Slow Cooker Bolognese? Si
Sometime last week, as I was making a list of what to make my kids for their school lunches, I realized it’s not the mid-day meal that leaves me in a lurch each day, but rather it’s the healthy, relatively homemade dinner I need to get on the table every night in between working, carpooling, extra-curricular activities, and math homework. That, without a doubt, will become my undoing, unless I have a minimum of four quick dinners planned for the week before Monday morning rolls around.
The first one I tested was definitely a dinner homerun that doubles as the next day’s lunch, awarding it extra bonus points because it feeds my family twice while requiring very little work on my part. This slow cooker Bolognese sauce also happens to be flavourful, healthy, and cooks all day while I work, making it a twenty-minute, less-than-ten-ingredient dinner the whole family will devour.
The brilliance of using sausages (turkey or pork) in this recipe instead of traditional ground beef is that they are already flavoured with seasonings, cutting your ingredient list in half from the get go. A little onion, a can of tomatoes, splashes of wine and Worcestershire round out the required items and within a few short hours your dinner is nearly ready.
For those who don’t want to fuss with prepping the food while simultaneously making breakfast, you can always combine the ingredients in your slow cooker the night before, then pull it from the fridge in the morning and turn it on to cook.
Do you have a favourite weeknight dinner? Share in the comments and let us know what works for you on a busy weeknight.
This slow cooker Bolognese sauce serves 6
Recipe: Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce
You’ll Need
- 1 lb. turkey or pork sausages, casings removed
- ½ medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 28-oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup red or white wine
- 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Pinch of salt
- 1 lb. dried pasta
- 1 Tbsp butter
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Prep and Cook
- 1Combine the sausages, onion, tomatoes, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and salt in the slow cooker and stir to combine, breaking up the meat as you work.
- 2Cover and cook until the meat is cooked through, on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
- 3Twenty minutes before serving, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
Drain well and stir in butter.
Top the pasta with the Bolognese and sprinkle with Parmesan.
