This bolognese sauce is adapted from my Dad’s crowd pleasing spaghetti sauce recipe. My Dad’s recipe is his baby. He worked on it initially with a friend to develop a base recipe but he has continued to improve on it even to this day. Every time I come over I get the scoop on what new steps he added or tweaked or took away.  I will never forget the day he taught my how to make “Dad’s sauce”. I have pages of notes and it is burned into my memory because I knew I was being let in on a family secret.

RELATED: See our easy grilled steak recipe here and our monthly recipe roundup.

Just like he continues to tweak and fiddle with his masterpiece, I have too! I’ve made some substitutions and additions to make this a healthier, more gut friendly meal. If you decide to try any of my recipes, make it this one – it’s so good!

Ingredients: 

• 2 small organic onions diced
• 4-6 Tbsp grass-fed butter or ghee
• 2-3 cloves fresh organic garlic minced
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1.5-2lbs 100% grass-fed ground beef (or a pastured poultry, sometimes I will do 1lb of each)
• 7.5oz tomato concentrate – I like Yellow Barn, it’s biodynamic and comes in a glass jar
• 2  18.3oz crushed tomatoes – I like Jovial, it’s organic and is packaged in glass
• 18.3oz diced tomatoes – Jovial
• 1 cup homemade bone broth
• 1-2 Tbsp organic paprika
• 1-2 Tbsp organic onion powder
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 Tbsp turmeric
• 1-2 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1-2 Tbsp dried basil
• 1 Tbsp organic honey
• salt and pepper to taste

*fresh herbs can be subbed for dried herbs – add to taste

Directions: 

1. Saute onions in butter.
2. Add salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, basil, oregano and turmeric and let cook until onions are soft. Stir often to avoid burning garlic.
3. Add ground meat and cook until no pink remains.
4. Add tomato concentrate and stir until well incorporated.
5. Add crushed and diced tomatoes. Stir.
6. Add bone broth. Stir.
7. Add onion powder, chili powder, paprika and honey. Stir.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Simmer for 30 mins.

Eat straight away or store in glass containers for tomorrow. I usually split this batch in two, using one for the week and freezing the other. It’s so much better on day 2 when flavors become more complex. I love this over rice noodles, baked spaghetti squash or a baked sweet potato.

Saluti!