Easy Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce
This rich and hearty Instant Pot Bolognese sauce is made with red wine and served over spaghetti or your favorite pasta. This is a great freezer-friendly recipe that is perfect for a meal prep and easily comes together in 1 hour in a pressure cooker.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 344kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 large carrot diced
- 1 celery rib diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup red wine
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Press the Sauté button and set it to high setting. Add 2tbsp olive oil and 1 small diced onion. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until it's soft and translucent.
- Then add 1 diced carrot and 1 diced celery rib. Cook for another 5 minutes until they are softened.
- Add 1 pound ground beef and the seasoning (1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, and ¼ tsp cinnamon) and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 7-10 minutes.
- When done, add 2 tbsp tomato pasted and stir. Then add ½ cup red wine and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the wine reduces in half.
- Add 28 oz crushed tomatoes and stir everything in.
- Close the lid and make sure that the venting knob is sealed. Cook on manual high pressure for 20 minutes. When done, let it naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes.
- After that, you can open the lid and press the sauté button again. Add ¼ cup heavy cream, stir and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.
- Serve over your favorite pasta or spaghetti. Top with some grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley or fresh basil.
Video
Notes
- Ground Beef. I prefer to use 85% lean meat as it has the best balance of fat and meat and provides great flavor. Also, you can use between 1 and 1 ½ pound of meat in this recipe.
- Cinnamon. Don’t skip this ingredient! While many people think you can use cinnamon only in baking, it’s very popular in savory dishes, especially in tomato and meat sauces in Europe. It helps to highlight the flavors and brings out the warmth.
- Red Wine. I prefer to use a cheap Cabernet Sauvignon, like Decoy (not sponsored) in this recipe. It has a rich deep flavor that balances very well with the red sauce. Also, you won’t taste any alcohol in the recipe. After the wine is reduced, you will be left only with the aroma and flavor, and all the alcohol will be evaporated.
- Crushed tomatoes. Fire roasted crushed tomatoes are my favorite in any tomato sauce. They also add extra flavor and smoky aroma to the dish.
- Heavy cream. After the sauce is cooked, it still has a little bit of acidity. Heavy cream helps to reduce the acidity from wine and the tomatoes and balance the flavors.
- How to store. When the sauce is completely cooled off, you can transfer it to an air-tight container and refrigerate for 4-5 days.
- How to freeze. This recipe is perfect for meal prepping! You can freeze it in an air-tight container or a freezer-friendly bag for up to 3 months. To thaw, just leave it in the fridge overnight, then reheat when ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 344kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 669mg | Potassium: 747mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2245IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 4mg