Instant Pot Bolognese Sauce Recipe (Pressure Cooker Bolognese) (2024)

FAQs

How do you deepen the flavor of Bolognese sauce? ›

The best tip for intensifying the flavour of your sauce is just to cook it slowly on a low heat for a long time. This reduces the sauce and intensifies the flavours – four hours is not uncommon for my bolognese.

Cooking: 4 hours plus ideally in a low oven but otherwise 60 minutes on a hob!

Like most recipes the longer you leave it to slowly cook the better the flavour will be but this can also be knocked up with in an hour.

If you are missing an umami note, it's possible you are missing a very common ingredient in bolognese - chicken livers. These give a meaty, almost sweet flavour. Soak them in water for a few minutes, then finely chop or pulse in a food processor. I use minced (ground) pork, beef and chicken livers.

For the bolognese all spice, cinnamon, and garlic powder really enhance the flavor of the meat. For the tomato sauce, fresh basil, bay leaves, and dried oregano are my herbs of choice, but feel free to mix it up! You can use dried basil, generic Italian seasoning, parsley, thyme.

Get that depth of flavour by cooking the sauce very gently until it's super rich. This spag bol is designed to be a low cost recipe.

As the sauce simmers, the water in it will evaporate and the sauce will get thicker. You can also add a little bit of cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it without changing the flavor. If you don't mind altering the sauce's flavor, try adding grated cheese, tomato paste, or even mashed potatoes to thicken it.

Lid off will allow extra moisture in the sauce to evaporate and thicken it. So, if you want a thicker sauce, lid off. Thinner, perhaps less strong flavored, lid on. Super low simmer and slow, even heating is best for a long cooking tomato sauce.

According to our Food Director Amira, not only does milk add a rich flavour to the bolognese, but it also “helps cut through the acidity of the tomatoes and red wine”. She adds: “It also makes the mince meat nice and tender, creating that melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness.”

Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 hr 15 mins stirring occasionally, until you have a rich, thick sauce.

How do I make my bolognese more tasty? ›

Just add seasoning and the flavour will be completely different from what you're used to. You can add various herbs, too. Try a teaspoon of dried Italian mixed herbs (added at the start) or a tablespoon of fresh, chopped oregano (added towards the end) in the meat sauce.

Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

Add the onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 2-3 minutes). Then, add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks and draining any excess fat. Next, add your crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and pepper to the pan.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until mixture cooks down into a thick sauce, at least 3 hours but preferably 4 to 6 hours. Skim fat from the top of sauce if desired. Add more water if sauce is too thick.

Your spaghetti sauce may taste bland due to insufficient seasoning. Try adding more salt, herbs (like basil, oregano, or thyme), and other flavor enhancers like garlic, onion, or red pepper flakes. Also, a dash of sugar can balance flavors and bring out the natural sweetness of tomatoes.

Briny ingredients like olives or capers are another way to brighten up your pasta sauce while also introducing texture and depth of flavor.

Restaurants add more fat and cheese

"Fat is a big component to flavor and using high-fat contents and full-fat ingredients is going to punch up the flavor of any dish." Walker agreed, noting that adding butter "really helps bring out that flavor you may be missing at home."