My Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle is the ultimate cozy pasta dish. Tender lamb mince slowly simmered in a rich, flavorful tomato and red wine sauce, this ragu develops incredible depth as it cooks over 2 hours. Tossed through wide ribbons of pappardelle, it’s a hearty, satisfying pasta that feels a little special but is simple enough for a weeknight.
Recipe Overview: Lamb Ragu
- ✅ Recipe Name: Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle
- 🕐 Ready In: 2.5 hours - 3 hours (2.5 hours cooking time)
- 🧑🧑🧒 Serves: 8 people
- 💕 Perfect For: Dinner party, weeknight family meal, freezer friendly
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Lamb mince, red wine, herbs, stock and tomato
- 📖 Flavor Profile: Rich, hearty, robust and savoury.
- 😊 Difficulty: Easy - great for beginners and confident cooks.
- 💡 Quick Tip: Freeze a few portions to always have some on hand for a quick weeknight dinner!
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Pasta would have to be my favourite food, whether it's this slow-cooked lamb ragu or my quick and easy Tuna Lemon Pasta you can always rely on a pasta dish for any occasion. Need a side for a barbecue? My Caprese Pasta Salad has got you covered. Planning a cozy date night at home? My Spaghetti all'Amatriciana never disappoints. You get the idea - pasta is life!
Like pasta, Lamb is a staple in our household. It's versatile, high in protein and is absolutely delicious. We regularly have my Lamb and Barley Soup on rotation for a weeknight meal or an easy Sunday Boneless Lamb Roast.
So, when you combine my love for pasta with my love of lamb, you get this incredible Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle recipe. This lamb ragu holds a special place in my kitchen. It’s the dish I turn to when I want to cook something that feels a little bit special without making the evening stressful. Rich, hearty, and deeply comforting, it’s my go-to dinner party recipe.
It's the kind of meal that looks impressive, tastes incredible, and is surprisingly simple to make. It’s the recipe I reach for time and time again, and you will to!
Jump to:
Why We Love This Recipe
- Rich and Hearty - this recipe feels like a hug in a bowl. It's so hearty and rich that it gives you that immediate feeling of the comfort of home cooking (much like my Lamb Shepherds Pie)
- Tender Lamb Mince - the lamb mince becomes melt-in-your-mouth. The type of comfort food that puts a smile on your face with that first spoon.
- Easy to Make - don't be fooled! It may taste restaurant quality but it is actually incredibly easy to make. A great recipe for beginner to capable cooks alike.
- Feeds a Crowd - this recipe easily feeds 6-8 adults. Paired with a beautiful side salad and some crusty bread, and you've got yourself dinner for the masses.
- Hands off Cooking - once the sauce is simmering you can let it simmer for two hours. The ultimate hands-off recipe, so you have the time to enjoy other things!
🥰 Hosting a Cozy Dinner Party and need an appetiser and dessert? Start with my Tomato Crostini and finish with my Apple Shortcake 🥰
What Readers are Saying
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 It was incredible! My husband asked me to make this again on his birthday...best compliment ever!
Key Ingredients
The beauty about this recipe is that you use simple pantry staples!
*See recipe card for full details and instructions below*
Ground Lamb (lamb mince) - instead of using lamb shoulder, stew meat or leg, this recipe uses ground lamb. This is an affordable type of meat and cost-effective to feed a crowd.
Red Wine - This lamb ragu with pappardelle requires quite a lot of red wine. You'll want to use a mild-bodied red wine like a Pinot Noir or Malbec.
Chicken Stock - Chicken stock is the preferred stock to use in this pasta recipe. Chicken stock is mild and subtle in flavour.
Pasta - pappardelle is my preferred pasta for this lamb ragu. The thick ribbons really soak up the meat sauce. To elevate this dish even more, opt for fresh pasta from supermarkets or local farmers' markets. You can also get fresh lasagna sheets and cut ribbons from the pasta sheets.
Substitutions
Don't have chicken stock? Use vegetable stock instead. Beef stock is also suitable; however, the flavour profile will be different and may overpower the flavour of the soup. Some of my readers have used beef stock with success.
Pasta - if you can't find pappardelle, fettuccine, spaghetti or bucatini work really well too.
Too Much Wine? Reduce the wine to ¾ - 1 cup. Just ensure if the ragu is looking like it's reducing too much you will need to add a little more stock.
Lamb Ragu Step By Step Instructions
- Heat your dutch oven over medium heat and add your olive oil. Sautee the onion, carrot and celery for 5-8 mins until soft.
- Add the lamb mince, breaking up the meat with a spoon. Cook until browned.
- Add the tomato paste.
- Deglaze with red wine. Then add in the herbs.
- Add half the chicken stock, and tomatoes.
- Simmer then add the remaining chicken stock and simmer for 2 to 2.5 hours until reduced.
Expert Tip 👩🍳
To save sifting through your ragu to find your herbs, use cooking twine to tie them all together in a neat little package!
Lamb Ragu FAQs:
The best way to serve lamb ragu is to keep it simple. Some freshly grated parmesan cheese and some parsley to garnish if you wish. I love serving pasta with fresh, crusty bread with butter. A glass of red wine is also a must!
This ragu freezes beautifully! I usually freeze 2 cups out of the batch and also freeze some individual portions in cubes for my kids.
The great thing about this lamb ragu is that it actually tastes better the next day! You can easily make this ahead of time if you're short on time. I would make it the day or night before, store it in the fridge then reheat it on the stove while my pasta boils.
