Sauces & Condiments Italian

Sarah’s Italian Sausage Bolognese

Hot Italian sausage, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, red wine, tomatoes, stock, basil, cream cheese and cream simmer into a rich pasta sauce that is absolutely not shy about being dinner.

Sarah’s Italian Sausage Bolognese

What It Is

Hot Italian sausage, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, red wine, tomatoes, stock, basil, cream cheese and cream simmer into a rich pasta sauce that is absolutely not shy about being dinner.

Origin

Bolognese sauce comes from Bologna, Italy, but this sausage-heavy creamy version is my Alberta-meets-Italy remix rather than a traditional ragù alla bolognese.

Fun Fact

Traditional ragù alla bolognese is generally meat-forward and only modestly tomato-heavy. North American 'Bolognese' often goes much redder. Somewhere, Bologna is gesturing with both hands.

Prep
20 min
Cook
35 min
Total
55 min
Servings
6 generous ladles
(portion sizes are a suggestion, not a law)
Difficulty
easy
Gluten-Free Nut-Free
Diet
Gluten-Free, Nut-Free
Away Mission
110 min walk
(or beam directly past it, if the transporter's working today)
#italian #sarah-s-italian-sausage-bolognese #sauce #spoon-and-scribble

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb hot Italian sausage
  • 4 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 32 oz crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • ½ cup heavy cream

Steps

  1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Brown and crumble the sausage.
  2. Add garlic, carrot, celery and onion and cook about 10 minutes until softened.
  3. Stir in wine and let it absorb, then add stock, tomatoes and seasoning. Bring to a bubble.
  4. Reduce heat and simmer gently about 15 minutes. Stir in basil.
  5. Stir in cream cheese and heavy cream until smooth. Serve over al dente pasta.

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Notes

The earlier method mentioned milk while the ingredient list gives cream cheese and heavy cream. I use the ingredients actually listed here, because the sauce has enough dairy without summoning a mystery carton.

Nutrition Facts
Per 1 generous ladle
Calories 490
Burning this off: several minutes of aggressively pretending to enjoy a work Zoom call.
% Daily Value*
Fat 35.0 g 47%
Saturated + Trans 15 g 75%**
Cholesterol 100 mg
Sodium 900 mg 39%
Carbohydrate 21.0 g
Fibre 2.5 g 9%
Sugars 14.0 g 14%
Protein 17.0 g
Potassium 790 mg 17%
Calcium 100 mg 8%
Iron 2.1 mg 12%
*5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot. Sodium levels calculated in a country with universal healthcare — and it's free, so don't worry about it too much.
**This dish means well. Some numbers above are having a bit of a moment. Delicious? Absolutely. A daily habit? Let's not. Eat it, enjoy it, then maybe take the stairs.

Substitutions

Ground beef or pork can replace the sausage if you'd rather season it yourself from scratch. Any neutral oil works for the base. Parsnip can stand in for celery in a genuine pinch for a slightly sweeter result.

Storage

Refrigerate covered for up to 3–4 days. It tastes even better the next day because sauces enjoy sleeping on their decisions.

Freezing

Freeze cooled sauce in meal-sized airtight containers for up to 3 months. Cook fresh pasta when you reheat it.