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One of my favorite weekend dinner option with family is none other than vegetable beef ragu. I love this exciting meal due to the perfectly simmered onions, garlic, tomatoes, and sauces that ultimately make it tempting. Just a little bit of prep is required to make this amazing beef Ragu. The beef is cooked to perfection in a rich lip smacking sauce, and I must say it really is warm, comforting, soup food.
Besides, its deliciuos fall apart beef has some amazing flavors, which I love sharing with my whole family in holidays, a rainy day, or as a Sunday dinner. Although it takes time to slow-cook, it is best to start over the weekend and serve on Sunday. I bet you’ll love this ragu when served with spaghetti which makes it an irresistible date night dinner.
My Proven Tips For The Best Vegetable Beef Ragu
- Finely chopped tomatoes and vegetables give a perfect taste
- Recommended beeg cuts are braising or stewing steak, which delivers an excellently tender and flavorful beef.
- Slow simmering provides an excellent taste to the beef ragu.
Ingredients For Vegetable Beef Ragu
Meat Preparation
- 750 g 1 1/2 lbs braising beef, chopped into bite-sized cubes
- 2 ¼ tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
- ⅜ tsp salt
- ⅜ tsp pepper
- 2 ¼ tbsp vegetable oil
Vegetables and Seasonings
- 1 ½ medium onions peeled and chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and chopped into small chunks
- 2 ¼ sticks of celery chopped finely
- 2 ¼ cloves garlic peeled and minced
Liquids and Flavors
- 1 ½ tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 225 ml (just under 1 cup) red wine (or replace with stock if you prefer)
- 10 ½ oz (2 x 300g) tins of chopped tomatoes (alternatively, you can use one 400 g tin and a 200 g tin)
- 450 ml (1 3/4 cups) hot beef stock (water plus 1 1/2 stock cubes is fine)
- ¾ tsp dried thyme
Optional Add-ins
- 1 medium zucchini courgette, chopped into small cubes
- 150 g (5 oz) mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 medium bell pepper chopped
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp red chili flakes
For Serving
- 300 g (10.5 Oz) of dry pasta equals 900 grams (2 lb.) of cooked pasta
How to Make Vegetable Beef Ragu?
Initial Preparations
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
Take 750 g 1 1/2 lbs braising or stewing beef from the chuck, skirt or flank cuts. However, you can also use beef brisket or roast. Chop them into the bite-sized (1.5 – 2inches) cubes. This will give them a nice chunky beef as we’re going to slow cook the beef.
Place the meat cubes in a large glass bowl and sprinkle over 2 ¼ tbsp of plain/all-purpose flour, ⅓ tsp salt, ⅓ tsp pepper, and mix them altogether to coat the beef. Make sure they stick to the beef cuts and nothing is left behind at the bottom of bowl.
Cooking Beef and Vegetables
Note: Even though you can make the beef ragu in any of your favorite large pan, I prefer making in cast Dutch iron oven, because we’ll cook the ragu in oven at a later stage. However, if you prefer, you can do the initial cooking in a deep frying pan and then tranfer the whole material to the slow cooker.
Heat 2 1/2 tbsp of olive/vegetable oil on a medium to high heat. Put the beef into the pan and cook for a few minutes until the beef turns brown. You’ll have to manage the batches of the beef depending on the number of servings you’re going to make.
Now add in 1 ½ medium onions (peeled and chopped) into the same pan and cook on a low heat for 4 minutes until the onions start to soften.
Now add in 3 medium carrots (peeled and chopped into small chunks), 2 sticks of celery (finely chopped), and 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and minced) to the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes. At this stage, you can add the optional add-ins like bell pepper, mushrooms and zucchini for a higher flavor profile. Continue stirring, so that the veggies and beef mix together and cooked thoroughly.
Adding Liquids and Flavors
Add in 1 ½ tbsp tomato puree/paste and stir. Now turn the heat up to high and add in the 225 ml (just under 1 cup) red wine (or replace with stock if you prefer). Let it cook for a couple of minutes and continue stirring so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Once the gravy is formed, add in 10 ½ oz (2 x 300g tins) of chopped tomatoes (alternatively, you can use one 400 g tin and a 200 g tin), 450 ml of hot beef stock (water plus 1 1/2 stock cubes is fine) and a ¾ tsp of dried thyme. Stir them so that the everything mixes together, and bring it to boil for a few minutes.
Baking the Beef Ragu
Once the beef ragu starts boiling, transfer it to the preaheated oven using the oven mitts. Bake for 4 hours or until the beef gets soft and tender.
While baking, the trick is to check the soup every hour to make sure it is not running dry. If you observe the soup is getting dry, just add a splash of stock or boiling water.
For Slow-Cooking: To cook this vegetable beef ragu in a slow cooker, make sure to prepare the ingredients including tomatoes, stock, and thyme in the pan and bring them to boil. Now add everything to into the slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low heat, or for 4-5 hours on high heat.
