This iron and veggie rich bolognese sauce made with ground beef or turkey is perfect for topping baby's spaghetti or other pasta. It's a great texture for baby led weaning and delicious for the whole family.
This post has been written and medically reviewed by Kaleigh McMordie, MCN, RDN (Registered Dietitian Nutritionist).
Baby Bolognese
Traditional Italian bolognese is a slow cooked sauce made from sweated celery, carrot and onion, along with some kind of ground or finely chopped meat, and usually wine, milk, and a small amount of tomato, served over flat pasta. Here in America and many countries outside of Italy, spaghetti bolognese refers to a tomato based sauce with ground meat (usually beef) served with spaghetti.
This is my version of bolognese, made baby-friendly and weeknight friendly. It takes parts of both the traditional bolognese, like sweated celery, onion and carrot, along with more Americanized parts, like ground beef, crushed tomatoes, and passing on the milk and wine. The result is a sauce that is still flavorful and veggie heavy but less labor-intensive and more family friendly. The finely chopped veggies nearly disappear in the sauce, making the texture great for little eaters. The iron-rich beef provides protein, iron and zinc that growing babies and toddlers need. Serve it over your favorite baby led weaning friendly pasta for a dinner that the whole family will love.
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Ingredients
- Ground beef - I use 85/15 but any will work here. If the fat percentage is greater than 10%, you may want to drain the meat after browning.
- Onion
- Carrot
- Celery
- Garlic
- Tomato paste
- Crushed tomatoes - If you don't have canned crushed tomatoes, you can use plain tomato sauce or pulse canned diced tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes (with the juice) in a food processor or blender.
- Dried Spices - Oregano, basil and bay leaf
- Pepper and optional salt - I use a little bit of salt in family recipes, but you can leave it out if you're serving babies under 12 months if you'd like.
- Lemon zest - Not necessary but adds a nice subtle brightness
Helpful equipment: Food processor, Dutch oven (my favorite for making sauces, beans soups and stews!)
Step By Step Instructions
For the full printable recipe, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, but not pureed. You want about the texture of grated veggies. You can also use a grater to finely shred them by hand.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown the ground meat over medium heat, breaking it up into tiny pieces with a wooden spoon or meat chopper. Once cooked, drain the extra grease through a colander if your meat has a high fat content.
- In the same pot (no need to wipe clean), add the veggies and cook until they soften and start to sweat off some moisture, about 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste darkens in color.
- Stir in the tomatoes, spices, bay leaf, lemon zest and ground meat. Lower the heat to a low simmer and cover the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 45 minutes to deepen the flavor. You can simmer it as long as 90 minutes for even better flavor. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes or so to thicken the sauce to your liking. Serve sauce over your favorite pasta.
Tips and Recipe Variations
- If you're using lean ground beef or another lean ground meat such as turkey, you'll probably need a little bit of oil for browning the meat to prevent sticking. You won't need to drain the meat, so just add the veggies to the pot with the meat after the browning step and proceed with the recipe.
- You can simmer the sauce for as little as 30 minutes, but the flavors do blend and get better the longer it simmers.
- As mentioned, if you don't have crushed tomatoes, use whichever canned tomatoes you have! Plain tomato sauce will work, or pulse diced or whole peeled tomatoes in the food processor or blender (with the juice) to crush them.
- If your sauce gets too thick, add a little water to thin it out.
- Feel free to make this recipe your own with any preferred spices and seasonings!
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover bolognese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It also freezes well. I like to freeze individual portions in silicone freezer blocks, then store in a freezer safe bag. Thaw sauce in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for up to 2 hours before reheating.
To reheat, simply simmer the sauce, covered, in a small pot on the stove until heated through.
How To Serve Bolognese To Babies 6 Months and Up
This bolognese is perfect for baby led weaning babies 6 months and up, or for babies who have reached a lumpy texture or finger foods (for spoon fed babies). Just make sure to break up the meat into very small pieces during cooking. Stir bolognese into cooked pasta - here are the best baby friendly pastas and shapes. For BLW babies without a pincer grasp, serve longer noodles and allow them to scoop them up with their hands. For babies who have a pincer grasp or toddlers who have started using utensils, you can cut long, thin pasta (such as spaghetti) into bite sized pieces.
Yes, this meal is messy for little ones! Here are my top tips for dealing with the mess with BLW.
More Healthy, Baby-Friendly Pasta Sauce Recipes
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Baby's First Spaghetti Bolognese
This iron and veggie rich bolognese made with ground beef or turkey is perfect for topping baby's spaghetti or other pasta. It's a great texture for baby led weaning and delicious for the whole family.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: about 4 adult servings 1x
- Category: main dish
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, yellow or white, cut into large chunks
- 2 medium carrots, cut into large chunks
- 1 stalk celery, cut into large chunks
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 lb ground beef (see note)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp kosher salt (optional - see note)
- zest from half a small lemon
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the onion, carrot, celery and garlic until finely chopped. You want the texture of grated veggies, not a puree. You can also use a coarse grater or chop finely by hand if you don't have a food processor.
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown, breaking up into very small pieces with a wooden spoon or meat chopper.
- If your meat has more than about 90% fat, you can drain it. Pour the meat into a colander with a bowl underneath to catch the grease and set aside. Otherwise you can proceed with the recipe with the meat still in the pot.
- Add the chopped vegetables to the pot (no need to wipe it clean) and cook, stirring, until they start to soften and lose a little bit of moisture, about 5 minutes. If they start to brown, lower the heat.
- Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste is darkened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients (crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, basil, salt (if using), pepper, and lemon zest) along with the meat if you drained it. Stir well to combine.
- Cover, lower the heat and simmer on the lowest heat (the sauce should barely bubble) for 45 minutes, and up to 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Take the lid off for the last 10 minutes or so to thicken the sauce to your liking. Serve over your favorite cooked pasta.
Notes
- Ground Beef: I typically use 85/15 ground beef. If you use leaner meat, such as 90/10, there is no need to drain it. Just proceed with the recipe with the meat in the pot. You can also use ground turkey. You'll need to add a little oil to the pot before browning the meat.
- Salt: For babies under 12 months, feel free to omit the salt. I'm not worried about a small amount in a family recipe like this, especially if I use tomatoes with no added salt.
- Tomatoes: I like the convenience and texture of crushed tomatoes, but if you don't have them, you can use plain canned tomato sauce, or pulse diced or whole peeled tomatoes (with their juices) in a food processor or blender.
- If the sauce gets too thick, add a little bit of water to thin it back out.
- Storage: Store leftover bolognese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze in individual portions in silicone freezer blocks.
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