A budget cut of beef, simple pantry ingredients, a bit of patience and pappardelle pasta. This Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle may be the king of all pastas. It is hands down one of my all time favourite pastas ever!
Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce
There’s this annoying thing that’s been a thorn in my backside all my working life. This thing called pride.
I’m not a professional food photographer, or food stylist, videographer or a chef for that matter. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is being proud of everything that I have on my website, knowing that even if there are people out there who can take better photos and make better videos, that I’ve done the best I can do and I’m proud of what I’m sharing.
3 years into blogging with over 500 recipes, I still get butterflies when I hit Publish on a new or updated recipe.
And having rewritten, rephotographed and made a video for this Shredded Beef Ragu which I first shared over 2 years ago, yes I’m going to have butterflies when I hit Publish on this (again!) because it’s one of my all time personal favourites. 🙂
I have a weakness for all things slow cooked, but hands down this shredded beef ragu is one of my all time favourites. I’d dare say I love it even more than traditional Ragu Alla Bolognese. It’s the shredded beef that seals the deal for me. The way it soaks up the sauce and clings to the pasta. It’s an absolute ripper!
I’m pretty sure I first learned how to make Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle from Lidia Bastianich. Years ago, her show “Lidia’s Italy” was one of the few cooking shows on free-to-air TV and I used to watch them over and over again. Almost everything I know about Italian cooking (including the reason why I was hunting down Kale a decade before it became “cool”) is because of Lidia Bastianich. Old school, real deal Italian. 🙂
Best Pasta to serve with Ragu
The question of what type of pasta to serve with different pasta sauces is a question that I get asked quite regularly. Generally, most pasta sauces will pair perfectly well with most common pasta types, like spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine, penne / ziti, macaroni, shells etc.
And while this Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce will be great with any type of pasta, the best pasta for a rich sauce like this ragu is pappardelle. This wide, flat pasta is especially great for this recipe because the shredded beef clings to the wide strands.
For pappardelle, I am quite particular about which brand I use because I’ve had problems in the past with uneven cooking. I use San Remo which is a well known trusted brand here in Australia. The pappardelle is bundled into nests so they are fully submerged when dropped into boiling water, and the nests are loose enough so the bubbling water separates the strands and the pappardelle cooks evenly.
You’ll find San Remo pappardelle at all the major supermarkets as well as fresh produce stores and delis. And here’s a photo for size context – giant pasta in my Baby Hands…..
Oh – and the other reason San Remo Pappardelle is my pasta of choice for ragu is because it’s an egg pasta. The addition of egg makes the pappardelle stronger so it doesn’t break when tossed in the thick, rich sauce.
If you’ve just invested hours of patience, slow cooking the sauce to tender perfection, you’ll make me cry if you just dump cooked pasta in a bowl and spoon over the sauce. And the entire nation of Italy will cry with me. 😉 Please promise me you will toss the ragu with the pasta before serving! It is worth it, I promise. Look how every strand of the pappardelle is beautifully coated in that luscious ragu!! – Nagi xx
Watch How To Make It
Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle recipe video!
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Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta
Ingredients
Ragu
- 1.2kg / 2.5 lb chuck beef or other slow cooking beef cut, cut into equal 4 pieces (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp salt
- Black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil , separated
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 onion , diced
- 1 cup carrots , diced (Note 2)
- 1 cup celery , diced (Note 2)
- 800g / 28oz crushed canned tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 beef bouillon cubes , crumbled (Note 3)
- 1 cup / 250ml red wine , full bodied (like merlot, cabernet sauvignon), or sub with beef broth/stock
- 1 1/2 cups / 375 ml water (Note 3)
- 3/4 tsp dried thyme or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 dried bay leaves
To Serve (Not all Sauce is used)
- 1 lb /500g dried pappardelle , or other pasta of choice (Note 4)
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese or parmigiano reggiano
- Fresh parsley , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Pat beef dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Sear Beef: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat in a heavy based pot. Add beef and sear each piece aggressively on all sides until very browned (3 – 5 minutes in total), then remove onto a plate.
- Turn stove down to medium low and add remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil.
- Soffrito: Add garlic and onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add the carrots and celery and sauté slowly for 5 minutes.
