Smoky and rich, this delicious chorizo bolognese packs a punch in flavour and elevates the humble (but still very tasty) bolognese to the next level. Serve with spaghetti and fresh basil for a hearty and warming dinner.
This extra-special bolognese is a firm favourite around here. Once you’ve tried this recipe you’ll never go back.
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✔️ Why should you try it?
- Smoky and rich
- Freezes really well
- Double the recipe to feed a crowd
- Family favourite pasta recipe
- The flavours develop over time
🥘 Ingredients
- Chorizo – finely chop cured chorizo, or use cooking chorizo if you prefer
- Olive Oil
- Minced Beef (ground beef) – 500g of lean minced beef
- Onion – 1 white onion, finely chopped
- Garlic – 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- Carrot – 1 carrot, finely chopped
- Celery – 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- Herbs – thyme, rosemary and bay.
- Passata – my kids prefer smooth sauces so I use smooth passata. You can use tinned chopped tomatoes if you prefer
- Tomato Puree
- Beef Stock – made with a stock pot or cube
- Red Wine – any full-bodied dry red wine would work well
- Milk – use full-fat milk or cream
- Sugar – caster or granulated sugar
- Worcestershire Sauce (optional) – an optional extra but adds a wonderful savoury flavour to the bolognese.
- Serve with pasta, Parmesan and fresh basil
🔪 Instructions
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a casserole and fry the minced beef until it changes colour. Remove to a plate and turn down the heat to medium.
Two: Add the chorizo, onion, garlic, carrot and celery and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Three: Add in the dried thyme, freshly chopped rosemary and bay leaves, give it a stir.
Four: Add the passata, tomato puree, beef stock, red wine, milk and sugar and simmer on a low heat for 1 hour. Season and serve with pasta, grated Parmesan and fresh basil.
💭 Top tips
- I recommend using a mini chopper to finely chop the onion, garlic, carrot and celery.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the chorizo into as small pieces as you can manage.
- Simmer the bolognese on a low heat for 1 hour with the lid on. Alternatively, you can cook the bolognese in a slow cooker on the low setting for 6 hours.
🍴 Serving suggestions
We love chorizo bolognese with spaghetti, grated Parmesan, freshly chopped basil and a side of home-baked focaccia.
Why not make double the quantity and use the leftovers for the ragu sauce in this easy lasagne recipe?
📖 Variations
- Make it spicy by using spicy chorizo sausage and 1 teaspoon of chili powder.
- Turn it into a bolognese pasta bake by stirring through cooked pasta, spooning it into a baking dish and topping with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Add a teaspoon of marmite to the bolognese to give it a delicious savoury taste.
- Use 2 tablespoons of ketchup in place of the tomato puree and sugar.
- Up the vegetables and add chopped mushrooms and peppers.
- Serve with wholewheat pasta for increased fibre.
- Add a tablespoon of sun-dried tomato pesto for extra flavour.
🥡 Storage
Store the cooked bolognese in the fridge for up to 3 days. The flavour will improve over time. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.
Alternatively freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container. Defrost in the fridge for 24 hours before use.
❓ FAQS
Add one or more of the following to boost the flavour of your bolognese;
1. chorizo
2. marmite
3. mushrooms
4. red wine
5. milk
Adding milk adds a wonderful richness to the bolognese and helps to tenderise the meat, making it melt in the mouth.
Adding a little bit of sugar helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and give a lovely rounded flavour to the sauce.
😋Related recipes
More bolognese recipes you might like;
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Recipe
Smoky Chorizo Bolognese
Ingredients
- 500 g Minced Beef
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 200 g Chorizo cured sausage
- 1 Onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 1 Carrot peeled and finely chopped
- 1 Celery Stalk finely chopped
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 tsp Rosemary
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 300 ml Passata
- 600 ml Beef Stock
- 2 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 100 ml Red Wine
- 100 ml Milk use full fat milk
- 1 tsp Sugar
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a casserole and fry the minced beef until it changes colour. Remove to a plate and turn down the heat to medium.
- Add the chorizo, onion, garlic, carrot and celery and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the dried thyme, freshly chopped rosemary and bay leaves, give it a stir.
- Add the passata, tomato puree, beef stock, red wine, milk and sugar and simmer on a low heat for 1 hour with the lid on. Season and serve with pasta, grated Parmesan and fresh basil.
Video
Notes
- I recommend using a mini chopper to finely chop the onion, garlic, carrot and celery.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the chorizo into as small pieces as you can manage.
- Simmer the bolognese on a low heat for 1 hour with the lid on. Alternatively you can cook the bolognese in a slow cooker on the low setting for 6 hours.
- Make it spicy by using spicy chorizo sausage and 1 teaspoon of chili powder.
- Turn it into a bolognese pasta bake by stirring through cooked pasta, spooning it into a baking dish and topping with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Add a teaspoon of marmite to the bolognese to give it a delicious savoury taste.
- Use 2 tablespoons of ketchup in place of the tomato puree and sugar.
- Up the vegetables and add chopped mushrooms and peppers.
- Serve with wholewheat pasta for increased fibre.
- Add a tablespoon of sun-dried tomato pesto for extra flavour.
Claudia Lamascolo
Just reading the ingredients this just shouts great flavors a must try this weekend!
Bintu | Budget Delicious
This sounds like such a delicious and flavourful dish! We love bolognese but this takes it to a whole new level!
Julia
I love adding chorizo to our meals but never tried adding it to a bolognese sauce. What a great idea!
Sunrita
Just the addition of the smoked chorizo took this dish to a completely new level! What a fab idea.
Jenn
I’m a big fan of Bolognese sauce but I’ve never tried it with chorizo! Guess what I’m making this weekend and I can’t wait!