We do a good job of choosing family-friendly recipes here at Crock Pot Thursday, but sometimes we make something that knocks it out of the park. This Crock Pot Beef Ragu is one of those dishes.
It is easy to assemble, looks beautiful, and tastes incredible. What more could one want?
I didn’t actually make this on a Thursday like I usually do, but instead made this on a snowy Sunday. Snow days compel me to bake, so on this particular Sunday, I tried my hand at homemade noodles. It was more fun than folding the laundry that was waiting for me, and the noodles tasted good, but they were too thick, and pretty heavy. For now, I’ll stick to what I know: throwing a box of pasta in boiling water, folding that long-forgotten laundry, and making this beef ragu, which is nearly impossible to screw up.
Crock Pot Beef Ragu
Crock Pot Thursday: Hearty Beef Ragu
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2-3 lb beef chuck roast
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup red wine (optional, substitute more beef broth if omitted)
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- cooked pasta
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place sliced onion, garlic cloves, and rosemary in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Season the meat with salt and pepper, and place on top of onion, garlic, and rosemary.
- Dump diced tomatoes on top of meat.
- In a bowl, mix tomato sauce and beef broth, and stir until combined. Pour over slow cooker ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours.
- When the meat is done, it should fall apart. Shred it in the sauce and let it soak up the yummy juices while cooking the pasta according to package directions.
- Serve beef ragu over pasta, and top with grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
Kim
The flavor of this dish is phenomenal. This is a great alternative to pot roast or stew, and so easy to throw together. Be sure to salt and pepper the meat well. The only thing I might try differently is to thicken up the liquid at the end with a little flour slurry. I think it would help the sauce stick to the noodles better. Instead, I slurped it out of my bowl when I was done. Definitely will make again. (Update: This is even better the next day!)
Linda
Loved this!! It was very easy to put together, but made a really tasty ragu. I also added salt in the end, and we served it over whole grain pasta. After the first meal, I put the pasta in the meat and sauce, and this really made a good tasting noodle dish. This had a taste like a stew, with lots of layers of flavor, but was much easier.
Me
Yum! We all enjoyed this dish, and I'd agree with Kim that it's even better the second day.
Modified from Little Leopard Book.