Pasta alla Genovese is a braised beef and onion ragu tossed with al dente ziti and lots of parmesan. Hearty, cozy, and so delicious!

This has quickly become one of my favorite pastas to serve. The depth of flavor is just unparalleled and it’s perfect for a hearty Sunday dinner or even a date night at home.

Pasta alla Genovese

There is nothing cozier to me in the winter months than curling up with a bowl of hearty pasta! I’ve honestly made it my business to work my way through lots of classic Italian sauces, but pasta all genovese might just be my new favorite.

When I think of a beef ragu, I typically think of a classic tomato-based beef ragu but this ragu is something totally different and special. Think chunks of beef cooked low and slow with tons of onions as they slowly caramelize in the oven to make a sauce that literally melts in your mouth. It’s not traditional, but a bit of tomato paste and a handful of cherry tomatoes balance out the sweetness from the onions.

Pasta alla genovese feels all at once both richly flavored, but still light because it’s not a heavy sauce. It perfectly clings to ziti (or your favorite noodles!) for a hearty and delicious pasta that is so perfect in the cooler months.

What is Braising?

While this may sound like an intimidating cooking term, it’s actually so straight forward and mostly hands-off! It’s a technique that I encourage everyone to learn because it produces truly the most delicious meals.

Braising is a combination cooking technique that features both wet and dry heat. First, you sear beef chuck for flavor and color and then you add liquid to the pot and transfer the covered pot to the oven. In the oven, the beef cooks slowly at a lower temperature.

The resulting meat is exceedingly tender. Braising is particularly effective for tough cuts of meat (brisket, chuck, pork shoulder, short ribs, etc). Cooking tough meats low and slow in liquid allows the muscle tissue and collagen to slowly break down.

If you want to learn more about braising, check out my collection of braising recipes or pick up a copy of my cookbook, Braised!

How to Make Pasta alla Genovese

For this recipe, I highly recommend a mandoline for slicing the onions and a large dutch oven to make sure that everything fits!

Tools Needed

• 6 quart Dutch Oven
• Mandoline
• Sharp Knife
• Cutting Board

Step-by-Step Photos & Instructions

1. Slice the onions. Peel the onions and cut them in half, root to stem. Use a mandoline to thinly slice them to about 1mm. If you’re great with a knife, you can definitely do it by hand, but a mandoline will ensure that all the onion slices are even and that they’ll cook evenly and melt into the sauce.
2. Render the pancetta. Heat your 6 qt dutch oven over medium-low heat and add the pancetta. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s crispy and some of the fat has rendered. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pancetta to a small bowl while leaving the fat in the pot.
3. Sear the beef. Increase the heat on your dutch oven to medium. Season your beef chunks liberally all over with salt and pepper. Sear for 3-4 minutes per side, until deeply browned. You may need to do this in batches. Once the beef is seared, transfer it to a plate.
4. Saute the veggies. Add the olive oil to the pot and add half of the sliced onion, the diced carrots, celery, and minced garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes, until the veggies are soft and starting to brown. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until it’s darkened in color.
5. Return the beef back to the pot. After the veggies are browned, stir in the crispy pancetta and half of the wine, using the liquid to scrape up any lingering browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Nestle the beef into the veggies and top it with the remaining raw sliced onions. Scatter in half of the cherry tomatoes with the bay leaf and sprinkle the onions with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven with the lid just slightly cracked.
6. Braise. Let the beef and onions braise for about 2 1/2 hours, checking on it occasionally to make sure the liquid hasn’t totally evaporated. If it looks dry at all, stir in a little water or broth. Remove the pot from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and place the pot on a burner over medium heat and stir in the rest of the tomatoes and wine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have blistered and the beef is totally shredded with the onions melted into the sauce, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

Take your time with the sear. Creating that brown crust on the outside of the beef chunks goes a long way to building flavor in pasta alla genovese. When you sear your beef, it’s best to do it in at least 2 batches so that you don’t crowd the pan.

