Slow Cooked Venison Ragu
, Updated Sep 25, 2025
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A deeply flavorful, slow-cooked Venison Ragu you can make in a crockpot or on the hob. Serve it over pasta, polenta, or use it as a lasagna or ravioli filling.
Check out my Slow Cooker Venison Roast, and this hearty Slow Cooker Venison Stew
Turn lean venison into a rich, comforting meat sauce that simmers itself into perfection. Whether you leave it all day in the slow cooker or stir it slowly on the stove, this ragu is versatile, robust, and full of character.
If you’re looking for a new way to switch up the way you prepare venison, try my Venison Ragu recipe. This ground venison ragu is slow cooked until tender and packed with flavor. Serve it over pasta or polenta or use it as a filling for ravioli or lasagna.
I love cooking with venison — it’s lean, bold, and full of flavor. But that same leanness can lead to dryness if treated like regular meat. That’s where this Venison Ragu comes in: slow-cooked ground venison with Italian sausage, aromatics, tomatoes, wine, and seasonings until it melts into a luscious, hearty sauce.
You can make it in a pot on the stove (great when you want more control) or in the slow cooker (set it and forget it). Either way, the result is so good you’ll want to smuggle it out for lunch the next day.
Use it over papardelle, pour over creamy polenta, stuff it into lasagna or ravioli — this recipe plays well with many roles. And while I normally associate this rich slow-cooked meat sauce with cold winter months, I actually make it year-round as the slow cooker doesn’t heat up the kitchen.
Here’s What You’ll Need
Venison is naturally lean so I have added a couple of Italian sausages to counter this. You can use pancetta instead if preferred. Italian ragu tends to be meat rather than tomato based but feel free to add more canned tomatoes or tomato paste.
- Ground venison (venison mince) – farmed venison or deer meat.
- Italian sausages, casing removed. You want a sausage with a bit of fat to balance the venison.
- White onion, celery and carrots, the classic Italian soffritto trifecta, make up the backbone of our sauce.
- Minced garlic, garlic powder, salt, pepper and a bit of sugar
- Tomato paste (tomato purée) and finely good-quallty canned tomatoes.
- White wine or red wine
- Beef broth / beef stock or venison stock if available
- Balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce
- Bay leaves, cinnamon stick and parmesan rind for flavour
- Flat leaf parsley and grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese, to serve
How to Make Venison Ragu in the Slow Cooker
- Heat the olive oil in your slow cooker if it allows for browning or in a large skillet. Add the sausage and ground venison and brown the meat for several minutes, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Stir in the minced garlic, salt, sugar, ground pepper, garlic powder, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
- Add the wine and let it cook down until the alcohol fragrance dissipates. At this point you can transfer everything to the slow cooker if you have started cooking in a skillet.
- All the remaining ingredients – the diced onion, celery, carrots, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and beef broth – are stirred in at this point.
- Finally add the bay leaves, cinnamon and cheese rind, cover the slow cooker and cook on the LOW setting for 8 – 12 hours. You can also cook on the HIGH setting for 5-6 hours.
- Discard the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cheese rind. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve over tagliatelle or parpadelle with with a generous grating of Parmesan and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Stovetop Instructions
The method is slightly different if you are cooking this on the hob. You will need to add more liquid and give the occasional stir so this version is more hands on.
- Heat the oil in a large pot (such as a Dutch Oven). Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, for about 8-10 minutes or until softened.
- Add the sausage meat and venison, breaking it up with the back of your spoon and stirring until browned. Stir in the wine and cook until it cooks down by about half.
- Stir in the salt, pepper, sugar, garlic powder, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
- Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaves, cinnamon, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for about two hours, stirring occasionally. Make sure to keep an eye on the liquid levels and top up with hot water if needed.
Leftovers and Storage
This Venison Ragu is a kitchen win — lean meat transformed into a rich, aromatic sauce that works over pasta, polenta, lasagna, or more. Here’s some ideas:
- Classic pasta bowl – reheat and toss with tagliatelle, pappardelle, penne, or creamy orzo.