- Add remaining Ragu ingredients and return the beef to the pot (including pooled juices). Turn the stove up and bring it to a simmer, then turn it down to low so it’s bubbling very very gently. (Note 7)
- Slow cook: Cover the pot and let it cook for 2 hours or until beef is tender enough to shred. (Note 5 for slow cooker and pressure cooker).
- Shred: Remove beef then coarsely shred with 2 forks. Return beef to the pot. Simmer for 30 minutes until sauce is reduced and thickened – beef will soften slightly more during this step.
- Final season: Do a taste test and adjust the seasoning to your taste with salt and pepper. ALSO, add 1/2 tsp sugar if sauce is a bit sour for your taste (Note 6). Place the lid on and set aside until ready to serve (it’s even better the next day and freezes well for months!).
To Serve (Note 4):
- Bring a very large pot of water with 1 tbsp of salt to the boil.
- Add pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time as per the packet instructions.
- Meanwhile, place 5 cups of the Ragu in a very large fry pan, dutch oven or use 2 normal size fry pans. Heat over high heat while the pasta is cooking.
- When the pasta is ready, transfer it directly from the pot into the fry pan using tongs.
- Add 3/4 cup of pasta water into the fry pan.
- Gently toss the pasta (I use 2 wooden spoons) for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce water evaporates and leaves you with a thick Ragu sauce that coats the pasta.
- Yell for your family to sit down at the dinner table because you need to serve it immediately!
- Serve with plenty of freshly grated parmesan, or even better, with parmigiano reggiano.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Today’s recipe is brought to you with thanks to San Remo. When they asked if I would consider showcasing one of their products in a recipe, it seemed meant-to-be because I wanted to republish this Slow Cooked Shredded Beef Ragu and in fact, I had made the video using San Remo pappardelle pasta before they approached me! I figured it was a sign. ❤️ San Remo is Australia’s most well known pasta brand and is available at supermarkets all around Australia, including the pappardelle I recommend using for this recipe.
Life Of Dozer
Pappardelle pup. (Try saying that 10 times real fast after a few glasses of wine.)
Oh Nagi!! What a stunning recipe. My wife recently had to give up work due to ill health and, as a way of boosting her confidence, I’m helping her learn to cook, finally, after 18 years of marriage. The proud look on her face as she served your Ragu was as wonderful as it was tucking into the food itself. So not only are you sharing fantastic recipes, your helping someone on the other side of the world to bounce back from her illness. Thank you so much!
Hi Percy! What a wonderful message, thank you so much for that! It makes me so happy to think of how happy she was when she served this. Please pass on my regards to her, give her a hug from me and say that I’m SO GLAD she’s enjoying my recipes! All the best to you both! N x
Hello Nagi,
I made the shredded beef ragu in the oven based on your comments or a slow cooker and it worked out perfect. I put the sauce on the stove to thicken a bit more … maybe too much cos when I added the meat it was hard to mix it but adding the pasta water helped and the dish was just mouth-watering! Thank you!
YAY!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sonja!!
Looks amazing! Can someone please tell me how to make this recipe in the slow cooker? I want to make it for tomorrow. Thanks so much!
Very well written instructions. Pulled duck meat can be used instead of beef . Finish the dish by adding sauteed diced butternut squash to the dish and top with pitted green olives and toasted breadcrumbs.
Try Strozapretti pasta next time you make it . The chew and toothsomeness of that macaroni in combination with the meat sauce is stellar !
I will! That sounds like a great suggestion! N x
Made this yesterday for my husband’s birthday. Invited some friends. There were ten of us, and there were still leftovers. I made the following changes because I didn’t have some items. I did not add tomato paste or beef bouillon cubes with 3 cups of water, and my brisket was 2 1/2 pounds. Along with the large can of crushed tomatoes I also added an equally large can of whole tomatoes and an equally large can of tomato sauce. I added two palms full of italian seasoning and a couple dashes of nutmeg and a pinch of powdered sugar. I added half an orange bell pepper that was left over from the previous night to my soffrito. Mine slow cooked for about 7 hours in an enameled cast iron dutch overn on glass stovetop at low-medium. Of course by that time the beef had fully shredded. Wow! This recipe is a keeper. Thank you Nagi!
