Slow braised Short Rib Beef Ragu is a rustic, hearty, and classic Italian Meal. Served with gorgeous ribbons of Pappardelle pasta, this beef ragu recipe is the ultimate comfort food.
This beef ragu might actually be the most perfect meal to make on a cold Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Savory beef short ribs simmer with tomatoes, fresh herbs, and red wine for several hours, making your kitchen smell amazing.
By the time your short rib ragu is ready to serve, everyone will be so ready to eat the savory sauce that they’ve been smelling all day.
And while this recipe is easy enough for a simple Sunday family dinner, it’s also delicious enough for special occasions too.
Make this for date night, Valentine’s Day, Christmas Eve dinner, or as a birthday celebration. Once you make it once, I know that your family will be asking you to make it again and again… and again!
Slowly Simmered Braised Short Rib Ragu
- Simple Ingredients – Making a homemade ragu is all about turning humble ingredients into an amazing sauce. Here we will start with fresh vegetables, canned tomatoes, and a cut of beef that can only be made tender by braising.
- Simple to Prepare – Chop your veggies and measure the ingredients before you start. Once everything is added to the pot, you just need to be patient while the ribs simmer away for a few hours. This amazing meal requires very little hands-on cooking time.
- Special Occasion Meal – Are you looking for a recipe to impress someone special? I highly suggest making them this short rib ragu. Another favorite date night dinner is my Marry Me Chicken recipe, or try making Creamy Lobster Pasta!
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this rich and hearty pasta meal:
- Beef Short Ribs: To make this slow simmered ragu, you’ll need about 3 pounds of bone-in beef short ribs. You should be able to find these short-cut beef ribs in most large grocery stores, but if you’re having trouble finding them, you can also make this recipe with boneless short ribs or a beef chuck roast.
- Carrot, Celery, Onion, Garlic: Dice your aromatic vegetables into small pieces so that they release the maximum amount of flavor into the ragu. In Italian cooking, this blend of aromatics is called soffritto.
- Pappardelle Pasta: While you can technically make beef short rib ragu with any type of pasta, I highly recommend you try it with thick, flat egg pasta like this. The texture of the cooked shredded rib meat goes perfectly with it. Other excellent pasta options include tagliatelle, fettuccine, and bucatini.
- Tomatoes: To create this rich sauce, you’ll need one large can of crushed tomatoes (or two small ones), and a bit of tomato paste.
- Red Wine: The wine deglazes the pan after the beef has been seared and is cooked down to add depth and earthiness to the sauce. Choose any red wine that you’d enjoy drinking. If you aren’t sure what to buy, try it with Chianti!
- Fresh or Dried Herbs: Bay Leaves, Thyme and Rosemary.
- Good Quality Parmesan Cheese and Olive Oil: I prefer to use light olive oil (rather than EVOO) to sear the meat, but you can use whichever you prefer. For the cheese, I suggest buying a large piece of parmesan and grating it over the pasta fresh.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Short Rib Beef Ragu
- Sear the Ribs: This step is so important for creating flavor in the dish! Season the meat with salt and pepper, then sear them on all sides in a hot dutch oven with olive oil. This will take about 4 minutes per side. Keep going until the ribs are browned all over. Remove the ribs from the pot and drain away all but 2 teaspoons of grease.
- Saute the Aromatics: To the same Dutch oven, add the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften. Then add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for just another minute, or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Build the Sauce: Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook for two minutes, then add the tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, and beef broth.
- Simmer: Now is the time to let the magic happen! Return the short ribs to the pot and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer the short rib beef ragu for 2-3 hours, or until the short ribs are very tender and the meat is falling off of the bones. Then uncover and simmer for 30 minutes to let the sauce reduce.
Tip!
During the 2-3 hours that the ragu is simmering, occasionally skim off any fat that rises to the surface and then stir.
- Finish the Sauce: Remove the ribs from the pot and pull out the bay leaves and the stems from the fresh herbs. Optionally, add a splash of heavy cream and a few tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese. Taste the ragu and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
- Shred the Beef: Use two forks to shred the beef, discarding the bones and any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the sauce. If needed add more broth to thin the sauce.
- Add Pasta: While the sauce is finishing, cook the papparedella according to the package instructions until it’s al dente. Drain the pasta. You can either add all of the pasta directly to the ragu, or toss the pasta with a small amount of the sauce to prevent sticking, and serve it on the side.
