The Tradition of the Easy Meal: Slow Cooker Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

Hey, my fancy peeps! This weekend was one of those weekends where I felt like a Super Mom. I cleaned, cooked, baked, bathed, grocery shopped, and cared for my sicklings like a boss. The hubs caught the flu on Thursday, so I feel like I’ve been on a parenting marathon. Usually, I get some breaks here and there because M & I tag team each other out, but that hasn’t been the case this past week. I’ve been running ragged, but the point is that I’ve never stopped running. Forrest Gump style. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

In my great attempt to be a combination of Martha Stewart and Mary Poppins, I managed to whip up one of the best slow cooker meals I’ve made in a long time: beef ragu (using RAGÚ Homestyle sauce, of course) with pappardelle pasta.

Growing up, we had this tradition of making meals to show our family just how much we loved them, especially if someone was sick. That tradition has transcended through to my own family now. However, easy meals are my love language, and if I can make it in a slow cooker, even better. Bonus points for it involving pasta. Rich, hearty comfort food is a must for sick days or any day that your little heart fancies, and that’s exactly what this dish is.

The whole family gobbled it up. I served it with warm french bread topped with melted butter, and bam, instant classic meal that even your little ones will love.

The tradition of good food continues!

Here’s the recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

Ingredients

• about a tablespoon of olive oil
• 4-6 garlic cloves, slightly smashed (the more garlic the better for me)
• 1 1/2 pounds of flank steak (cut against the grain into about 8 pieces)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 jar (24 oz.) of Ragu Homestyle Thick & Hearty sauce (for a saucier tomato sauce consistency, I would use one and half jars of this)
• 1/2 cup of beef broth
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 16 ounces of pappardelle pasta
• shredded Italian cheeses, ricotta, and parsley to garnish

Instructions

1. First, you’re going to want to peel the garlic cloves, smash them up a little bit, then turn on your skillet. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil, heat, then throw in the garlic. Let them get golden brown (about a minute or two of cooking), then set aside for a second.
2. Salt and pepper the flank steak and add to your slow cooker. Top with the sliced carrots, your olive oil and garlic mixture you just set aside, the Ragu Homestyle Thick & Hearty sauce, and beef broth. Top with the bay leaves and thyme. Then set it and forget it, for 6 hours on high (or 8-10 hours on low).
3. Get rid of the herbs once the ragu meat mixture is done and shred the meat with a fork. It’ll be super tender.
4. Boil a pot of water and cook the pappardelle pasta according to its directions. Drain and return pasta to the pot. Mix in all of the beef ragu from the slow cooker over the pasta. Stir well while the burner is on medium to high heat letting the two mix and mingle. (This will yield about 8 servings and will warm up nicely the next day, too–I add the pasta back to the pot, add a little water to pot, cover and steam it until it’s hot again.)
5. Serve in a bowl or a big plate and top with Italian cheeses and a spoonful of ricotta. Sprinkle with parsley. Indulge with a big slice of your favorite buttered bread.

What makes this so wonderful is: 1) the most tender beef ever and 2) the added yumminess from the jar of RAGÚ Homestyle. It’s chock full of flavor and makes this dinner a hit.

You can learn more about RAGÚ® Homestyle Sauces and discover more recipes for the family here.

Add this one to your menu this week and pin this for later. :)

Be blessed, friends!