I have been making this Kosher Dairy Free Spaghetti alla Bolognese recipe for years. Just like our Easy Creamy Mushroom Pasta, this is one of those food recipes that is so quick and easy that I make it all the time. Family friendly and super yummy. This recipe is kosher, non-dairy, soy free, and can be made vegan with one small adjustment. Read on to learn how to make the best Spaghetti Bolognese from scratch with this simple recipe.
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This recipe is non-dairy
There are many recipes floating around out there for an authentic recipe of spaghetti bolognese. A traditional spaghetti Bolognese recipe contains milk. This recipe contains meat and as a strictly kosher household we do not use milk in our meat recipes. Pareve milk like plain almond milk or soy milk works fantastically as a substitute. Just please do not make the mistake I once made: be absolutely certain your pareve milk is not vanilla flavored!!
Wine enhances the flavor of the sauce
This recipes also calls for wine which I know is something not everyone likes to cook with. It is not absolutely necessary to use the wine but it does add so much depth of flavor to the sauce, I highly recommend you use it. The alcohol of the wine is completely cooked out of the final product. Some recipes call for balsamic vinegar but this one does not.
Spaghetti alla bolognese is healthy
When looking at a sauce as rich and deep in flavor as this one it is usually assumed that it is also fatty and unhealthy. This could not be further from the truth. Most of the fat comes from the ground beef and a lot of that fat is removed before the final sauce is put together. It is also ok to use a leaner ground beef or ground turkey for less total fat.
Other than the meat, the rest of this dish is vegetables and pasta. One of the nice things about a bolognese ragu such as this one is, due to the long cooking time, it is more of a very thick sauce or stew consistency. It is easy to increase the amount of vegetables in the sauce and into your meal. In a pinch, the long simmering time can be skipped but to get the most out of this rich delicious meat sauce recipe, you absolutely should try cooking this sauce for its entirety.
Why we love this recipe
- Dairy free - a lot of spaghetti bolognese recipes use milk and this one does not.
- Ingredients to table in under 30 minutes - this recipe is done in just a little bit more time than it takes to boil the water for pasta.
- Crowd pleaser - from my mother to my pickiest child, everybody likes Spaghetti alla Bolognese.
- Healthy - one of the nice things about this recipe is that you can sneak a few more veggies into the sauce and no one will notice.
Recipe FAQ
Bologna spaghetti, or spaghetti alla bolognese. The recipe gets its name from the sauce which is called a Bolognese sauce. This Italian classic sauce gets its name from the city Bologna in Italy where the rich meat based sauce made is commonly served.
Interestingly enough, the Italian bolognese recipe has very little (if any) tomato sauce, tomato paste, or tomato ingredients at all. It is thought that the tomato was introduced to the recipe after it left of Italy.
The Italian Academy of Cuisine published its official recipe for spaghetti Bologna in 1982 and it contains no tomato at all. Despite this, there is no real consensus as to the "real" spaghetti alla bolognese recipe and variants are found all over the world (a lot of them use tomatoes just like ours).This information comes from wikipedia but my dad who was a chef and does a lot of business in Italy and speaks fluent Italian has corroborated it.
The meat sauce can be made ahead of time and frozen. Pasta is always best fresh but it can be frozen together with the sauce if you want a complete meal ready to go. When freezing, place the pasta and sauce into an airtight plastic bag. When reheating, boil some water and place the bag into the water for 5-10 minutes
Serving Suggestions
Pasta alla Bolognese screams out for some tweaks. Not because it needs it, but because it can take on so many other flavors so well. Try these creative and exciting serving suggestions:
- Spice it up. Sprinkling some crushed red pepper flakes over the top.
- Make your spaghetti Bolognese vegetarian. Use vegan meat instead of ground beef and load on the parmesan cheese or shredded mozzarella.
- More veggies. Add diced mushrooms, peppers, or finely chopped spinach.
- Bread bowl Bolognese. Serve the bolognese ragu in a bread bowl instead of over pasta.
- Use riced cauliflower instead of pasta to go carb free.
- Squash. Bake a spaghetti squash and fill with bolognese sauce.
- Burgers and dogs. Top a hamburger or hot dog with the bolognese sauce.
- You don't have to use spaghetti, try some of these pasta varieties to change the texture of the dish.
- Use a dry red wine instead of a dry white wine for a different base flavor.
📖 Recipe
Dairy Free Spaghetti alla Bolognese
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 2 small carrot thinly sliced
- 4 large celery whole stalks thinly sliced or diced
- 4 garlic cloves finely diced
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup dry white wine*
- 2 cups plain pareve milk or broth of choice
- 28 oz diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes do not drain
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 lb spaghetti or pasta of choice
Instructions
- Over medium heat, warm olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and ½ teaspoon of salt. Sautee for 10-15 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
- Remove vegetables from pan and store in a bowl to be added in later.
- Add meat in batches to brown. Break up meat with wooden spoon into small lumps. As meat cooks push aside and add more meat until all meat is added and no longer pink. Drain pan of excess oil, if desired.
- Cook meat in the pan for about 8-10 minutes to allow meat to caramelize and for most of the water that comes out of the meat to evaporate. Watch carefully to avoid burning. There should be bits of meat caramelization sticking to the bottom of your pan.
- Add in the cup of white wine and use the wooden spoon to scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of your pan. This is called Deglazing. Allow the wine to evaporate lowering the heat if necessary..
- Add the vegetables back in along with the pareve milk, diced tomatoes with liquid from can, beef stock, 1-2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a boil then lower to the lowest heat possible to allow for light simmering. Let meat sauce slowly simmer, half- covered, for 4 hours** stirring occasionally. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Boil spaghetti in a pot of highly salted water as directed on package just before serving. Do I do not save the pasta water for this recipe, drain it out.
Notes
- Spice it up. Sprinkling some crushed red pepper flakes over the top.
- Make your spaghetti Bolognese vegetarian. Use vegan meat instead of ground beef and load on the parmesan cheese or shredded mozzarella.
- More veggies. Add diced mushrooms or finely chopped spinach.
- Bread bowl Bolognese. Serve the bolognese ragu in a bread bowl instead of over pasta.
- Use riced cauliflower instead of pasta to go carb free.
Devorah says
On step 4... what temperature setting should the burner be at? This looks delish!
Ben says
The flame should be kept at medium high for step 4.
Marilyn Estreicher says
One of my favorite dishes. Totally delicious!
Debbie Burg says
how would I make this recipe without tomatoes? I've been told not to eat them for medical reasons. (and other items as well)
Caryn says
I'm sure you could leave the tomatoes out and it would still taste delicious. You might need to add more liquid. Please let us know how it comes out!