- Serve: Serve the pappardelle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley to garnish.
Recipe Tips
- Adding cream is optional, but I really enjoy the way a small amount of heavy cream or half and half melds with the acidity from the tomatoes. If you have it, try it!
- Don’t shred the beef too finely. You want to keep some of that meaty texture and have various sized pieces of meat in the dish.
- If you’d rather not use red wine, you can make this with alcohol-free wine, or replace the wine with unsweetened pomegranate or cranberry juice. You can also just use a bit more beef broth.
- Instead of pasta, serve this ragu over polenta, risotto, or gnocchi!
Storing Tips
Feel free to make beef ragu ahead of time! It stores easily and the flavors just get better with a little bit of time.
Once the sauce has cooled, store it in an airtight container. In the refrigerator it will keep for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What To Serve With Short Rib Ragu
All you need to turn this special dish into a full meal is a salad and maybe some crusty bread to soak up any extra sauce from your plate!
My simple no-knead bread is perfect for that, or you may enjoy making breadsticks just like the Olive Garden does.
If you need a fresh new salad recipe, checkout my homemade Caesar salad or a kale salad with bright lemon vinaigrette.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make short rib ragu in the oven?
You can! Prepare the ragu on the stovetop up until the point of simmering. Place the Dutch oven in your oven and cook, covered, for 2 hours at 300°F (150°C). Then remove the lid and continue oven braising the meat for one more hour or until the meat is tender.
What can I use in place of beef short ribs?
For this recipe, you can use any cut of beef that is meant to be braised. English-cut short ribs like I’m using here are a tough cut of meat that benefits from cooking low and slow. Other cuts of beef that will work include chuck roast, cut into cubes or beef shank.
What pasta goes best with ragu?
A hearty meat sauce like this one requires a hearty pasta that can handle it. Pappardelle is ideal, but you can also replace it with other wide-cut long pastas like linguine or tagliatelle.
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It’s truly so simple to make this Short Rib Beef Ragu with just a handful of fresh and easy ingredients! It makes a wonderful family dinner for a lazy weekend, or a special occasion meal to share with someone special.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Short Rib Beef Ragu
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ – 3 pounds (1350 g) bone-in beef short ribs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 carrots peeled and finely diced
- 2 celery stalks finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup (120 ml) red wine a good quality wine you'd enjoy drinking
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 28-ounce can (780 g) crushed tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 cups (480 ml) beef broth
- parmesan cheese for serving
- Heavy Cream or half and half, optional
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
- 12 ounces pappardelle pasta
Instructions
- Season the short ribs generously with salt and pepper from all sides.
- In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the short ribs and sear on all sides until browned, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove the short ribs and set aside. Drain the fat, leaving about 2 teaspoons in total in the dutch oven.
- In the same pot, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary and pour in the beef broth.
- Return the short ribs to the pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 2-3 hours, or until the short ribs are very tender. Uncover and cook for the last 30 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce.
- Occasionally, skim off any excess fat from the surface and stir the ragu. Once the short ribs are tender, remove them from the pot and shred the meat with 2 forks, discarding the bones and any excess fat. Also remove the bay leaves and herb stems from the sauce at this time.
- Optional: To the sauce, add a splash of half and half or heavy cream, and a couple of tablespoons of grated parmesan and stir. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Return the shredded meat to the pot and stir into the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, you can thin it with a little more broth.
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pappardelle according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta and toss it with a bit of the ragu to coat or add it directly to the ragu and gently toss.
- Serve the pappardelle with a generous amount of the short rib beef ragu on top. Grate fresh Parmesan cheese over each serving and garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes:
- Oven Instructions: Prepare the ragu on the stovetop up until the point of simmering. Place the Dutch oven in your oven and cook, covered, for 2 hours at 300°F (150°C). Then remove the lid and continue oven braising the meat for one more hour or until the meat is tender.
- Storage: Once the sauce has cooled, store it in an airtight container. In the refrigerator it will keep for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Adding cream is optional, but I really enjoy the way a small amount of heavy cream or half-and-half melds with the acidity from the tomatoes. If you have it, try it!
- Don’t shred the beef too finely. You want to keep some of that meaty texture and have various-sized pieces of meat in the dish.
- If you’d rather not use red wine, you can make this with alcohol-free wine, or replace the wine with unsweetened pomegranate or cranberry juice. You can also just use a bit more beef broth.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
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