• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
My Gorgeous Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Dinner Recipes

    Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta

    Published: Jun 29, 2022 · Modified: Jun 29, 2022 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    145 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet
    Jump to RecipePrint Recipe
    Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragu served with pasta, a complete dinner meal for your family. Jam-packed with rich Italian flavours, this dish is the best comfort food no matter the season. The beef is so tender it simply melts in your mouth, and the sauce is so flavourful. An easy dish that freezes well too, this dish is not only healthy, but the best recipe you can make in a crockpot. #crockpot, #slowcooker, #shreddedragu, #beefragu, #italianfood, #meatsauce, #healthyrecipes, #dinner, #kidsfood

    Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta, a complete dinner meal for your family. Jam-packed with rich Italian flavours, this dish is the best comfort food no matter the season. The beef is so tender it simply melts in your mouth, and the sauce is so flavourful. 

    A white plate with pasta and beef sauce

    It's that time of the year again when the start putting the slow cookers to good use again. That I love using my crock pot, it's surely an understatement. It's not even a fancy one, it's basic, but it does a great job, which is more than I first expected when I purchased it.

    The fact that it takes the pressure off of having to fuss over dinner when time is short is absolutely priceless. You set everything on, then let the magic happen while you get on with your day. And finding some delicious beef ragu ready for you when you get home is just amazing.

    Jump to:
    • What is an Italian Ragu
    • How to make beef ragu in the slow cooker
    • Can I cook the beef ragu on the stove top?
    • Other beef recipes made in the slow cooker

    What is an Italian Ragu

    Ragu is a delicious Italian meat-based sauce that uses minced beef usually, but then again we can get creative here. It's pretty similar to what we know as bolognese sauce, although I hear Italians are quite confused by the term.

    I suppose lots of recipes that we take as Italian are actually the westernised version of the classic Italian dishes.

    But anyway, ragu is a rich and nutritious sauce, the perfect accompaniment to any pasta, and cooking it in the slow cooker means that the beef gets to simply melt. My kind of food, really!

    A slow cooker with beef ragu

    How to make beef ragu in the slow cooker

    The secret to a flavourful ragu sauce is using a good beef steak like beef chuck. It cooks beautifully in the tomato and veggie sauce, and falls apart when cooked slowly for a few good hours. You don't even need to use forks to shred it!!!

    • season the beef chuck with salt and pepper, and fry on both sides until brown

    The beef is not cooked through at this stage, but browning it adds flavour and richness to the sauce, so I highly recommend it. It's not compulsory, if you don't have time, using raw meat is ok, but it does deepen the flavours.

    • remove the meat from the pan and transfer it to the slow cooker
    • in the same pan, fry the onions until golden, then add the garlic, chopped carrots and celery

    The onions will soak up the beef bits and flavour released by the beef, adding extra flavours, hence why l like frying them in the same pan

    • add the canned chopped tomatoes, beef broth, and simmer for 2-3 minutes
    • transfer everything to the slow cooker, add bay leaves, and leave to cook on high for 5-6 hours, and on low for 8-10 hours
    Collage of 8 photos to show how to make beef ragu in the slow cooker

    Can I cook the beef ragu on the stove top?

    Absolutely! If you don't want to cook it in a crock pot, you can still get a super tender beef ragu, and still cooked slowly. The difference will be that we'll need a lot more beef stock than we do for the slow cooker.

    A crock pot keeps all the steam inside, which means the meat gets cooked mainly in its own juices. On the stove top, however, we need to keep adding broth gradually until the beef is tender.

    Start with 2 cups of broth, and leave to cook on a medium heat with the lid on. I don't think you need more than 5 cups of broth for this recipe, but depending on the type of beef steak use, you might need more or less. All the others steps are the same as cooking it in a slow cooker.

    You can also cut up the beef steak into chunks, if you want to speed up the cooking time, although probably not by too much.

    Other beef recipes made in the slow cooker

    Slow Cooker Hungarian Beef Goulash

    Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

    Slow Cooker Beef Tips with Gravy

    Slow Cooker Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Chili

    A white plate with pasta and beef ragu on top

    If you’ve liked my SLOW COOKER SHREDDED BEEG RAGU PASTA or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

    5 from 2 votes
    A white bowl with pasta topped with beef ragu
    Print
    Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta
    Prep Time
    10 mins
    Cook Time
    6 hrs
    Total Time
    6 hrs 10 mins
     

    Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta, a complete dinner meal for your family. Jam-packed with rich Italian flavours, this dish is the best comfort food no matter the season. The beef is so tender it simply melts in your mouth, and the sauce is so flavourful. 

    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian
    Keyword: beef chuck recipes
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 310 kcal
    Author: Daniela Apostol
    Ingredients
    • 1 lb beef chuck steak (about 500 g)
    • 2 carrots
    • 2 celery sticks
    • 1 large onion
    • 3 cloves of garlic
    • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
    • 1 cup beef broth
    • ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper
    • 2 tablespoon grated parmesan
    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    Instructions
    1. Season the steak with salt and pepper.

    2. Heat up the oil in a pan over a medium heat, and brown the steak on both sides for 3-4 minutes.

    3. Remove from the pan and transfer it to the slow cooker.

    4. Peel and chop the onion, garlic, carrots and celery sticks.

    5. In the same pan, fry the onions until soft adding more oil if necessary.

    6. Add the chopped garlic, carrots and celery, give it a good stir, then add the canned tomatoes and beef broth.

    7. Transfer everything to the slow cooker and leave to cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours until the beef is tender and the sauce has thicken.

    8. Use 2 forks to shred the beef if there are big chunks, although at this stage the beef is very tender and fall apart easily.

    9. Add the parmesan, season to taste, and garnish with chopped parsely.

    10. Serve with any pasta of your choice.

    Nutrition Facts
    Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 310 Calories from Fat 180
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 20g31%
    Saturated Fat 10g50%
    Cholesterol 71mg24%
    Sodium 505mg21%
    Potassium 535mg15%
    Carbohydrates 7g2%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 3g3%
    Protein 25g50%
    Vitamin A 5224IU104%
    Vitamin C 5mg6%
    Calcium 68mg7%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Related Posts

    • A slow cooker with goulash
      Slow Cooker Hungarian Beef Goulash
    • Diced beef in a white plate with gravy being poured over it
      Slow Cooker Beef in Gravy
    • Overhead shoot of a white bowl with chicken noodle soup
      Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
    « Savoury Oat Biscuits
    Creamy Tuna Pasta Bake »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gwen

      January 10, 2020 at 4:19 pm

      What size are your cans of tomatoes?

      Reply
      • Daniela Anderson

        January 10, 2020 at 6:47 pm

        I normally use the 400g ones, 13oz.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Daniela,the blogger behind My Gorgeous Recipes, welcome to my kitchen! I absolutely love cooking and baking. I love good food that is healthy (and not so healthy), delicious and nutritious.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • World's Best Vegetarian Omelette
    • Easy Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Style)
    • Mary Berry's Moist Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe
    • Easy Tiramisu Recipe (eggless, no alcohol)
    • Nando's Peri-Peri Butterfly Chicken Breast Recipe
    • Healthy Banana Muffins for Kids (No Sugar)
    • One-Pot Leftover Roast Chicken Pasta
    • Mary Berry's Madeira Cake

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 My Gorgeous Recipes