Instant Pot Bolognese
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Now you can make the most EPIC bolognese sauce in just 1 hr rather than 3-4 hrs! So rich, hearty, and chockfull of meat and veggies!
There’s honestly nothing better than this.
A giant bowl of pasta smothered in the meatiest, heartiest bolognese sauce ever, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan and paired with a glass of red wine.
Nope, nothing better, especially in this cold Chicago fall season we’re having right now.
And that vat of bolognese? Yes, I’ll take that in one bath, please.
That vat is conveniently the Instant Pot, which helps cook the bolognese in just 1 hour. I know. No more 3-4 hour bolognese sauces. The pressure cooker makes this too easy and fast, and it infuses the flavors even more, making this my all-time favorite bolognese sauce.
It’s also enough for 8 servings so it’s perfect for company or for leftovers because let’s be honest – it’s too cold to go out to eat right now!
Instant Pot Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- 4 ounces pancetta, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cups dry red wine
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup beef stock
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting. Melt butter; add onion, carrot and celery, and cook, stirring often, until onions have become translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add ground beef, pork, pancetta, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and cook until browned, about 5-10 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef and pork as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in tomato paste, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg and cinnamon until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and cook until reduced, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes and beef stock. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 20 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Select low sauté setting; simmer, uncovered, stirring often, until thickened to desired consistency, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Hello,
My son asked me to make spaghetti Bolognese one night and I really didn’t feel like cooking for hours.
Your recipe solved my problem especially with the instant pot.
I didn’t have all the ingredients you listed so I just used ground beef without the pork and pancetta. It still tasted delicious.
It definitely hit the spot for my teenage son.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with the instant pot. We are a fan of instant pot and use it at least once a week so your recipes are a hit in our household.
This was absolutely delicious! Our favorite instant pot meal yet!
We got a burn notice before fully pressurized and were able to scrape around the bottom and try again. We used an 8 qt so maybe next time we just need more liquid (found that suggestion in another comment)? Fortunately we only got the one notice and then it was smooth sailing.
Other than that it was absolutely perfect! 10/10 will make again!
This is truly incredible!! I made it tonight and was drooling from the smell as it all came together. The taste was mouth watering and I will definitely be making it again!
Delicious! I think next time I’ll use a yellow instead of sweet onion. I also used diced tomatoes because the store i was at didn’t have crushed tomatoes.
This recipe looks great and I am going to try it tomorrow. Wondering if after I make the sauce can I put spaghetti right on top and pressure cook it? Thanks!
I love this recipe… I make slight alterations based on what I have laying around for proteins but this turns out awesome every time!
I’ve made this several times and LOVE it, it’s been a staple in our kitchen.
My partner decided to put the ground beef in the freezer this morning. Can I use frozen ground beef for this??
This is great and easy. Start cooking 1.75 hours before company arrives and change your clothing from what you cooked in before they get there. I have made this recipe twice. I give it 4 stars for my first make and 5 stars for my second make. On my second make, what gave it the extra edge was that I used San Marzano canned tomatoes and sprinkled crushed Merlot Bellavitano on top before I served. Ricotta on top is also delicious!
Followed the recipe exactly! Fabulous!!!!!
This was so good. I followed the recipe to a T except for one thing. After reading the burn notice comments, I really wanted this to turn out so I cooked it slowly on top of the stove. Hubs liked it and said it was good.
I forgot to give it a five star rating.
I have made this several times and it is wonderful every time. I freeze leftovers and then can have a quick meal another night!
This came out absolutely delish. I sauteed the veges and meat in another pan and drained the oil afterwards. I only used ground beef and 4 slices of pre-cooked bacon in place of the pancetta. I reduced the wine in that pan as well. I have found that if you do not “mix” tomato sauce, gravy or other thickening agent or sauce with sugars that can burn but layer. I placed the beef/vege mixture in first after rubbing the pot with olive oil. The the wine and water ( I use Better then Boullion) 1/2 tsp not mixed. Carefully poured the crushed tomatoes on top then the tomato paste, do not mix in. Once the time is up I stirred together and proceeded as directed. I served Rigatoni that was finished with the sauce in a saucepan to soak up all of the flavors. Topped with parm cheese. Very, very good.
Loved this dish! I’ve been looking for a good bolognese recipe and this one is fantastic!
I couldn’t give it all 5 because of this burn thing going on. I don’t think it has anything to do with the saute step — I don’t do that in the instant pot. (Its not that hard to clean a non-stick pan and you have so much better control of the saute on the stove.) It gave me a burn notice and shut down. I added a bit more liquid and it worked the second time with only a minor scorch on the bottom. (When the burn notice happens I pick up the whole instant pot and give it some swirls to mix it. I wish someone would come up with an instant pot that also had internal stirring.)
To be a bit pedantic … why do things burn? My list: 1) Too much heat in one place (the bottom) and not enough convection/stirring; 2) too little liquid to build up the steam pressure quickly; 3) ingredients that easily burn.
So what in this recipe burns easily?
The sauce is pretty thick even before cooking. That reduces the heat convection. Natural sugars in the tomato easily burn. And maybe I didn’t add enough fat, which may reduce burnability… but I’m guessing here.
I mixed the whole thing up pretty well before cooking. Burning might be reduced if there was a less thick, more watery layer on the bottom. That is hard to do. Maybe a fine screen standup insert would work though . I’m thinking trying to get a quarter inch of watery stuff on the bottom and the real stuff above it.
I did adjust the recipe for some dietary constraints (FODMAP-friendly). Garlic-infused olive oil instead of garlic; no onion (wah!); extra celery and a red pepper to make up for the onion. Heavy on the spices and herbs to make up for the onion. I also skipped the ground pork and pancetta and just increased the burger (this was a cook-from-the-pantry night). Threw in some chopped bacon and sautéed shitake mushrooms (fodmap friendly mushrooms).
Also 20 minutes wasn’t quite long enough to fully cook the carrots I diced … I suppose a smaller dice would have worked better (< 1/4 in). But a little crunch on the carrot isn't so bad.
Love the recipe- new family favourite! It would be really great if you could include nutritional information as well.
Great recipe. Making it for tomorrow even though it’s supposedly late spring! I have never gotten the burn notice with the ip. When I was learning how to use it, the best tips I got were don’t put anything in, even oil or butter, until it says hot. And then always completely deglaze after the browning or saute step.
This recipe is amazing!! It tastes as good as the Bolognese that cooks all day! We love your insta pot recipes. They have so much flavor and are sos great for those times you don’t have all day to prepare!!
Sauce was delicious. For all you “BURN” notice reviewees… I have given up sauteeing in my IP because I am tired of getting this error message AND I don’t like having to reach down into the vertical IP liner to brown the meat and veggies. Call me old fashioned and crazy, but I saute in a frying pan on my stovetop to avoid the IP drama. Yes, I have an extra pan to clean out but it’s worth not having the aggravation of bringing the IP to pressure multiple times.
Damn Delicious!!! For those getting the “burn notice” on their instapot put a little bit of olive oil in with your butter to raise the heating temp on the butter. It should do the trick Now excuse me while I go pig out with my family on this delicious creation!!
Thanks
Instant pot and instant preparation of meals. I liked it.