Sausage Bolognese

Sausage Bolognese, made with bacon in a delicious tomato sauce, is the best pasta sauce recipe you will ever try.

I am not even kidding when I say I have THE BEST pasta sauce ever. It is an Italian sausage and bacon bolognese made with the most delicious creamy, tomato sauce base. This was simmering on my stovetop all day. I could not resist taking multiple samples every few minutes. This is a sauce you will be raving about!!

What exactly does this sausage bolognese sauce taste like? I use sweet Italian sausage; therefore, it has some sweetness to it. But, some tartness from the tomatoes. It is packed with a delicious Italian, herby flavor. However, also has a salty flavor from the bacon. To finish it off, the half and half and parmesan cheese give it a deliciously creamy texture. What is there not to love!?

To say I am in love with this Italian sausage would be an understatement. I use the Johnsonville mild Italian ground sausage. I love it so much and have used it for a couple recipes such as my spinach artichoke stuffed peppers, sausage spinach sun-dried tomato pasta or my instant pot sausage spinach pasta. Yes, it may be a bit of a splurge at 170 calories for 2 ounces; however, it is so worth it! I am telling you, best sausage ever.

Yes, sausage bolognese will have sausage; however, if you need to cut the calories, or fat, or Weight Watchers points, substitute out a leaner meat. You can use ground chicken breast, ground turkey breast or even an extra lean ground beef.

What You Need for Sausage Bolognese

I make my sausage bolognese in a large pot on the stovetop; however, you can also make it in a crock pot.

• Mild Italian sausage
• Bacon
• Crushed tomatoes
• Seasonings
• Half and Half
• Parmesan cheese
• Broth

We can also go over some suggestions and substitutions

Mild Italian Sausage

To say I am in love with this Italian sausage would be an understatement. I use the Johnsonville mild Italian ground sausage. Yes, it may be a bit of a splurge at 170 calories for 2 ounces; however, it is so worth it! I am telling you, best sausage ever.

Yes, sausage bolognese will have sausage; however, if you need to cut the calories, or fat, or Weight Watchers points, substitute out a leaner meat. You can use ground chicken breast, ground turkey breast or even an extra lean ground beef.

Bacon

I made my own bacon here which usually does not happen. It is an extra step to cook the bacon; however, very much worth it. I love a good fully cooked bacon that you just pop in the microwave as well. Additionally, you can substitute a turkey bacon to keep the fat content down a little.

Crushed Tomatoes

As much as I would love to grow my own tomatoes and crush them myself, fresh, for this sausage Bolognese recipe, there is absolutely zero percent chance of that happening. I grabbed a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes from the store. We will be spicing it up and it will taste amazing!

I also use that for my homemade tomato sauce. It is just your classic red sauce, without all the meat.

Half and Half

I use fat free half and half for this. I mean hey, why not keep the fat content down just a little! Ha! You are more than welcome to substitute a different half and half or heavy cream. If you want to skip it all together, you can; however, it does make the sauce nice and creamy.

Parmesan Cheese

I typically use Kraft reduced fat parmesan cheese for the parmesan seasoning. Yes, the bottles stuff that is found in the pizza sauce aisle. Hey, I can't be perfect all the time and I do love this stuff. However, you can substitute any type of parmesan that you love or skip it.

Broth

I just use low sodium chicken broth. It helps to thin out the sausage bolognese sauce a little, if you want it to be thinned out. You can substitute a different broth or skip it, if you like your sauce thicker. However, as mentioned, I use low sodium so adjust your salt accordingly if you use a normal sodium broth.

Seasonings

The seasonings are just your classic Italian seasonings that you know and love.

• Garlic (minced)
• Oregano
• Italian seasonings
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Granular sugar replacement (Swerve or sub real sugar)
• Lemon juice

However, I do have to say that the Italian sausage is very flavorful. I cut back a bit on the seasonings as compared to if I were to use just chicken. If you are using an unflavored meat, I would also flavor the meat while cooking that.

How to Make Sausage Bolognese

How do you make sausage Bolognese, with bacon, in a tomato sauce, then added to pasta!? I know it sounds crazy; however, it is one of the best pasta sauce recipes I have tried! It honestly does not take long. I simmered in on the stove for a couple hours; however, you can skip that step.

Tomato Sauce

I like to start by getting the base ready, the actual tomato sauce. Grab a large pot, large enough that if the sauce starts to splatter, it won't go everywhere.

Grab a large pot and grease the bottom with cooking spray, or drizzle in a little olive oil. Heat the pot to a medium heat. Once heated, add the minced garlic and cook for about a minute, until fragrant.

Once the garlic is ready, pour in the crushed tomatoes. Add all of the seasonings (including the lemon juice, parmesan and sugar, just not the half and half), and stir to combine. Bring the sauce up to a boil then reduce the heat to low and keep it at a simmer.

Meats

We will need to move on to cooking the meats, this will be the sausage and the bacon.

Heat a pan over medium high heat, greased with cooking spray. Add the sausage and break it up while cooking. Once fully cooked, add it to the tomato sauce.

As mentioned, the Italian sausage is very flavorful. I cut back a bit on the seasonings as compared to if I were to use just chicken by not seasonings the meat. If you are using an unflavored meat, I would also flavor the meat while cooking that.

Bring the pan back up to a medium / medium high heat and add the bacon. Cook the bacon to your desired wellness then cut up the bacon as much as you would like. I tried to get the pieces as small as I could. Then, add the bacon to the tomato sauce and sausage, giving it a stir.

Bolognese

Make sure the sauce is still at a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes to 4 hours. About 10 minutes before ready to eat, add the half and half and stir that to combine into the sauce. However, if you do not have much time to simmer the sauce, do not worry about it. While the sauce will taste a little more flavorful after simmering, you can skip it.

This recipe does not include the pasta; however, I love serving this sausage bolognese tomato sauce over some spaghetti or any type of pasta you love!

Start off adding just a very small amount of broth until your desired thickness/thinness. Let it simmer with the rest of the sauce and add more as you need it. You can even skip the broth if you do not like your sauce thinned out.

More Pasta Sauces

Do you love pasta sauces as much as I do? I am Italian so it is kinda in my blood. You can try my plain homemade tomato sauce if you prefer this but without meat. However, I do have to say, some of my favorite recipes are my instant pot penne alla vodka, hamburger Mac and cheese or instant pot chicken Alfredo.

If you need a side dish for this, try my garlic bread muffins.

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Sausage Bolognese

Sausage Bolognese, made with bacon in a delicious tomato sauce, is the best pasta sauce recipe you will ever try.

This recipe makes about 12, ½ cup servings.

On Weight Watchers and looking for a points value? Click this link to automatically calculate your points. You can also easily sub out the sausage with a leaner meat.