After 3-4 hours of baking, you delicious Beef is ready to serve. This is one of those lip smacking dishes, that I like to make in the weekend for my family.
Serve with 900 grams (2 lb.) of cooked rigatoni, pappardelle or any of your favorite pasta. Although I recommend serving the beef ragu soup on top of the pasta, you can also stir the pasta through the sauce. Once the ragu soup is ready to serve, top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and parsley.
Related Beef Recipes
- Herbed Beef Stew
- Sauerbraten Soup
- Beef and Broccoli
- Meatballs with sweet and sour sauce
- Traditional Beef Stroganoff
- Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole
- Brazilian Feijoada
- Slow Cooker Braised Short Ribs
- Roast Beef With Gravy
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Carnitas
- Slow Cooker Beef Noodle Soup
Frequently Asked Questions
What is beef Ragu made from?
Beef Ragu is a soup made from meat and vegetables. For meat, you can use beef or lamb to cook it with veggies, tomato paste and beef stock at slow heat. The dried herbs added in the cooking process increase aroma. It is usually served with spaghetti or pappardelle.
What kind of meat is used in Ragu?
The meat used in Ragu is beef, lamb, fish, and chicken. It is a meat-based sauce in which meat is cooked with tomatoes for the perfect taste.
What is the best cut of meat for Ragu?
The best cut of meat for Ragu is braising or stewing steak obtained from forequarter. However, you can also use beef brisket or roast. Usually, the braising beef consists of area of the shoulder blade, neck, and upper arm. Although this meat is hard to cook as it has a lot of connective tissues that take time to to break down in slow cooking, this meat is very flavorful and tender once cooked.
What does Ragu mean in Italian cooking?
In Italian cooking, Ragu is an Italian soup made with meat, tomatoes, and vegetables. It is the chief pasta sauce in which celery, carrots, onion, and tomatoes are finely chopped to cook with beef.
Easy Italian Vegetable Beef Ragu
Ingredients
Meat Preparation
- 750 g 1 1/2 lbs braising beef, chopped into bite-sized cubes
- 2 ¼ tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
- ⅓ tsp salt
- ⅓ tsp pepper
- 2 ¼ tbsp vegetable oil
Vegetables and Seasonings
- 1 ½ medium onions peeled and chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and chopped into small chunks
- 2 sticks of celery chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
Liquids and Flavors
- 1 ½ tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 225 ml (just under 1 cup) red wine (or replace with stock if you prefer)
- 10 ½ oz (2 x 300g) tins of chopped tomatoes (alternatively, you can use one 400 g tin and a 200 g tin)
- 450 ml (1 3/4 cups) hot beef stock (water plus 1 1/2 stock cubes is fine)
- ¾ tsp dried thyme
Optional Add-ins
- 1 medium zucchini courgette, chopped into small cubes
- 150 g (5 oz) mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 medium bell pepper chopped
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp red chili flakes
For Serving
- 300 g (10.5 Oz) of dry pasta equals 900 grams (2 lb.) of cooked pasta
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F).
- Take a large glass bowl, and add the braising/stewing beef, flour, salt and pepper and mix them thoroughly so that the beef is coated with other ingredients.
- Place a large Dutch oven pot (or large casserole pan) on induction stovetop, add 2 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil and heat up. Cook the beef on medium heat untill it turns brown in 4-5 minutes (Remember that you may need to do this in 2-3 batches depending on the quantity of beef and number of servings).
- When the beef turns brown, add the onion in the same pan and again cook on a low heat until the onions start to soften. This may take 3-4 minutes.
- Now, add in the garlic, celery, and carrot, cook for another two minutes. Stir frequently to cook veggies properly. At this stage, you can add the optional ingredients like bell pepper, mushrooms and zucchini.
- When the veggies have cooked, add the tomato paste/puree and stir. Once it mixes with veggies and beef, then add in the wine, and turn up the heat. Stir for another couple of minutes until wine bubbles. Make sure the ingredients don't stick at the bottom of pan by stirring continuously, otherwise, the beef and veggies may burn.
- Now, it's time to add the beef stock, chopped tomatoes, and dried thyme and (optional) oregano. Stir everything together, and bring it to the boil by placing a lid on the pan for a few minutes.
- Now place this pan into the preheated oven for 3-4 hours untill the beef is lovely and tender. Here the trick is to check the sauce every hour to make sure it doesn't dry. If the sauce looks dry, top up with a splash of boiling water or stock.
- Once the beef is tender and cooked properly, remove from the oven.
- You can serve beef ragu with with rigatoni pasta, pappardelle. pasta or any of your favorite. Although I recommend serving the sauce on top of the pasta, you can also stir the rigatoni through the sauce. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and parsley, then serve.
