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A slow-cooked ragù Bolognese is, of course, delicious, but it’s not one for a weeknight, as it does require a lot of time to simmer. But with a few tricks, I’ve written a recipe that is just as delicious, in much less time. This bolognese pasta bake is a comforting, simpler version that includes all the depth of flavour of a slow-cooked bolognese but done within an hour.
A Bolognese pasta bake is a baked pasta that combines traditional Bolognese sauce with pasta and cheese. It’s a rustic dish that offers the deep, meaty flavour of bolognese with the cheesy, crispy topping of a classic pasta bake. Unlike lasagna, which requires layering with pasta sheets, this dish is a bit more relaxed, making it perfect for a weeknight. For more weeknight recipes, try my lemony one-pan Greek chicken or tomato bean stew.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- It stores and freezes well, making it a dream for batch cooking or low-effort dinners after a long day.
- It’s easy to throw together with store cupboard staples, yet the result feels indulgent and special.
- The hacks in this recipe help to replicate all the deep, slow-cooked flavours, but in an hour.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Porcini mushrooms – these dried porcini mushrooms are full of umami flavour, which makes it great to use here in this bolognese pasta bake as a shortcut. Soak in boiling water, chop and then stir in.
Pancetta – again, the salty, crispy pancetta adds great flavour here but quickly. You can use smoked or unsmoked – I tend to use unsmoked. Bacon would work too.
Tomato sauce – I usually would use a plain passata if I had hours but when you’re short of time, finding little ways to add lots of flavour is key. So I like to use a passata that is enhanced with garlic and herbs. Try to find one with no added sugar, just lots of tomato, garlic and herbs.
Beef mince – the higher the fat content, the tastier it will be, but go with your preference. It’s still good with 5% mince. I do tend to go for 20% as I love it that way.
Substitutions and Variations:
Wine – This is optional, but if you do happen to have any wine open already, a slosh of wine here is great in this bolognese pasta bake. It also deglazes the pan well.
Mascarpone – you could use ricotta instead of mascarpone as it’s a little lighter. But it does sometimes have a grainy texture so go with what you like.
Here’s how to make Bolognese pasta bake:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: First, add the porcini mushrooms to a mug and cover with a few tbsp of boiling water, until just covered. Set aside.
TWO: Take a large pan (ideally a large ovenproof pan as then you can bake the pasta in this dish too) over medium heat and add the cubed pancetta along with a drizzle of olive oil.
THREE: Whilst this is frying, peel 1 large onion of its skin, peel 2 carrots and then add to a food processor with 2 sticks of celery too. Blitz to a fine chop. You can also chop by hand.
FOUR: Once the pancetta is crispy, remove it from the pan but leave behind the fat. Then add the beef mince to the pan, turn the heat to medium-high, and start breaking it apart with your spoon.
FIVE: Once the beef has some colour, around 10 minutes, remove the soaked mushrooms from the liquid, chop them up and then add to the pan along with the mushroom liquid. Scrape up any bits at the bottom of the pan.
SIX: Add the blitzed mirepoix (the onion, carrot, celery) with some salt and pepper. Stir together and fry for 5 minutes. Add 2 tbsp tomato puree and stir together, frying for a few more minutes.
SEVEN: Heat the oven to 200c fan/220c regular. Then add the tomato sauce, then fill half the jar/tin up with water and add to the pan.
EIGHT: Nestle in a Parmesan rind if you have one. Season really well with salt and pepper, let it simmer together for another 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced down. At this point, get your pasta on to boil in well-salted water for a few minutes less than the package instructions
NINE: Whilst the pasta is boiling, tip the mascarpone into a bowl and then loosen it with some pasta cooking water – a few tbsp. Add the zest of a lemon, salt and pepper. Stir together.
TEN: Once the pasta is cooked, tip it into the bolognese along with half of the mascarpone mixture. Stir together until creamy and delicious.
ELEVEN: Smooth into a layer and then with the rest of the mascarpone, dollop it in and around the pasta. Scatter over torn mozzarella
TWELVE: Then grate over lots of parmesan. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden and crisp.
Cooking Tips:
Using a food processor: To make the bolognese pasta bake base, I just threw the veggies into my food processor and it blitzes them up in 10 seconds vs lots of chopping. It makes it so much easier and you just then chuck it in the dishwasher. I have a NutriBullet for blending and a Magimix as a larger food processor. This KitchenAid mini chopper is so good too for quicker, smaller things.