Lamb is naturally rich in flavour, but the depth of flavour comes from cooking it over a low heat for a long period of time to let the flavour develop. If you want this pasta to taste amazing, it requires the full 2 hours of cooking time.
Other Suggested Lamb Recipes
If you tried this Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below to let me know how it went. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Lamb Ragu with Pappardelle
Equipment
- 1 Large Crockpot / Dutch Oven (5.5L)
- 1 Knife
- 1 Chopping Board
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 lbs ground lamb
- 1 yellow / brown onion finely diced
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- 1 medium sized carrot finely diced
- 1 teaspoon salt plus extra for seasoning
- 2 teaspoon black pepper plus extra for seasoning
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1.5 cups red wine
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 piece of rosemary (approximately 3"long)
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 12 oz fresh or dried pappardelle pasta
Instructions
- Head the oil in a large Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion and celery and sautéed for 5-8 minutes until they're soft.
- Add the lamb mince and break it up into small pieces. Cook for 8-10 minutes until most of the mince has browned.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for a further 2-3 minutes to fry off the flavour.
- Add the red wine. Use your spoon to gently scrape the bottom of your pot to release all the flavour from the bottom of the pan.
- Simmer, stirring for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Add the bay leaves, thyme and rosemary and half the chicken stock.
- Add the tomatoes and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer the sauce for 15 minutes.
- Add the remaining chicken stock, and gently simmer, uncovered, for 2 - 2 ½ hours until the sauce is really thick and most of the liquid has more than halved. Stir occasionally.
- Remove the bay leaves and rosemary and thyme.
- Meanwhile cook your papardelle according to packet instructions.
- Plate your pasta and add a good spoonful of the ragu onto the pasta. Sprinkle over some parmesan cheese and a sprig of thyme.
Barbara says
This looks so good, I am a home chef and never cooked with lamb so I very excited to make this. I going to make my pasta "why not" wondering about adding mushrooms to the sauce?? Thanks, so glad I found you and love that you also put the ingredients in grams.
Georgie says
I’m Australian so grams is definitely preferable for me! I think mushrooms would be great they’d add another layer of richness!
Barbara says
I am looking forward to making this, I need to half this as it's now only my husband and I. Just to let you know you can not increase or decrease this recipe it's not working with your scale.
Georgie says
Thanks Barbara I’ll take a look at the toggle appreciate your feedback! Let me know how you go with the ragu it’s my favourite recipe!
Peter Gaida says
While trying to teach my three kids about home economics, making the case for home cooking vs take-away / delivery. Lamb Ragu is a perfect case in point. Although, my lesson is fundamentally teaching them about how to extend one ingredient, in this case, a leg of lamb. Currently, a decent-sized leg of lamb will set you back around $30 for a 3kg leg of lamb. You lose about 500 grams for the bonce but by all means, please cook it on the bone. A slow braze, between 4-5 hours will yield a sticky melt-your-mouth unctuous and pretty much fat-free reward for effort. If you are a couple, you have the base for 2 servings of lamb ragu, 2 servings of lamb korma, 2 servings of shepherd's pie, and 2 servings of lamb tagine. A recommended portion size for meat is around 225 - 250 grams, you could extend this out to 10 meals. Yes, we are going to add other ingredients, but if you do the math based on your recipe Georgie, it's a clear economic winner. Love your web page and recipes.
Georgie says
I love this!!! learning through food, my favourite kind of learning! thank you Peter!
Shelley J says
I’ve made this recipe soooooo much. Both lamb and non lamb lovers love it! I do A couple things different. More veggies. More garlic. Beef broth instead of chicken, and I put the dutch oven on the oven at 300 for 3 hours. Absolutely gorgeous dish.
Amy R says
Made this for dinner tonight using tomatoes for my garden and our own lamb..... It was incredible. My husband asked me to make this again on his birthday next month.. the best compliment ever. Thank you
Tetyana says
This is the first dish I made neither my new le creusett braiser , and it is very yummy , house smelled amassing , and definitely delish the next day over pasta 🍝!
Thank you 🥰
Georgie says
So glad you loved it Tetyana! I love making mine in my Les Crueset too!
Rachel says
Looks great! Am I able to cut this recipe in half?
Georgie says
Hi Rachel, yep cutting the recipe in half is fine! let me know how it goes!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I've never cooked with ground lamb before, but this recipe looked so good I had to try it. It is absolutely delicious! Pure comfort food. Also, it's possibly even better the next day. Next time I'm making a bigger batch. 🙂
Georgie says
it is AMAZING isn't it! So glad you tried it, it's one of my favourites!
Aleta says
I can actually taste this dish as I read along with the directions, and boy, oh boy, do I ever need this is my life! My husband is going to be thrilled when I make this delicious lamb ragu when he comes home this weekend!
Georgie says
thank you Aleta, it's such a gorgeous recipe, great for date night!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
I can't say that I have ever cooked with ground lamb, but I definitely want to now!
Also, I can never say no to pasta, so count me in!!
Alyssa says
I think papardelle with a ragu sauce is my absolute favorite comfort food meal. I've made it with pork before, but not lamb, so I can't wait to try this version. It looks heavenly.
Leslie says
Yummmmmmmm. This recipe hits all my favorites...pasta, lamb, and comfort food all in one. It may not be a fast recipe, but it doesn't look too difficult. I can't wait to try it!
Corina Blum says
I think lamb mince is so versatile and I love this recipe as it's such a comfort food dish.
Veena Azmanov says
This looks so flavorful and delicious. Awesome presentation too.
Farah says
This looks like an absolute dream! Just look how thick and hearty that ragu is. I've only ever tried it with beef but so excited to try this lamb version!