Short Rib Ragu with Pappardelle Pasta is the ultimate comfort food in my opinion. The hearty tomato sauce and melt-in-your-mouth beef can’t be beat.
Ingredient Notes
Short ribs- Go for bone-in, English cut beef short ribs.
Soffritto- The Italian flavor base of carrots, celery and onion add sweet and savory depth to the sauce.
Wine- The wine is optional, but a medium to full-bodied, dry red wine works best.
Tomatoes- I like to use either canned, whole tomatoes which I blend before cooking, or passata. You can also used crushed tomatoes.
Broth- The beef broth is optional but does add a lot of flavor to the sauce. Simply use water instead, if preferred.
Recipe Steps
First, season the short ribs with salt and pepper and brown in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes per side. Set aside on a plate (1).
Then, sauté the onion. After it softens, add the celery and carrots and sauté a few minutes. Then stir in the garlic, followed by the tomato paste. Cook until slightly deepened in color (2).
Add wine wine and reduce by half. Stir in the tomatoes, broth and herbs. Nestle the short ribs into the braising liquid (4). Bring to a simmer, cover and transfer to a preheated 350F oven. Cook for 2-3 hours or until tender, checking every 30-60 minutes (5). Add extra broth or water, as needed, so the liquid line remains approximately ¾ of the way up the ribs.
When the short ribs are tender, remove them from the sauce. Reduce the sauce, if needed, to thicken it to your desired consistency (6). Skip this step if the sauce is already thick enough. Pick out or strain out the carrots and celery if you prefer a smoother sauce.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil shortly before the short ribs are done braising. Cook the pappardelle pasta in generously salted boiling water until just short of al-dente. Drain, reserving a cup of pasta cooking water.
Add pasta to the pot with the sauce and toss to combine. Add pasta water, as needed to loosen the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. To serve, top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of grated cheese.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Cook the short ribs up to 2 days in advance. Shred the meat, reheat the sauce and cook the pasta the day you’re planning to serve.
- If you prepare a smaller batch of pasta and have extra sauce leftover, you can freeze the ragu in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
You know short ribs are cooked when they are fork tender. Simply cut off a piece and taste it if you’re not sure by feel.
Short rib ragu freezes very well. Store in an airtight container such as a quart container, and freeze for up to 3 monhts.
If your short ribs are tough, they have not cooked long enough. Make sure to maintain the braising liquid at about ¾ of the way up the ribs so that they cook evenly in a timely manor.
Related Recipes
- Italian Braised Beef Short Ribs
- Instant Pot Short Ribs in Tomato Wine Sauce
- Braised Short Ribs with Sunchoke Puree
- Italian Instant Pot Meatballs in Sauce
- Spaghetti Bolognese
- Bucatini All’Amatriciana
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Short Rib Ragu with Pappardelle Pasta
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Short Rib Ragu with Pappardelle pasta is the ultimate comfort food. The hearty tomato sauce and melt-in-your-mouth beef can’t be beat.
Ingredients
- 1 batch of Italian Braised Beef Short Ribs
- 16oz dry pappardelle pasta or 24oz fresh pasta
- Parmigiano reggiano, for serving
- Extra virgin olive oil, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare short ribs: Cook short ribs according to following recipe: Italian Braised Beef Short Ribs.
- Shred short ribs: Remove meat from bones and discard bones. Shred short ribs. Remove carrot and celery chunks from sauce, if preferred. Toss shredded meat in sauce in the pot they cooked in. Keep warm over medium low heat.
- Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt. Add pasta and cook until 1-2 minutes short of al dente. Drain, reserving a cup of pasta water.
- Toss and serve: Toss pappardelle in the sauce to coat, adding a spoonful of pasta water, as needed, to thin the sauce. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Plate and top with grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy.
Notes
You can freeze any extra ragu (the ragu alone, not mixed with pasta) in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze the short ribs whole in sauce before shredding them.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ of pasta
- Calories: 614
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 250g
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 70g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 38g
- Cholesterol: 100mg
Keywords: short rib ragu with pappardelle, short rib ragu with pasta, short rib ragu, Italian short rib pasta
Fantastic recipe, not dry at all just perfect!
★★★★★
Thank you 🙂
It looks really dry . Can u add more liquid? Or something
Perhaps it appears dry, because the pasta was getting cold as I was taking the pictures, but I can assure you it was not dry at all when I ate it. I guess it’s my Italian upbringing, but I like pasta with just enough sauce to coat the noodles. I added pasta water, as needed for moisture. When I reheated this before eating, I simply added a little more pasta water to the pan and tossed it together. I also finished it off with a drizzle of olive oil before eating. Another factor was that I made this dish with leftover braised short ribs and sauce. Depending on the amount of sauce you have, you can adjust the amount of pasta you prepare to your liking.