Ragu Napoletano is a hearty meat sauce made with beef, pork, and Italian sausage that’s slowly simmered with tomatoes, herbs, and seasonings, creating a rich and flavorful meat sauce that the whole family will love.
Typical of slow-cooked family recipes, my Ragu Napoletano makes a large batch of meat sauce that’s easily frozen and will provide extra meals for those days you don’t feel like cooking.
There isn’t much work involved in creating this classic Neopolitan meat sauce. Once it’s prepped, and on the stovetop, all you need to do is let it simmer until all the meats are fork tender and the sauce is a rich, hearty masterpiece.
It’s the perfect dish to start on a Sunday morning, filling the house with a delicious aroma as it simmers. You can be sure everyone will be home for this Sunday Dinner!
Ingredients to make Ragu Napoletano
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Ragu Napoletano. In Chef Spea,k this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
- olive oil
- pork ribs (pork shoulder can be substituted for ribs)
- beef chuck
- sweet Italian sausages
- small dice
- carrot
- garlic
- red pepper flakes
- dried oregano
- salt
- black pepper
- red wine
- whole tomatoes in juice – San Marzano (crushed by hand or with a food processor)
- fresh basil
- romano cheese or parmesan cheese for serving
- Italian parsley – garnish
How to make Ragu Napoletano
- Pat dry the spare ribs and beef chuck with paper towels.
- Season the ribs and chuck with salt and black pepper.
- Place a large skillet or large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to the hot pan.
- Carefully place the spare ribs in the pan and allow them to sear on each side for 3-4 minutes. After searing both sides remove the ribs from the pot and set them aside until needed.
- Add the beef chuck pieces and sausage meat to the pan and sear on both sides for 3-4 minutes. Break up the sausage using a wire whip or spoon.
- Add the onions, carrots and garlic to the pan and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the red wine to the pan to deglaze the pan and loosen all the tasty bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the ribs back to the pan, along with the tomatoes and seasonings. Mix together enough to mix the seasonings into the sauce and cover all the meat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover. Continue simmering for 3-4 hours depending upon how much time you have. Stir the mixture occasionally during the simmering process, but don’t disturb or open the pot often.
- Remove the ribs from the pot and after allowing them to cool slightly, remove the bones, cartilage and any other items that don’t belong in the sauce and return the meat to the pot.
- Add the basil to the sauce and mix it into the sauce. Taste the sauce and reseason as needed with salt and pepper.
*Simmering the sauce for 3-4 hours is what creates a rich tomato sauce. Make sure to plan out the day you’re going to make this sauce, giving enough time for the slow simmer.
- Serve the ragu over pappardelle, tagliatelle or rigitoni.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or fresh chopped basil. Serve the pasta with grated romano or parmesan cheese.
In Southern Italy, the types of meat used in a Neopolitan Ragu can vary depending upon what is readily available when making the sauce. So feel free to adapt it to your taste preferences. This is one of my favorite Neopolitan Ragu recipes and the one I make at home.
Recipe FAQ’s
The main difference between a bolognese and a ragu is the use of dairy (milk, cream and grated cheese) in the bolognese sauce. The other is that a bolognese sauce will always be made with ground meat and a ragu can be made with ground meat or whole pieces of meat that break apart during the cooking process.
A lot of the differences in a ragu sauce will come down to the region of Italy where the sauce is made.
Bolognese sauce always uses ground meat to make the sauce, while a Neopolitan Ragu uses whole meats and more tomato in the sauce. Neopolitan ragu also does not contain dairy products, whereas dairy is used heavily in a bolognese ragu.
More Pasta Sauce Recipes You’ll Love!
Ragu Napoletano
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 -4 pounds pork spare ribs cut into 4 sections (Pork Shoulder can be substituted for ribs)
- 2 pounds beef chuck cut into 2 inch chunks
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage meat removed from casing
- 2 cups onion small dice
- 1 cup carrot peeled and small dice
- 3 tablespoons garlic finely minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 84 ounces peeled whole tomatoes in juice I used D.O.P. San Marzano- crushed by hand
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- romano cheese for serving
- fresh Italian parsley finely chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Pat dry the ribs and beef chuck then season heavily with salt and black pepper
- Place a large skillet or large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to the hot pan.
- Carefully place the ribs in the pan and allow them to sear on each side for 3-4 minutes. After searing both sides remove the ribs from the pot and set them aside until needed.
- Add the beef chuck pieces and sausage meat to the pan and sear on both sides for 3-4 minutes. Break up the sausage using a wire whip or spoon. Break up the sausage using a wire whip or spoon.