I’m so glad you loved it Sophie! An happy birthday to your husband!! WOW what a spread you put on! 🙂
I have been reading this recipe and comments and it sounds amazing , I have never tried this before and can’t wait till tomorrow to have a go at cooking it .I hope I do it justice
You must you must!! This is one of my all time favourite pastas, it is truly incredible! 🙂 N x
One of the beat dishes I’ve had in a long time, thank you for that. How do I get more of your recipes?
Hi Dan! Thank you for your lovely message, I am so glad you enjoyed them! You can sign up to my free newsletter if you want (here: http://eepurl.com/4kKKD), that way you will get an email each time I publish a new recipe (which is 3 times a week) plus also you will receive 2 free ecookbooks I made for readers.
Thanks for your interest! Nagi
Hi, I’ve just discovered this recipe and have it cooking in the slow cooker now. It smells amazing and seeming that the little one decided to have a good sleep, I managed to brown everything off and make the soffritto! With four hungry boys to feed I’m always looking for dishes that make enough for seconds & leftovers and this definitely looks like a winner. Thanks for sharing 🙂
YAY! So glad you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!!
Hi Nagi.
I had 2 slow cookers going last night, this being the second. Absolutely amazing recipe. This morning i made up two portions of spaghetti, mixed it with the beef ragu, meat brought from my butchers. Went to my butchers a big smile on my face, said i brought you lunch. Phoned them up a few hours later, they loved it. They heated it up in there oven. I will have mine this evening with my two nephew’s. I will be making this beef ragu instead of with mince from now on. Brilliant recipe awesome. Thank you so much. First time i have made this.
June
Of my gosh, I just read your other comment and I was thinking “how did she make both of these yesterday”? Two slow cookers going at the same time? I love it!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and how nice of you to share it with our butcher! (I do hope you get “mate’s rates”!!). Thank you for coming back to let me know you loved it!! N x
Love it Nagi. Can’t believe after choosing this recipe I see your photo! Will definitely try more recipes. This did take me AGES to cook but I used a topside toast and obviously had it too low. I eventually put it in the slow cooker and left it going on low while at work. Perfection. Thank you!
Hi Jane! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! With slow cooking on the stove, yes you can have it on TOO low, as I have found out myself! You want the heat low but high enough so it bubbles very gently. 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to come back to share your experience! N x
Hello, I’m just cooking this for the first time. And I really hope it turns out because it looks and sounds so delicious.
My only problem is that I’ve had the beef brisket on the stove for about 3.5 hours and it’s still tough. I’ve added a bit more water so my sauce doesn’t get too thick and burn, but do you think I have done something wrong and is there any chance of saving it. Should I just keep braising it on the stove top until the brisket becomes tender? I have followed all instructions to a tee.
I’ll let you know how it goes either way,
Thanks heaps
D
Hi Dawn! That’s really odd, 3.5 hrs should be enough time even if you used a big piece of brisket. I’ve honestly never heard of brisket NOT getting tender with long enough cooking time. Scientifically impossible! All I can say is to keep cooking it, it has to tenderise!! And yes you are doing the right thing by adding more water. Look forward to hearing how it works out! N x
Hello 🙂 thanks for your response. I left it cooking a little longer and it turned out amazing. My partner said it was in his top 3 past at dishes ever
Ooooh, wow! What a compliment! I’m SO GLAD you both enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know! 🙂
I made this recently and it was wonderful! I featured this amazing dish on my blog today, with a link back to your post for the recipe. Thanks!
Hi Susan! I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you SO MUCH for coming back to let me know, it makes me so happy! Popping over to have a read now! N x
It’s me again who has never posted on a blog with my second post. I am now in love with you after a wonderous second dish from you. I never even thought of this and after adding some red wine I am just waiting for my pasta to boil to finish this off! My tongue is burnt already from gobbling it from the oven! Amazing flavour. I would buy your book to have all recipes in one handy place (I cannot press 5 starts for some reason but ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Made me giggle thinking of you picking at it while it is still piping hot out of the oven and burning your tongue!! I do that all the time myself, I have zero self control!! Thank you for your kind words Amy! I truly am so grateful that you make the time to come back and share your feedback. Positive or not, I will always appreciate it. 🙂 Cookbook? Oooh, that is my dream. One day…one day…. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!! N x
It turned out amazing. I have a gas stove, but it definitely didn’t bubble the entire time on low. I had to turn it up a couple of times and then turn it down if it seemed to be too bubbly. It’s probably a matter of sorting out this exact stove. We’re an army family, so we have to get used to all new stuff every couple of years. I think adding that clarification will help. Thanks for the quick response.
