Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
On chilly nights I want to cozy up with Slow Cooker Beef Ragu over a big bowl of pasta. It’s warming, hearty, and satisfying. Fancy enough for company but simple enough for a weeknight family meal.
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Slow Cooker Beef Ragu is made with chuck roast, which is usually an inexpensive cut of meat and readily available. The roast is quick seared to lock in flavor and combined with red wine, tomatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, and celery before being cooked low and slow all day.
The meat just falls apart and the sauce is robust and bold; exactly what you want on a cold fall or winter night. Serve the shredded beef with the tomato sauce over a big bowl of pappardelle or egg noodles along with a side of crusty bread and you have a meal to warm your family on a chilly night.
I’m drooling just thinking about it. 🙂
You’ve got to try Mississippi Pot Roast or Apple Cider Pork Tenderloin.
What you’ll need
You can find the full, printable recipe with exact measurements at the bottom of this post. Read on for more details and tips!
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- Crock pot- you’ll want 7-8 quarts for this recipe
- Chuck roast– 3 or 4 pounds. Chuck roast is great because it can withstand a long slow cook, which makes it tender and falls apart easily.
- Butter– to sear the beef
- Tomato paste– this thickens the sauce
- Crushed tomatoes -canned
- Vegetables– carrots, celery, garlic, onion
- Beef broth
- Red wine– Use your favorite red wine, just make sure it’s wine you would actually drink and not cooking wine. I’m using Cabernet. The alcohol will cook out, leaving behind only the flavor. You can substitute extra beef broth if you don’t want to use wine.
- Flour– to dredge the meat after searing, which will also thicken the sauce while cooking
- Seasonings– Salt, pepper, bay leaves, garlic powder, thyme, dried basil, Italian seasoning
- Fresh Parmesan cheese and parsley for serving
- Pasta for serving, such as pappardelle or egg noodles
How to make it
First you’ll want to take your roast out of the fridge and let the chuck roast come to room temperature.
Next, sear the roast. Add the butter to a cast iron or heavy bottom pan over medium high heat and let it melt.
Cut the roast into 3 pieces. Salt and pepper each side of each piece of roast.
When the butter is sizzling place the beef in the pan and sear 1-2 minutes on all sides.
Meanwhile, add flour to a shallow dish with more salt and pepper to taste.
When the roast pieces are fully seared remove from the pan and place in the flour bowl, dust each side of each piece of roast and add them to the crockpot.
Turn the heat down to medium on the pan. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and carrots to the pan and cook 3 minutes until they begin to soften. Pour in 1/2 cup of beef broth while scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour the all of the veggies and liquid into the crockpot.
Then, pour in the full can of crushed tomatoes, beef broth, wine, tomato paste, and all seasonings to the crockpot.
Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.
When it’s finish, remove the garlic cloves and bay leaves. Shred the beef in the crock pot and serve over noodles with the broth. Top with fresh parmesan cheese and parsley. Enjoy!
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Try these next!
- Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
- Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin
- Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Chicken sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Salisbury Meatballs
- Chicken Cacciatore
- Beef and Broccoli
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Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chuck roast
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots sliced
- 2 ribs celery sliced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1 cup red wine or use beef broth
- 1 cup flour
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- Fresh Parmesan cheese and parsley for serving
- 12 ounces pasta such as pappardelle or egg noodles
Instructions
- First you’ll want to take your roast out of the fridge and let the chuck roast come to room temperature.
- Next, sear the roast. Add the butter to a cast iron or heavy bottom pan over medium high heat and let it melt.
- Cut the roast into 3 pieces. Salt and pepper each side of each piece of roast.
- When the butter is sizzling place the beef in the pan and sear 1-2 minutes on all sides.
- Meanwhile, add flour to a shallow dish with more salt and pepper to taste.
- When the roast pieces are fully seared remove from the pan and place in the flour bowl, dust each side of each piece of roast and add them to the crockpot.
- Turn the heat down to medium on the pan. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and carrots to the pan and cook 3 minutes until they begin to soften. Pour in 1/2 cup of beef broth while scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour the all of the veggies and liquid into the crockpot.
- Then, pour in the full can of crushed tomatoes, beef broth, wine, tomato paste, and all seasonings to the crockpot.
- Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.
- When it’s finish, remove the garlic cloves and bay leaves. Shred the beef in the crock pot and serve over noodles with the broth. Top with fresh parmesan cheese and parsley. Enjoy!