- Add the onions, carrots and garlic to the pan and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the red wine to the pan to deglaze the pan and loosen all the tasty bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the ribs back to the pan, along with the tomatoes and seasonings. Mix together enough to mix the seasonings into the sauce and cover all the meat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover. Continue simmering for 3-4 hours depending upon how much time you have. Stir the mixture occasionally during the simmering process, but don't disturb or open the pot often.
- Remove the ribs from the pot and after allowing them to cool slightly, remove the bones, cartilage and any other items that don't belong in the sauce.Return the meat to the pot.
- Add the basil to the sauce and mix it into the sauce. Taste the sauce and reseason as needed with salt and pepper.
- Serve the ragu over pappardelle, tagliatelle or rigitoni.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or fresh chopped basil. Serve the pasta with grated romano or parmesan cheese.
Gina
i couldn’t find my grandfathers recipe (he’s from Naples, and has passed) but i remembered a lot of it. i googled a recipe to ensure i was remembering correctly and your recipe mirrors his go almost a T. thank you chef!
Chef Dennis Littley
I hope my recipe lives up to your Grandfathers. It’s one of my favorite meat sauces.
Diane
I just have a question, but will give this 5 stars, based upon the picture and the ingredient list. What kind of sausage are we supposed to use? I am definitely going to make this, and I will use mild Italian. Thanks for posting!
Chef Dennis Littley
mild or sweet Italian sausage
Luc
Hello Chef,
If I use the pork shoulder vs ribs, should i cut the meat before the sear, or after its cooked, do I just shred it like I would the ribs? Thank you in advance…..I will be making this recipe Saturday! Looks awesome!!
Chef Dennis Littley
If you’re using pork shoulder, cut it up into chunks otherwise it will take too long to cook. When the meat has cooked enough to shred, then remove it from the sauce, shred it and put it back to cook a little longer.
Luc
Thank you Chef! I will let you know how it turns out today!
Margie
Can this be cooked in a slow cooker?
Chef Dennis Littley
Yes it can. Just make sure to sear all the meats first.
lee
this was wonderful! the perfect chilly-and-wet-day meal, so good. My friends were effusive in their compliments and cleaned their plates. I was the hero of the day. Thank you Chef Dennis for another incredible recipe. The bolognese was excellent also, and I’ve tried for years to make the sauce, and was never happy with the result until I tried your recipe: love it.
I made sure to buy the correct tomatoes, following your advice. I’m sure this matters as the sauces were so very good.
Adam
I’m making this tomorrow. Any tips on plating to get it to look like your picture?
Yvonne Barnett
How much pappardelle pasta do you need for the full recipe to serve 20?
Chef Dennis Littley
I like to serve about 1/3 of a pound per person, so you would need 7 pounds for 20 people. You can cook the pasta ahead of time(aldente), rinse and refrigerate and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Then have a pot of boiling water ready and dip the cooked pasta back in the water using a colander or strainer to heat it back up before serving. This is how we would do it in the restaurant.
Yvonne Barnett
Thank you so much for getting back to me on the pasta quantity. Is it possible to pour the sauce over the noodles ahead of time and then heat up in the oven? What is the best way to heat up before serving?
Chef Dennis Littley
You can mix it up ahead of time, if you use a hardier noodle like rigatoni, ziti or penne. Cook the noodles to al dente, and add cold sauce to the noodles, mix and refrigerate. Then cover with foil and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes (use an instant read thermometer to make sure its at least 165 degrees F.).
Making the sauce 1-2 days ahead of time will only improve the flavor of the sauce.
Have more sauce hot on the stove and when you serve the oven heated pasta, top it with more of the hot sauce.
Twyla Laakso
Hello Chef!
What do you think if oven braising this ragu rather than simmering?
Thank you!
Chef Dennis Littley
you can do that, just make sure it’s on a low temp so it doesn’t overcook. Try 3 hours at 275 degrees F
Jenny Lendrum
Trying this recipe on the weekend Chef Dennis, looks amazing.
MJ
Where does the tomato paste come in???
Chef Dennis Littley
That was an error, there is no tomato paste in the recipe. Thanks for bringing this to my attention,.
Leslie
Hello–I have 2 quick questions.
I know I can use whatever dry red wine I fancy, and would drink, but I would like to know which wine you personally use (or use most often) when making this ragu.
And question #2: No added sugar in the ragu recipe? I only ask because of the 6 ounces of tomato paste called for in the recipe.
Thank you in advance.
Just a side note–I have made your most exquisite tiramisu and your heavenly bolognese recipes. Now i look forward to making this ragu.
Larry
we love both bolognese and meat sauce and your version sounds fantastic and must be tried soon.