Draining beef mince: Liquid/moisture will prevent any crisping of the beef. So after a few minutes, when the beef has released some liquid, either drain through a sieve or use a spoon to remove it from the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this recipe has no béchamel for that reason. It uses mascarpone instead.
Yes, assemble the bake up to 48 hours in advance and put in the fridge. Add an extra 10 minutes to the bake time. If you want to, you can freeze this
pasta bake well-wrapped in clingfilm for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge then bake with an extra 10 minutes if it’s still fridge temperature.
Just triple or double the bolognese base and continue on. You can then use half/a third of the bolognese to make this pasta bake and freeze the other batches to either make this bolognese pasta bake again or in other recipes.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
I love easy weeknight dinners. If you like this bolognese pasta bake, try my spicy nduja pasta, my chicken and sundried tomato pasta or my easy tomato pasta with boursin. For something vegetarian, try my Creamy Lentil Ragu.
Easy Dinner Recipes
Cheesy Tomato Baked Gnocchi
Easy Dinner Recipes
Aubergine Pasta Bake with Giant Shells and Ricotta
Easy 30 Minute Meals
Baked Boursin Pasta with Lemon & Artichokes
Easy One Pot Dishes
Baked Mediterranean Cod with Cherry Tomatoes
If you tried this Bolognese Pasta Bake or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Bolognese Pasta Bake
Ingredients
For the bolognese:
- 20 g porcini mushrooms, approx
- 100 g cubed pancetta
- 500 g beef mince
- 1 large onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks of celery
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 400 ml good quality jarred tomato sauce, with garlic & herbs – try to look for one with less sugar and just lots of tomato
- Parmesan rind, if you have one!
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil
For the bake:
- 350 g pasta
- 250 g mascarpone, at room temperature
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 ball of mozzarella
- Parmesan, to grate
Instructions
- First, add the porcini mushrooms to a mug and cover with a few tbsp of boiling water, until just covered. Set aside.
- Take a large pan (ideally a large ovenproof pan as then you can bake the pasta in this dish too) over medium heat and add the cubed pancetta along with a drizzle of olive oil. You want to gently fry this to render out the fat as this adds flavour to the rest of the dish so nicely.
- Whilst this is frying, peel 1 large onion of its skin, peel 2 carrots and then add to a food processor with 2 sticks of celery too. Blitz to a fine chop. You can also chop by hand.
- Once the pancetta is crispy, remove it from the pan but leave behind the fat. Then add the beef mince to the pan, turn the heat to medium-high, and start breaking it apart with your spoon. Once the beef starts collecting liquid, drain this away and keep frying. This helps it turn golden brown and fry nicely rather than stew.
- Once the beef has some colour, around 10 minutes, remove the soaked mushrooms from the liquid, chop them up and then add to the pan along with the mushroom liquid. Scrape up any bits at the bottom of the pan.
- Add the blitzed mirepoix (the onion, carrot, celery) with some salt and pepper. Stir together and fry for 5 minutes. Add 2 tbsp tomato puree and stir together, frying for a few more minutes.
- Heat the oven to 200c fan/220c regular.
- Then add the tomato sauce, then fill half the jar/tin up with water and add to the pan. Nestle in a parmesan rind if you have one. Season really well with salt and pepper, let it simmer together for another 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced down. If spitting too aggressively, turn down to medium. Taste it and adjust it as you need; it may need more salt!
- At this point, get your pasta on to boil in well-salted water for a few minutes less than the package instructions.
- Whilst the pasta is boiling, tip the mascarpone into a bowl and then loosen it with some pasta cooking water – a few tbsp. Add the zest of a lemon, salt and pepper. Stir together.
- Once the pasta is cooked, tip it into the bolognese along with half of the mascarpone mixture. Stir together until creamy and delicious. Smooth into a layer and then with the rest of the mascarpone, dollop it in and around the pasta. Scatter over torn mozzarella and grate over lots of parmesan. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden and crisp.
- The video below will help with this recipe.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have cooked so many different bolognese based dishes over the years but none as good as this. Absolutely gorgeous!! This will be my go-to recipe from now on.
Love this! Thank you Karen x
Absolutely loved this. Great freezer dish.
Well done, all the family really enjoyed it.
A fabulous recipe; I have totally elevated my bolognese game ! The depts of flavour with this selection of ingredients makes it not just a family favorite but worthy of entertaining too. I batch cook & freeze multiple portions.
So glad I came across it, thank you.
What a lovely review, thank you! x
This bolognese pasta bake is so comforting and delicious but takes about half the time you’d think! It’s done in an hour or so but tastes like it’s simmered for hours.