Use a mandoline. I consider myself as having excellent knife skills and I still would rather use a mandoline than try to slice all the onions by hand. For one, it makes the work go so much quicker. Two, all your onion slices will be the same size and thickness and so they’ll cook evenly and melt into the sauce.

Check on your braise. While I give estimated cooking times, braising is really an exercise in cooking by visual cues. The shape or depth of your dutch oven might be different to mine, your oven might run hotter or cooler. Plan to check on your braise half-way through–if it looks dry, add liquid. If the meat looks too dark, lower the temp a bit.

What to Serve with Pasta alla Genovese

If I’m having pasta for dinner, you better know that I’ll be having a cold and crisp salad to go along with it! My favorite is my little gem caesar salad, but a loaded wedge or fattoush salad never go amiss either. Any one of these salads pairs perfectly with pasta and Italian food in general.

No dinner is complete without dessert and there’s something about pasta alla genovese that just makes me want to have chocolate after! My skillet brookie, marbled cheesecake brownies, or chocolate whiskey cake would all be the perfect sweet endings to a decadent meal.

How to Bring Pasta & Sauce Together

The biggest mistake people make when trying to make pasta at home is just dumping sauce over some pasta. This is not the way! If you only ever take one thing away from this recipe, know that restaurant-quality pasta is more than that.

Great pasta is always, always finished in the sauce with some starchy pasta water and just a splash of cream or butter. Finishing the pasta in the sauce ensures that the pasta absorbs all the flavors as it finishes cooking. At the restaurant, we would actually make our ragu sauce in advance and just re-warm small portions with pasta and pasta water to order.

Making Pasta alla Genovese at Home

1. Cook your pasta in a large pot of salted water to al dente (according to package directions). I love serving this beef and onion ragu with ziti, but you could use rigatoni. pappardelle, or just about any pasta shape.
2. Warm some of the sauce in a large skillet. I always make enough ragu to freeze half of it and I always make it ahead of time because the sauce gets better as it sits. Rewarm some of the sauce in a large nonstick skillet with the butter and basil.
3. Reserve 1/2-1 cup of the starchy pasta water, then carefully drain the pasta. Resist the temptation of rinsing your pasta with water once it’s drained. Doing so rinses away the starches on its surface, preventing it from properly adhering to the sauce.
4. Toss! Add the hot pasta straight into the skillet with the ragu, tossing with some of the reserved pasta water. Use your judgment & adjust the pasta as needed (a splash of the reserved pasta water will help loosen up the ragu; a handful of extra parmesan will tighten it up a bit, etc.).
5. Simmer: Let the pasta and ragu simmer for 1-2 minutes, allowing the pasta to absorb some of the sauce and pasta as it finishes cooking.
6. Serve! At last, the best part! Portion into individual bowls & serve immediately. Top with a mound of freshly grated parmesan.

Storage Instructions

Make ahead instructions: Ragu stores SO well – it’s one of those things that gets even better as it sits & its flavors have the chance to meld together. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container. You can make the sauce up to 3 days in advance and when it’s time to eat, add some of the ragu to a skillet and follow the steps above.

Any leftover pasta alla genovese can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat incrementally in the microwave until the pasta is warmed through.

The beef & onion ragu is incredibly freezer-friendly! To freeze, transfer the cooled ragu to a freezer-safe ziplock bag. Take care to press most of the air out before sealing, this helps prevent freezer-burn. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and rewarm in a skillet. I do not recommend freezing the pasta in the sauce–it’s better to just freeze the ragu solo and make pasta fresh when you plan to serve.

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Pasta alla Genovese is the dish you need in your life this winter. It’s bold and rich and the oven does most of the work! Win-win-win! If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!

More Italian-Inspired Recipes to Try

Roast Chicken Piccata
Ricotta Meatballs
Italian Wedding Soup
Pink Sauce Pasta
Lasagna Bolognese

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