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Fork being pushed into penne bolognese in grey bowl with basil leaves.
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5 from 4 votes

Easy Penne Bolognese

Penne bolognese is a quick and easy Italian dinner. With a hearty meat sauce and penne pasta this recipe will tick the comfort food box.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian, Western
Keyword: penne bolognese
Servings: 4
Calories: 775kcal
Author: Adrianne

Equipment

  • 1 Medium Saucepan to cook the pasta
  • 1 Heatproof jug to reserve the pasta water
  • 1 Colander to drain the pasta
  • 1 Large saute pan to cook the beef and sauce
  • 1 Wooden spoon to cook, stir and combine
  • 1 Micro plane zester to grate the cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped, Note 1
  • ½ cup onion diced, Note 2
  • 500 grams/1 pound ground beef mince
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Bolognese Sauce

  • 700 grams/28.4 oz passata Note 3
  • 400 grams/14 oz diced tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cubes beef bouillon Note 4
  • 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
  • ½ cup/125 ml reserved pasta water Note 5

Pasta

  • 500 grams/16 oz penne pasta

Garnish (optional):

  • cracked black pepper
  • pecorino romano cheese
  • basil leaves

Instructions

  • Ground beef: place a large saute pan on the stove on heat heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, onion, beef, salt and pepper. Cook till browned using a wooden spoon to break up any clumps of meat as you go. This will take 5 to 8 minutes.
  • Pasta: read and follow the instructions on the penne packet to cook it in a large sauce pan of boiling salted water. Moments before draining, use a heat proof jug to scoop out 1 to 2 cups of pasta water. Then drain using a colander and discard the rest of the water.
  • Sauce: once the meat is cooked add the sauce ingredients. Pour in the tomato passata, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Italian herbs and sprinkle the bouillon cubes over the top. Stir to combine, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
  • Combine: once the bolognese sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, add the cooked drained pasta to the pan, then pour in ½ cup of reserved pasta water. Use a wooden spoon to gently toss and combine.
  • Garnish: sprinkle cracked black pepper over the top with grated pecorino romano cheese and fresh basil leaves. Provide forks and spoons for serving.

Notes

  • Note 1 - Garlic: you can use 2-3 cloves finely chopped or 1 tablespoon of chunky minced garlic. 
  • Note 2 - Onion: this is equal to ½ a brown onion skin peeled and diced. 
  • Note 3 - Tomato passata: in some countries this will be known as tomato puree.
  • Note 4- Beef bouillon cubes: these will crush very easily, so hold them over the pan when you are using your finger tips to crush and they will sprinkle straight into the dish.  
  • Note 5 - Reserved pasta water: I usually scoop out 1 to 2 cups, as they can be handy to juice up leftovers. However, the recipe calls for only adding ½ cup (125 ml) of this when combining the sauce and pasta. 

Nutrition

Calories: 775kcal | Carbohydrates: 119g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 478mg | Potassium: 1861mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1148IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 10mg