Slow Cooker Beef Ragu - slow cooked to perfection, beef that is falling apart and a thick tomato sauce! Served with fresh pappardelle and herbs. This beef ragu is perfect for a special occasion, date night, fall dinner party or everyday family meal!
Hello, lovelies! Happy Tuesday!
You can probably tell, I've been feeling all the fall vibes lately, even though technically it's still summer. As soon as the temperature drops below 70F though, I am all about getting back into the red wine, slow cooked meals and cozy comfort foods!
I've been making a conscious effort to bring you guys more main meals for dinner parties in particular lately. I feel like there is a tonne of salads, desserts and cocktails on THCK, but not so many mail meals, so I'm doing my best to bring you more meals that you can entertain friends and family with!
One of my favourite meals to make my friends is this slow cooker beef ragu. I love it for many reasons, but I think the best thing about this recipe, is the fact that it can be made in the morning so you don't need to worry about it. I know how busy we can get, which is why I love bringing you easy meals, that are fuss-free, BUT super delicious.
Slow cookers are the best invention ever. Ok, maybe not ever but damn do they make life easier in the kitchen. I don't own an instant pot or a pressure cooker, because I find that I can do exactly what I need to do with a slow cooker and a really good quality Dutch Oven.
I love using my Dutch Oven for slow cooking, but only when I have enough time to oversee the cooking process, like on weekends! That's why I turn to my slow cooker during weeknights when I know I can just set and forget before I go to work.
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About This Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
This slow cooker beef ragu is everything you look for in a cozy, fall pasta dish. The meat is fall-apart tender, combined with a rich tomato sauce. To top it off, the ragu is served over pappardelle which is thick ribbons of pasta to soak up all the beautiful juices from the ragu.
The Beef
I opted to use chuck roast for this dish because it's affordable and turns out really tender when you cook it. Chuck roast is also easy to find in most supermarkets! As well as chuck roast, you could use flank steak which I find a little pricier.
The Preparation
There are a few ways to prepare this dish. I actually put together the majority of the dish the night before, so that in the morning, all I had to do was to add my liquids and salt and pepper. It made it even quicker in the morning. This is a 'set and forget' meal meaning all you need to do is to put the ingredients in the slow cooker and turn it on low for 8 hours. Easy peasy!
Once it's cooked, you only need to use two forks to shred the beef, before returning it to the 'warm' setting of your slow cooker while the pasta cooks.
The Pasta
Speaking of pasta, pappardelle is the best type of pasta to use for this recipe, and the more common form of pasta to serve with a ragu. I always like using fresh where I can (fresh, meaning homemade or from the fridge section in the supermarket), but it's not always easy to find.
I did find dried pappardelle in our local supermarket however and found that worked a treat. If you really wanted to use super fresh pasta but can't find it, you can always cut fresh lasagna sheets into thick strips and use that instead.
Honestly, there is not much to this recipe so I'll keep it brief! This recipe serves at least 4, maybe more people and is great for feeding a crowd. I've made a similar version for my friends before (maybe coming to the blog one day), and they absolutely loved it!
It has such a lovely depth of flavour, and is so, so rich and cozy - exactly what you need after a long day at work, or a day spent outside in the snow or cold!
Have a wonderful week everyone, and I'll see you back again on Thursday with another fall favourite!
georgie x x
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chuck roast
- 1 brown/yellow onion finely diced
- 2 carrots finely diced
- 2 celery sticks finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 28 oz tin crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt + more if desired
- ½ teaspoon pepper + more if desired
- 8.8 oz dried pappardelle
Instructions
To Make The Night Before
- To make the night before - place the beef, onion, carrot, celery, whole garlic cloves, bay leaves and thyme in the inner bowl of the slow cooker. Cover and refrigerate until morning.
- In the morning, add the crushed tomato, red wine and salt and pepper, and gently stir to combine and to cover the beef.
- Place in slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on low.
To Make The Morning Of
- Place all ingredients in the slow cooker bowl, stir to combine then cook on low for 8 hours.
To Serve
- One the slow cooker beef is finished, use two forks to gently shred the beef apart until there are no large lumps of beef remaining. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to taste preferences.
- Return slow cooker to 'warm' setting while you make the pasta.
- Follow the packet instructions to make the pasta. Every pasta is different, but generally, you'll bring a pot of salted water to the boil, then add your pappardelle and cook for around 6 minutes until al dente. Different pasta brands have different cooking times. Fresh egg pasta will also have a different cooking time.
- Once cooked, strain your pasta.
- Serve the pasta onto a plate, and add a large spoonful of the beef ragu on to the top of the pasta.
- Garnish with fresh, grated parmesan cheese, and extra thyme leaves or finely chopped parsley.
Nutrition
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Liz says
Slow cooker season is upon us!! We have dinner at my parents every Monday so I'm definitely going to give this recipe to my mom!
Georgie says
thanks Liz, slow cooker season is so, so good! i love it!
Elaine says
Slow cooker meals make our lives so much easier and your recipe is perfect for a fall dinner! Pinning!
Georgie says
they are the best aren't they!!!! thanks Elaine 🙂
Sues says
Oh my gosh, I can just imagine how amazing this would make my house smell. And to come home to this after a long day of work would be a dream come true! Plus, it's absolutely gorgeous!
Georgie says
thanks Sues 🙂 the house did smell amazing I must admit!
Kelly Anthony says
This looks so hearty and perfect for the cold weather coming up! YUM!
Georgie says
thanks Kelly, i cant wait to eat this curled up in front of the fire with a glass of red!
Tisha says
That beef looks perfect for this dish!!! Yummy!
Georgie says
thanks Tisha!!! it's my new favourite 🙂