White Bolognese (Ragù Bianco)
, Published Jan 30, 2025
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White Bolognese (Ragù Bianco) is (as the name suggests) a meat sauce made without tomatoes – an absolutely delicious variation on the more well known Bolognese sauce that’s rich, silky, meaty and well worth adding to your cooking repertoire.
Spaghetti Bolognese (and its Greek cousin makaronia me kima) are probably the two recipes I make the most often. They are universally beloved and with good reason – who can resist the rich meat and tomato sauce served over a big bowl of pasta? Nobody, that’s who.
But while Ragu alla Bolognese, a meat sauce made with meat, onion, celery, carrots and tomatoes is incredible well known, the less popular Ragù Bianco, a.k.a white Bolognese, is incredibly delicious and equally deserving of a place on your table.
As the name implies, this pasta sauce is made without tomatoes (shocker!) but contains most of the other usual suspects: ground beef and pork, pancetta, soffritto, white wine, cream and Parmesan. It’s a great way to change your pasta game up a bit and wow your family with a new favorite recipe.
White Bolognese Sauce Ingredients
- Soffritto: carrot, celery and onion, is the building block of many Italian recipes like Minestrone, Italian beef stew and many more. Cooking the vegetables in olive oil over low heat unlocks their flavor and creates the foundation for our sauce.
- Garlic: sliced or minced garlic and plenty of it!
- Cubed pancetta: this Italian cured pork meat made with pork belly is ideal for this recipe.
- Ground beef and pork: A lot of Italian recipes contain veal which is not easy to find and not popular either. I have used a combination of ground beef and ground pork to approximate the delicate flavor of veal.
- White wine: use a good quality dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
- Chicken broth or stock made using stockpot or stock cubes. Use low sodium broth so you can better control the amount of salt in the sauce, especially if using pancetta which can be quite salty.
- Spices and seasoning: ground fennel seeds, celery salt, salt and pepper plus a little brown sugar.
- Herbs: thyme, rosemary and bay leaves plus parsley to garnish. You can also add some sage if you like!
- Parmesan rind: unlock the rich umami locked in Parmesan cheese by adding a small piece of the rind in the sauce as it simmers. You will be discarding this before serving.
- Cream: heavy cream makes this sauce ultra luxurious and rich especially when combined with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Food heaven!
How to make White Bolognese Sauce
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet, add the cubed pancetta and cook over medium-high heat until it starts to crisp up and render its fat.
- Add the ground beef and pork to the pan, sprinkle with some salt and cook for a few minutes until the meat starts to brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pot and set aside.
- Add a splash more olive oil, the diced onion, carrots, celery, spices, seasoning and sugar and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, a couple of minutes, then add the white wine. Cook until the wine aroma dissipates, using your spoon to scrape any browned bits (a.k.a the fond) stuck to the pot loose.
- Return the browned meat to the pot, add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the rosemary, thyme and bay leaves and simmer gently over low heat for 45 minutes or up to an hour, stirring occasionally. If the pot is getting too dry you can add a little hot water or extra broth.
- Stir in the cream, reserved pasta water if using and grated Parmesan. Simmer over low heat for a further 5-10 minutes. Discard the Parmesan rind, bay leaves and herbs stalks. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve over tagliatelle, spaghetti, rigatoni or your fave pasta with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and extra grated Parmesan. You can also use this white bolognese sauce to make lasagna or serve it over soft creamy polenta.
Recipe Notes
- You can replace the pancetta with cubed thick-cut bacon.
- Crumbled Italian sausage can be used instead of the ground pork.
- Pasta water: want an silky sauce? Add some of the water your pasta has been cooking in just before draining. The starch the pasta releases as it cooks helps thicken the sauce.
- If you don’t like using wine in your cooking, you can replace with with equal amounts of chicken broth.
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White Bolognese (Ragù Bianco)
This White Bolognese is (as the name suggests) a meat sauce made without tomatoes – an absolutely delicious variation on the more well known Bolognese sauce that's rich, meaty and well worth adding to your repertoire.
Video
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus more, as needed
- 7 oz cubed pancetta or thick cut bacon
- 1 pound (450g) ground beef
- 1 pound ( 450g) ground pork
- 1 ½ tsp salt flakes (kosher salt), divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 large onion , finely diced
- 2 carrots , finely diced
- 2 celery stalks , finely diced
- 1 tsp fennel seeds , ground in pestle and mortar
- ⅓ tsp celery salt
- 4 cloves garlic , sliced or minced
- ¾ cup dry white wine , I used Sauvignon Blanc
- 2 cups chicken broth , or chicken stock
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- small piece Parmesan rind
- ½ cup (125ml) cream, heavy / double
- ⅓ cup (80ml) reserved pasta water , optional you can add more cream
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese , freshly grated
To serve
- Salt and pepper , to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet, add the cubed pancetta and cook over medium-high heat until it starts to crisp up and render its fat.2 tbsp olive oil, 7 oz cubed pancetta
- Add the ground beef and pork to the pan, sprinkle with half the salt and cook for a few minutes until the meat starts to brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.1 pound (450g) ground beef, 1 pound ( 450g) ground pork, 1 ½ tsp salt flakes
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pot and set aside. Add a splash more olive oil, the diced onion, carrots, celery, spices, seasoning and sugar and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes.1 large onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 tsp fennel seeds, ⅓ tsp celery salt, ½ tsp black pepper
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, a couple of minutes, then add the white wine. Cook until the wine aroma dissipates, using your spoon to scrape any browned bits (a.k.a the fond) stuck to the pot loose.4 cloves garlic, ¾ cup dry white wine
- Return the browned meat to the pot, add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Simmer gently over low heat for 45 minutes or up to an hour, stirring occasionally. If the pot is getting too dry you can add a little hot water or extra broth.2 cups chicken broth, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 2 bay leaves, small piece Parmesan rind
- Stir in the cream, reserved pasta water if using and grated Parmesan and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Discard the Parmesan rind, bay leaves and herbs stalks. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.½ cup (125ml) cream, heavy / double, ⅓ cup (80ml) reserved pasta water, ¾ cup parmesan cheese
- Serve over tagliatelle, spaghetti, rigatoni or your fave pasta with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and extra grated Parmesan. You can also use this white bolognese sauce to make lasagna or serve it over soft creamy polenta.Salt and pepper, 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, grated Parmesan
Nutrition
Calories: 737kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 59g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 25g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 162mg | Sodium: 1550mg | Potassium: 704mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3997IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 221mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
