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Pesto fettuccini with Bolognese sauce is a delicious pasta dinner bursting with fresh veggies in every bite. It’s a homemade Italian beef Bolognese meat sauce and fettuccine pasta. So if you love hearty Italian dishes like this fettuccini with pesto and the best Bolognese recipe, I can’t recommend this highly enough!
This is the best Bolognese recipe if you want to add plenty of meat to your fettuccini with pesto. Along with the beef and tomato-based sauce this recipe features hints of fennel, paprika, garlic, and more, for a full flavour.
If you enjoy this dish, you might also like to try lasagna al forno, antipasto salad or this chicken scallopine recipe.
Homemade Italian Beef Bolognese Ingredients
You need fettuccini, basil, parmesan, and garlic for the pesto pasta, along with some olive oil, salt and black pepper. Fettuccini is an egg pasta which is made into long, narrow ribbons. It’s often paired with cream sauces such as Alfredo sauce or another tomato sauce.
Any recipe that calls for spaghetti or linguine would work with fettuccini. It’s also pretty good in this pesto fettuccini with Bolognese sauce. If you prefer, you can sub tagliatelle which is similar but thinner. Linguine is thinner still, so I wouldn’t pair this more delicate pasta with such a robust sauce. Save it for more delicate recipes calling for linguine or angel hair, like chicken piccata.
As for the Bolognese sauce, you are going to need quite a few ingredients. But don’t worry, because there is nothing obscure or hard to find. In fact, I bet you have most of these pesto fettuccini with Bolognese sauce ingredients in the pantry.
Onion, carrots, celery, shallots, and tomatoes make up the vegetable element of the sauce. You will also need oil, butter, cream, Italian sausage, ground beef, and some fresh basil and Romano cheese to serve this pasta dinner. The subtle flavours come from the addition of garlic, oregano, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, fennel, paprika, salt, and pepper. You could use another meat such as ground pork if you wish.
How to Make the Best Bolognese Recipe
If you’ve read the ingredients list, I bet you’re ready to get started on this fettuccini with pesto and meat sauce recipe!
The first thing to do is bring some water to a boil to cook the pasta. Also chop the ingredients for the sauce. Mix the beef and sausage with the seasonings. Add some oil to a hot pan then add sauté the carrots and shallot for a few minutes.
Then add the butter as well as the oregano and garlic, then add the meat. Finally, add the tomato puree and stir. Puree the basil, parmesan, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper into a food processor.
Add the red wine to the meat in the pan then add the tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally.
By now the pasta should be done. Drain pasta and rinse, then toss with fettuccine with pesto sauce.
Stir the cream into the Bolognese sauce then serve the pesto fettuccini topped with the homemade Italian beef Bolognese on top. Garnish with basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese or Romano cheese.
How to Tell When Pasta is Cooked
You can see to an extent when pasta is cooked but the best way is to taste some. The best texture is referred to as al dente which means tender but will a slight bite to it.
Although you might have heard of throwing it against a wall or the ceiling to see whether it sticks, it gets more gummy as it cooks so if it does it’s probably already overdone. I’d stick to the first method!
Pesto Fettuccini with Bolognese Sauce FAQs
If you have leftovers, I recommend putting the fettuccini with pesto in one airtight container and the homemade Italian beef Bolognese in another.
That way, you can enjoy the fettuccini pesto with some chicken or seafood perhaps, or spoon the Bolognese sauce over mashed potatoes for a future meal. Leftovers (of both components) should be fine for up to 3 days in the refrigerator and can be reheated on the stove.
Red wine features in many recipes for meat sauce but it’s an optional ingredient in this pasta dinner. If you prefer not to use alcohol in your pesto fettuccini with Bolognese sauce, either replace it with beef broth or simply leave it out.
Pesto Fettuccini with Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Pesto Fettuccini with Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
Pesto Pasta
- 1 Pound fettuccini
- ½ Cup basil, fresh
- ¼ Cup parmesan, grated
- 2 Teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 Pinch salt
- 1 Pinch black pepper
- 2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Bolognese Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, yellow
- 2 carrots
- 1 Stalk celery
- 1 shallot
- 2 Tablespoon salted butter
- 2 Cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 Teaspoon oregano, dried
- ½ Pound Italian sausage
- ½ Pound ground beef
- 2 Tablespoon tomato purée
- ⅓ Cup red wine
- 1 Can tomatoes, 14 Ounces, fire roasted, diced
- 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire
- 2 Tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 Teaspoon fennel
- 1 Teaspoon peppercorns, cracked
- ½ Teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ Teaspoon kosher salt
Toppings and Garnish
- 4 Ounces Romano cheese, block or parmesan
- basil, fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil for the noodles.
- Preheat a saucepan over medium heat.
- Prepare ingredients for bolognese sauce. Dice the onion and celery. Peel and grate the carrots and shallot. Combine Italian sausage, ground beef, fennel, cracked peppercorns, salt, and paprika in a bowl and mix well. Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into the hot pan and swirl to coat. Add the diced onion and celery, and the grated carrots and shallot. Cook for 4 minutes. Make a hole in the center and add the butter, garlic, and oregano. Once melted, stir to combine and clear a space in the center. Add the meat. Sear for 2 minutes, then break the meat apart and fold in with the veggies. Add the tomato purée and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook al dente (about 12 minutes).
- Prepare pesto sauce for noodles. Add all ingredients into a food processor and purée.
- Create an empty space in the center of the Bolognese. Pour the red wine into the hole and allow the alcohol to burn off (1 to 2 minutes) next, add in the tomatoes and Worcestershire. Lower heat to a simmer and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Drain noodles and rinse under cold water. Add to a bowl and toss with the pesto. Set aside.
- Stir heavy cream into the bolognese sauce and remove from heat.
- Plate the noodles and top with a scoop of Bolognese, fresh grated parmesan cheese, and garnish with basil ribbons.
Nutrition
This pesto fettuccini with Bolognese sauce is the best Bolognese recipe if you want an authentic taste of Italy. Pairing fettuccini pasta with homemade pesto and ladling a thick, rich meat sauce on top means nobody is going to leave the dinner table still hungry. Homemade pesto is so much better than store bought pesto. This is a hearty, satisfying pasta dinner recipe. This is one of my favourite traditional tomato pasta sauces and it always makes a tasty pasta dish.
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
This recipe was delicious. I used my own freshly made pesto from the basil in my garden. I followed the directions as written except for already having my pesto made. My husband and I were both very happy with it and I will definitely make it again. Thank you for a great recipe.
Flavorful and simple to prepare—this recipe is a hit with everyone!
Wow, this recipe really impressed me! It’s so flavorful and exceeded my expectations.
Tried this yesterday and it was so good! My daughter loved it too!
Fettuccine is my favorite pasta. And that Bolognese sauce is divine!!
Sampled this recipe, and it instantly won my taste buds over!
This was so good. Really filling and delicious. Made it when my sister came to stay. She also loved it.
This looks amazing! Pasta is my comfort food