YAY! I’m SO GLAD!! 🙂
Looks wonderful! Have you ever made it with red wine? I’ve seen a lot of recipes that add wine for extra flavour. Yours doesn’t look like it needs any extra flavour, but I want to try the recipe and was wondering if wine would add or detract from the recipe…
Hi Agnes! Red wine is a wonderful addition and will make the sauce even richer. I don’t feel it is needed simply because the way this is made it creates so much flavour in the sauce, but if you wanted to add the extra dimension, feel free to add wine! I would reduce the water by 1 cup and add 1 1/2 cups of wine. Let it simmer with the lid off for an extra 10 minutes to cook out the “wine” smell before lowering heat and putting the lid on. 🙂
Looks wonderful! Have you ever made it with red wine?
Thankyou Nagi I have just found this recipe My Family are big fans of Italian food and Love Spag bog ( you can tell I’m an Aussie lol ) I cook it for them but don’t eat much my self as Minced Meat grosses me out but now I too can enjoy a Great Spag bog too The meat looks Heavenly
Kylie!! You will loooooove this….it is so much more delicious than traditional Spag Bog!! It’s posh Spag Bog – you’ll pay $20+ for this at fancy Italian restaurants!! Be sure you tell you family that when you serve it up to them 😉
Lovely dish! Would it work with a pressure cooker?
Thank you
Hi Karen! Yup, it sure will. 🙂 Follow the steps up to searing the beef and cooking the onion, then tip is all into the pressure cooker. Reduce the water from 3 cups to 2 cups and pour it into the fry pan and bring it to a boil, scraping the brown bits off and then pour all that into the pressure cooker. I think 50 minutes on high will do the job nicely. The trick will be to pour the liquid into a saucepan (or simmer it if you pressure cooker has that function) to reduce it down to a thick sauce, enough to coat the shredded beef. You’ll need to do this step because pressure cookers release no water at all so the liquid doesn’t reduce while cooking. 🙂
I hope that helps! I’ve made this in the pressure cooker and slow cooker before and the result is very very similar. 🙂
Thanks for the tips Nagi 🙂
There are few pasta sauces that beat a ragù, as far as I’m concerned. One of my absolute faves. Delish!
I’m with you John!! It is worth every second of patience while it slow cooks! 🙂
OMG! I made this recipe yesterday and it was DEElicious! I got too lazy so I didnt use the celery or carots, but even wthout them, it turned out sooo good. The only thing I did different, was to add 1-1/2 tsp of sugar to the ragu. My sister stopped by and I made her a bowl, and said “I normally don’t eat pasta, but this is excellent” – She left with a tupperware full to take home! Thank you s o much for sharing your eicious recipes!
Hi Liz! I am sooooo happy you liked it, isn’t it amazing?? Real Italian food 🙂 Ooh, you were right to add sugar to the ragu if you thought it needed it, I should have put that tip in. Passata/canned tomatoes really differ in sweetness (rule of thumb being the more expensive, the sweeter!) I must add that tip, thanks for reminding me!
And once again, thank you so much for coming back to share your thoughts on this! I am so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
NAGI!!! Hello! What a recipe! I have a bit of frozen sofrito in my freezer that I may add? I do not know, I know I will be making this SOON! and with the oven NOT WORKING I can make on the stove top. Oh luscious thick sauced beef over pasta… I bet any pasta would do… having bits of the sauce getting inside and bursting with a bite- OH my I am hungry!
I will give you a run down on how it worked when I make, and I LOVE left overs! YOU ROCK! Lisa, writing with doors open, sun shining high 60’s in PORTLAND!!! yay!
Hello Lisa!! It is so wonderful to hear from you! I do hope you try this – I was thinking you might like it as I was making the sofrito, remembering how you told me you made huge quantities of it and froze it! Sorry to hear your oven is not working – actually, mine has been having problems lately too, taking 40 minutes to come up to temperature!
And thank you for reminding me that I have to share the leftover pasta recipes! Oooh, the fritters were delicious! An Italian friend of mine gave me that tip! 🙂
SO HAPPY to hear the sun is out in Portland! YAY!!
Have a wonderful weekend Lisa!!