Chuck Roast Pasta is a simple and delicious dish for a cozy weeknight dinner. Make this Beef Ragu in your crockpot or simmer it on the stove!
Chuck Roast Pasta is a hearty dish that is so simple to make. We cook chuck roast low and slow on the stove top or in the crockpot until it’s fall apart tender.
Toss this beef ragu with your favorite pasta (we love it with pappardelle or cavatelli!) and top with parmesan cheese and fresh basil for a weeknight dinner that feels restaurant quality.
This recipe was inspired from a traditional Neapolitan dish called pasta Genovese. This was one of our favorite dishes while traveling through Italy, we recreated it with our own spin and a lot of veggies for our family.
why we love this recipe
- Budget friendly – Chuck roast can be a cheaper cut of meat which makes this a great meal if you’re looking to save $$.
- Simple to make – You can make this beef ragu pasta on the stove or in your crockpot. Even though it cooks for a while, you don’t need to do much work!
- Meal prep friendly – This recipe makes a lot of beef ragu! You can serve a crowd, save it for the week for meal prep, or freeze some for another day.
Ingredients
- chuck roast (this is a type of a pot roast that is great for braising and slow cooking)
- extra virgin olive oil (our favorites are Bono and Garcia De La Cruz)
- sea salt & black pepper
- veggies: onion, garlic, carrots, celery
- white wine (you can also use red wine but I prefer the flavor of white wine)
- beef stock (chicken stock or vegetable stock work well too)
- crushed tomato (whole tomatoes work well too just be sure to crush them)
- bay leaf
- parmesan cheese rind
SUBSTITUTIONS
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Chuck Roast: You could try to use top round roast or bottom round roast in place of chuck roast but I don’t think they have enough fat content to add the depth of flavor to this dish that really makes it flavorful. Chuck roast is an affordable cut of meat that can be found in most supermarkets!
Broth: Broth and stock are the same thing! You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Vegetables: You can easily add extra veggies to this dish if you are looking for some additional nutrients! Mushrooms and Spinach would work well. An easy way to sneak in vegetables in a sauce like this is to take some spinach and a cup of sauce, blend, and add it back into the sauce, your kids will never know!
Wine: White wine or red wine work well for this recipe, we just prefer the flavor of white wine. You can also omit the wine altogether and replace it with stock!
Crushed Tomato: Crushed tomatoes give this sauce a nice texture but you can also swap this out for jarred tomato sauce or whole canned tomatoes, just be sure to crush them by hand or with a food processor/blender.
To Make it Lower Carb: Instead of eating this chuck roast spaghetti sauce with pasta try zucchini noodles or hearts of palm pasta!
How to Make
- Heat olive oil in a dutch oven until hot. Sear a seasoned chuck roast for 4 minutes on each side. Set aside.
- Saute carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and bay leaves for about 5 minutes. Add wine to deglaze the pan and simmer for 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the brown bits off.
- Stir in beef stock and tomato sauce. Add your parmesan cheese rind and chuck roast back into the pot. Cover and simmer on low for 6-7 hours.
- At 7 hours, remove from heat and let it come to room temperature, while covered, for the next hour.
- Remove the chuck roast from the pot and shred.
- Stir the shredded beef back into the sauce.
Pro Tip:
This recipe is great for meal prepping for the week or freezing portioned out meals for a quick weeknight dinner! Double the recipe and store this in the freezer for some easy weeknight meals!
Ask your supermarket butcher to trim off some of the excess fat on the chuck roast to reduce prep time!
Use a food processor to chop your veggies and shave some time off your prep work!
What to Serve with this Recipe:
This sauce is delicious over rigatoni or ziti, but you can enjoy it with your favorite noodles, even zoodles for a lower carb option! Fresh herbs and parmesan are the best garnishes and we like to enjoy this pasta alongside Brussel Sprouts or broccoli for some added veggies.
Storage
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing! You can reheat directly from frozen in the microwave or stovetop or thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
If you need more freezer friendly recipes check out our Fill Your Freezer Ebook with 22 easy freezer meals!
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove. We prefer to reheat on the stovetop.
Chuck Roast Pasta
Chuck Roast Pasta is a simple and delicious dish for a cozy weeknight dinner. Make this Beef Ragu in your crockpot or simmer it on the stove!
