This is perhaps the meal I make most often. It's versatile, tasty and is full of nutritious ingredients. Ideal year-round; fettuccine bolognese is warming and satisfying when it's cold outside yet fresh and fulfilling during the summer months.
I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do. Feel free to use whatever pasta you like with this one or maybe skip the pasta altogether. See my recipe variations below for more ideas.
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I love this recipe because you can pack heaps of vegetables into it and it doesn't even feel like it. This is a hearty 'meaty' bolognese - not a liquid tomato-sauce-based dish that you might be used to. There won't be puddles of flavour left on the plate - it's in every mouthful, where it should be.
Fettuccine Bolognese Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g lean beef mince
2 carrots, grated
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1⁄2 tin water
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp vegetable stock powder
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt & pepper, to taste
320g fettuccine
Serves 4
Method
Fettuccine Bolognese Macros
(per serve)
589 kcal | grams | % of calories |
|---|---|---|
Protein | 39.9 | 27% |
Carbohydrate | 80.9 | 55% |
Fat | 11.6 | 18% |
Variations
Firstly, you can use any kind of pasta you like - twists, spirals, macaroni or spaghetti. I do find flat pasta like fettuccine or tagliatelle work best with bolognese, but that isn't set in stone. Whatever you have on hand will work.
Secondly, you don't even need the pasta to make this a fulfilling meal. Try the bolognese mixture on top of a baked potato, or serve it with a side of brown rice. I've even put it inside a tortilla wrap with some lettuce and grated cheese - delicious!
Instead of a salad, I sometimes serve this with a mixture of steamed vegetables. Again, whatever you have to hand but I like an extra burst of colour so broccoli or sweetcorn would be great.
If you have fresh herbs then you can absolutely use them instead of dried. Use a bit more than the dried quantities stated above though. A handful of parsley and a few sprigs of thyme leaves will work wonders. Add these towards the end of cooking though, when there's maybe about 15 minutes left.
Often I'll add more garlic too, depending on how I'm feeling (and how much I have). Again play around and suit your own tastes. I wouldn't omit the garlic altogether though, I've tried this recipe without adding any and you just don't get the same depth of flavour. You'll know something's missing without necessarily knowing it's the garlic.
Be sure to leave me a comment below letting me know how you got on with making the bolognese. Remember, if you want a printable PDF version, just click the orange button above or click here.
Additionally, if you're keen on tracking your macros - the PDF has MyFitnessPal barcode for easy logging and tracking.
Enjoy!