- Over polenta, mashed potatoes or baked potatoes for an easy meal.
- Use in lasagna or cannelloni – layer it between sheets of pasta, add béchamel, bake.
- Ravioli or tortellini filling – thicken a bit, cool, then use as filling.
- Shepherd’s pie twist – top ragu with mashed potato and bake until golden.
Store leftovers in a suitable container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in a saucepan until the ragu is bubbling and serve over pasta, polenta or mashed potatoes. You can also freeze the sauce, in portions, for up to three months.
Recipe Notes
- What’s the difference between ragù and bolognese? Ragu is a meat based sauce which contains vegetables, wine and tomatoes. Bolognese on the other hand originates from Bologna in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy and although similar to ragu it frequently contains dairy such as milk or cream.
- Can I use whole cuts (haunch or shoulder) instead of mince? Yes and it would be so awesome! Follow my recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Ragu.
- TOP TIP: Reserve some of the starchy pasta water when draining your pasta to add to the sauce if it needs a bit of extra liquid.
HAVE YOU MADE MY VENISON RAGU RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram with @supergolden88 and the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day! I have also just launched my TikTok channel and would love to meet you there 🙂
Venison Ragu
Video
Ingredients
FOR THE RAGU
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.3 lbs (600g) ground venison , farmed venison or deer meat
- 2 Italian sausages , casing removed * see note 1
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 white onion , finely diced
- 2 celery ribs , finely diced
- 2 carrots , finely diced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (tomato purée)
- 14 oz (400g) canned tomatoes , finely chopped
- ¾ cup (60ml) white wine or red wine
- 1 cup (250ml) beef broth / beef stock * see note 2
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (not aged)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cinnamon stick
- small piece parmesan rind
TO SERVE
- salt and freshly ground pepper , to taste
- Flat leaf parsley
- grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
Instructions
SLOW COOKER VENISON RAGU
- Heat the olive oil in your slow cooker if it allows for browning or in a large skillet.2 tbsp olive oil
- Add the sausage and ground venison and brown the meat, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon.1.3 lbs (600g) ground venison, 2 Italian sausages
- Stir in the minced garlic, salt, sugar, ground pepper, garlic powder, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.3 cloves garlic , 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Add the wine and let it cook down until the alcohol fragrance dissipates. At this point you can transfer everything to the slow cooker if you have started cooking in a skillet.¾ cup (60ml) white wine
- All the remaining ingredients – the diced onion, celery, carrots, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and beef broth – are stirred in at this point.1 white onion, 2 celery ribs, 2 carrots, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 14 oz (400g) canned tomatoes, 1 cup (250ml) beef broth / beef stock, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Finally add the bay leaves, cinnamon and cheese rind, cover the slow cooker and cook on the LOW setting for 8 – 12 hours.2 bay leaves, ½ cinnamon stick, small piece parmesan rind
- Discard the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cheese rind. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.salt and freshly ground pepper
- Serve over tagliatelle or parpadelle with with a generous grating of Parmesan and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.Flat leaf parsley, grated Parmesan
COOKING VENISON RAGU ON THE HOB
- The method is slightly different if you are cooking this on the hob. You will need to add more liquid (2 cups beef broth instead of one) and give the occasional stir so this is more hands on.
- Heat the oil in a large pot (such as a Dutch Oven). Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, for about 8-10 minutes or until softened.
- Add the sausage meat and venison, breaking it up with the back of your spoon and stirring until browned. Stir in the wine and cook until it cooks down by about half.
- Stir in the salt, pepper, sugar, garlic powder, minced garlic, balsamic and Worcestershire sauce.
- Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaves, cinnamon, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for about two hours, stirring occasionally.
- Make sure to keep an eye on the liquid levels and top up with hot water if needed
- When ready to serve, discard the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cheese rind. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Notes
- Substitute with 7oz (200g) / scant 1 cup diced pancetta or bacon
- You will need to use 2 cups (500ml) of beef broth if cooking on the stove, plus additional liquid if needed.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
