrots. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and starting to caramelize.
Then add 2 smashed cloves of garlic, ¼ cup tomato paste, and 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Stir and cook for another minute.
Add 15 ounces crushed tomatoes, 3 cups chicken broth, and stir. Then add the browned meat with juices.
Turn up the heat to high and bring the liquid to boil. Then reduce the heat back to low, cover with the lid, and let it simmer for 2 ½-3 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
NOTE: After cooking for 40 minutes, you will need to pay closer attention to the pot and stir more often, so the sauce doesn’t burn. If it reduces too much, you can add some water and continue cooking until fully done.
When the meat is almost done, boil a separate pot of water and cook pappardelle pasta according to the instructions. Then drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooked pasta water, and set aside.
When the meat is fully cooked and fall-apart tender and the sauce is reduced, add ⅓ cup heavy cream and ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, and stir until well combined.
Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, you can add a splash of reserved cooked pasta water to loosen it up. Keep cooking for 1 minutes to blend all the flavors together, then turn of the heat and serve.
Tips for best results
- Take time to build the flavors! Browning the meat and the soffritto (onion, celery, and carrots) are the crucial steps in building the flavors. So, don’t rush the process and let each of them caramelize. As the result, you will have the best ragu with rich, deep, and complex flavors.
- Braise the meat until fall-apart tender. Depending on the size of the short ribs, your cooking time might be a little bit shorter or longer. So, be patient and let the meat cook until it’s fully ready. It will be so tender and will be “melting” in your mouth.
Storage and Freezing
- How to store. After short rib ragu is completely cooled off, transfer it to an air-tight container and refrigerate for 4-5 days.
- How to freeze. I usually prefer to freeze ragu without pasta, so it will store better. You can put it in an air-tight container or a freezer-safe bag and freeze up to 3 months. To thaw, just leave it in the fridge overnight, then reheat.
- How to reheat. You can reheat it in a pot over medium heat. If the sauce gets too thick, just add a splash of water to loosen it up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Though I prefer to fully cook it on the stove top, you can also cook it in the oven. After the meat and vegetables are seared, and you add all the ingredients back to the pot, bring the liquids to boil, then cover with the lid and transfer to the oven. You can braise them in the oven at 350°F for 2 ½-3 hours, occasionally stirring.
Most likely you didn’t cook them long enough. Braising short ribs is a slow process that requires patience. Depending on the size of the meat pieces and their quality, you might need more time to cook them to get the right texture.
I prefer to use boneless short ribs because they are less fatty and will make the ragu less greasy. Also, if there is some extra fat on the meat, you can easily trim it.
More Comfort Meals Ideas:
- Dutch Oven Short Ribs
- Dutch Oven Beef Stew
- Dutch Oven Whole Chicken
- Vegetable Pasta Bake
- Lemon Chicken Orzo
- Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Peas and Asparagus Risotto
- Cast Iron Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Lamb Shanks
- Dutch Oven Pot Roast
- White Bean Vegetable Stew
Dutch Oven Short Rib Ragu with Pappardelle
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds boneless short ribs trim excess fat
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 rib celery diced
- 1 large carrot diced
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 15 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken broth
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 10 ounces pappardelle pasta
Instructions
- Pat dry boneless short ribs, trim off the excess fat, and then generously season with salt and pepper from both sides.
- Preheat a Dutch oven over medium/high heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Once the oil is hot, brown the meat in two batches. Sear for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until the meat is nicely browned. Then transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium/low and add chopped onion, celery and carrots. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and starting to caramelize.
- Then add 2 smashed cloves of garlic, ¼ cup tomato paste, and 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce. Stir and cook for another minute.
- Add 15 ounces crushed tomatoes, 3 cups chicken broth, and stir. Then add the browned meat with juices.
- Turn up the heat to high and bring the liquid to boil. Then reduce the heat back to low, cover with the lid, and let it simmer for 2 ½-3 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
- NOTE: After cooking for 40 minutes, you will need to pay closer attention to the pot and stir more often, so the sauce doesn’t burn. If it reduces too much, you can add some water and continue cooking until fully done.
- When the meat is almost done, boil a separate pot of water and cook pappardelle pasta according to the instructions. Then drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooked pasta water, and set aside.
- When the meat is fully cooked and fall-apart tender and the sauce is reduced, add ⅓ cup heavy cream and ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, and stir until well combined.
- Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, you can add a splash of reserved cooked pasta water to loosen it up. Keep cooking for 1 minutes to blend all the flavors together, then turn of the heat and serve.