Ingredients
- 2.5 pound chuck roast fat lightly trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup diced onion 1 medium onion
- 1 tablespoon garlic about 3 cloves
- 1 cup diced carrots 2 large carrots
- 1 cup diced celery 2 large stalks
- ½ cup white wine or red wine (we prefer white wine)
- 1 cup beef stock chicken or vegetable stock works great as well
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce either works well
- 3 bay leafs
- 1 parmesan cheese rind optional
For serving:
- ¼ cup chopped basil
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions:
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Before searing, lightly trim some of the larger chunks of fat and silver skin off of the exterior of your chuck roast. You can leave some fat on there as this will add flavor to the sauce and slowly melt away as it cooks.
-
Preheat a dutch oven or deep pot on medium high heat for about 5 minutes.
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Add your tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and heat for an additional minute.
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Season both sides of the chuck roast with salt and pepper.
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Place chuck roast in the hot pan to get a nice sear. Sear for 4 minutes on each side.
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While the chuck roast is searing, chop your celery, carrots, and onions into small pieces. (you can also use a food processor to speed up this step)
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Once your chuck roast has a nice brown on both sides, remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.
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Turn down the heat on the stove to medium, add your chopped carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and bay leaves to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes.
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Once the vegetables have sauteed, add ½ cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the brown bits off, this adds great flavor to your sauce!
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Add your beef stock and tomato sauce, stir together.
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Add your parmigiano cheese rind and chuck roast back into the pot. Cover and simmer on low for 6-7 hours, stirring occasionally.
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At the 7 hour mark, shut the sauce off and remove from the heat. Let it come to room temperature for the next hour (while covered!) so the roast reabsorbs some of those juices and it cools down a bit. The roast will be fall apart tender at this point.
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Remove the chuck roast from the pot. You can shred the chuck roast with your hands using a pair of food grade gloves or use two forks to shred. Stir the cooked shredded beef back into the sauce.
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Serve over cooked pasta of choice. We love rigatoni or ziti for this dish but some of our other favorites are orecchiette, cavatelli, rotelli, and casarecce. We like to toss the cooked pasta with the sauce, top it with an extra scoop of the sauce, fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
Crockpot Instructions:
-
Before searing, lightly trim some of the larger chunks of fat and silver skin off of the exterior of your chuck roast. You can leave some fat on there as this will add flavor to the sauce and slowly melt away as it cooks.
-
Preheat a dutch oven or deep pot on medium high heat for about 5 minutes.
-
Add your tablespoon of olive oil to the pot and heat for an additional minute.
-
Season both sides of the chuck roast with salt and pepper.
-
Place chuck roast in the hot pan to get a nice sear. Sear for 4 minutes on each side.
-
While the chuck roast is searing, chop your celery, carrots, and onions into small pieces. (you can also use a food processor to speed up this step)
-
Once your chuck roast has a nice brown on both sides, remove from the pan and place in the crockpot base.
-
Turn down the heat on the stove to medium, add your chopped carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and bay leaves to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes.
-
Once the vegetables have sauteed, add ½ cup of white wine to deglaze the pan.
-
Simmer for 3 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the brown bits off, this adds great flavor to your sauce!
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Transfer the veggie/wine mixture to the crockpot by gently pouring over the side. We usually do this in the sink in case it splashes a little.
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Add your beef stock, tomato sauce and parmesan cheese rind to the crockpot base. Stir together.
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Turn your crockpot to low for 7 hours. At the 6 hour mark, check your sauce. If your sauce looks a little too thin, you can uncover it the last 30 minutes of cooking to allow some of the liquid to evaporate, this will help naturally thicken the sauce. At the 7 hour mark, shut the crockpot off and let it come to room temperature for the next hour (while covered!) so the roast reabsorbs some of those juices and it cools down a bit, it will be fall apart tender at this point.
-
Remove the chuck roast from the pot. You can shred the chuck roast with your hands using a pair of food grade gloves or use two forks to shred. Stir the cooked shredded beef back into the sauce.
-
Serve over cooked pasta of choice. We love rigatoni or ziti for this dish but some of our other favorites are orecchiette, cavatelli, rotelli, and casarecce. We like to toss the cooked pasta with the sauce, top it with an extra scoop of the sauce, fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Use a food processor to speed up the veggie chopping time!
- Add a cup of frozen spinach and puree with some of the tomato sauce to sneak in some added veggies for your kids, they will never know!
- Prep all of your ingredients in advance and cook first thing in the morning for a nice Sunday dinner.
- Get creative with your pastas! I love rigatoni or ziti for this dish but some of my other favorites are orecchiette, cavatelli, rotelli, and casarecce
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1.5cups of sauce | Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 528mg | Potassium: 958mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2994IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 5mg