Notes
- Take time to build the flavors! Browning the meat and the soffritto (onion, celery, and carrots) are the crucial steps in building the flavors. So, don’t rush the process and let each of them caramelize. As the result, you will have the best ragu with rich, deep, and complex flavors.
- Braise the meat until fall-apart tender. Depending on the size of the short ribs, your cooking time might be a little bit shorter or longer. So, be patient and let the meat cook until it’s fully ready. It will be so tender and will be “melting” in your mouth.
- How to store. After it’s completely cooled off, transfer to an air-tight container and refrigerate for 4-5 days.
Hi! I made this tonight and it was so good! But I had trouble with the sauce reducing on the stove top – after 3 hours, the sauce had hardly reduced (maybe 1/4”) and I ended up having to transfer the Dutch oven to the oven to get the sauce to reduce and finish cooking the short ribs. I followed the recipe exactly – is there any recommendations/advice on why I had issues using the stove top?
Hi,
I had the same issue as you, followed to a tee, still only like 1/4 reduced. It’s pretty frustrating it seems that a lot of recent reviews/comments have not gotten a response from the author. If anyone else reads this, a lot of scouring the internet says these types of sauces reduce better when uncovered to allow the water to evaporate so that would have been good to know.
Made this tonight for dinner from the first bite absolutely delicious! Cannot thank your daughter enough for sharing the recipes on Instagram.
Outside of short ribs being ridiculously expensive, this is a good recipe.i didn’t add the cream because the sauce was good without. I also used whole Roma tomato’s and let them boil down. Worked wonderfully! I would cut back a bit on the initial chicken broth and use that to moderate the sauce. Good heads up on paying attention to prevent burning.
Hi! Just a question on nutrition information. Is the calorie count 809 calorie per serving? Or for the whole dish? Also, what is the serving size in oz for the calories.
Thanks
What other cut of beef would work well if I don’t have short ribs?
This recipe was a hit! My family loved it and will make again. Thank you!
This was great! I should have let it reduce a little more but the taste was fantastic! I will definitely be making this again.
I got my first Dutch oven for Christmas and have been searching for recipes on Pinterest. The photo of this “dutch oven short rib ragu with pappardelle” caught my eye right away. I ended up making it this afternoon for dinner and everyone LOVED it, including my picky 15-year-old son! The recipe is super easy to follow! I highly recommend trying this recipe out. Thank you, Veronika’s Kitchen!
Thank you so much, Kerri! I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed this recipe 😉
Quick Question! I see that the ingredient lists calls for tomato sauce but the written recipe calls for tomato paste. Can you clarify? Thanks!
Hi Lauren! Thank you so catching this! This is my mistake, I just corrected it to tomato paste 😉
I just made this and the sauce was delicious, my only question is on the pasta. I used 16 ounces of papardelle because the recipe called for one pound. Felt like an 8 oz package would’ve been enough. Is one pound definitely the recommendation?
I used a pack of 8.8 oz of pappardelle and that was plenty.
This dish was pure comfort food! I loved the look on my guests’ faces when I served it to the table tonight. I had a generous sprinkle of Parmesan on top of each plate, and it was a HUGE success.
This ragu was great! We had it for dinner and will definitely have it again. Love all the cheese in it!
This dish is incredibly tasty and flavorful and I love how tender the meat is.
What a hearty meal! I made this the other night for dinner, and everyone loved it! Will definitely make this recipe again!
Absolute perfection! So amazingly tasty! I could eat this every single day.
This short rib ragu is amazing and my family devoured it. This was hearty and full of flavor, even my picky eater loved this. I will be making this again and again.
This is a 10 on the comfort scale! Wow that lamb meat is incredibly flavorful. The pasta just soaks in the flavors, it’s an incredible dish. I can’t wait to make it again to impress my friends!
This short rib ragu was incredible and made the most delicious Sunday dinner!It was easy to make and I love how it was made in the dutch oven. The flavors and tenderness of this dish is hard to beat!
Oh my gosh this was so delicious! Always looking for new ways to use our Dutch oven and we absolutely love this rib ragu!
This is comfort food at the highest level. My family would love this for dinner. Perfect for entertaining too.
could you cook this in the slow cooker?
Hi Becca! Yes, you can make this recipe in a slow cooker. Just cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours, stirring occasionally.
Could you cook the meat in the dutch oven instead of simmering on stove top for the required few hours?