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Our Short Rib Ragu recipe features fall-off-the-bone braised beef simmered in a rich tomato and red wine sauce, enveloped in pasta. It's a restaurant-quality homemade ragu that’s easy to make and packed with flavor.
Short Rib Ragu is on my husband's “Mount Rushmore”
Short Rib Ragu is on my husband's “Mount Rushmore”Jeff has chosen four favorite meals from my website to be on his “Mount Rushmore” and Short Rib Ragu is the first on his list! It's pure comfort Italian food. The homemade broth gives the meat such deep flavor, and the short ribs are fall-apart tender after simmering. It's a pasta dish that feels fancy but is easy, and you can even toss it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot when you’re short on time.
And if you want to know Jeff's other “Mount Rushmore” favorites, they are Chile Colorado, Thai Basil Beef, Chicken and Dumpling Soup.
Try my other beef recipes, like Homemade Chili, Mongolian Noodles, Lomo Saltado, Steak Kabobs, and Korean Beef Tacos!
How to make Short Rib Ragu:
Sear Beef: Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear ribs on all sides until browned. Remove and set aside.
Build the Sauce: Reduce heat to medium and sauté onion, carrots, celery, and garlic for 3–5 minutes. Add red wine to deglaze the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, scraping up browned bits. Stir in beef broth, bouillon, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, cheese rind, herbs, and spices. Nestle short ribs into the sauce and top with thyme. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.
Shred and Simmer: Remove bay leaves, thyme, and cheese rind. Take the short ribs out and shred the meat off the bones and return meat to the pot. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes to reduce. (Optional: thicken with a cornstarch slurry by mixing ½ teaspoon cornstarch with some sauce then pouring back in pot, if desired.)
Cook Pasta and Serve: Boil pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente. Add directly to the ragu and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve short rib pappardelle in shallow bowls topped with parmesan or finish with burrata, flake sea salt, and fresh basil for an elevated touch.
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Recipe
Short Rib Ragu
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs bone-in beef short ribs*
- salt and pepper
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion , finely diced
- 1 large carrots , finely diced
- 1 celery rib , finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup dry red wine (chianti, cabernet sauvignon, merlot)
- 1 3/4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 teaspoons beef bouillon paste
- 28 oz can peeled whole tomatoes , (San Marzano recommended)
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 parmesan cheese rind , (optional)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt , or more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes , optional
- 1 lb pappardelle or tagliatelle pasta*
Instructions
- Sear Beef: Season short ribs all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the short ribs, rotating every minute or so, until browned and seared on all sides. Remove from pot and set aside.2.5 lbs bone-in beef short ribs*, salt and pepper, 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Sauté Soffrito: Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add red wine to deglaze the pan and cook for 3 minutes, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan.1 small onion, 1 large carrots, 1 celery rib, 4 cloves garlic, ½ cup dry red wine
- Add beef broth, boullion, tomatoes (crush them with your hands or a potato masher), tomato paste, cheese rind, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, bay leaves and crushed red pepper. Nestle short ribs on top and top with fresh thyme sprigs.1 ¾ cups low-sodium beef broth, 2 teaspoons beef bouillon paste, 28 oz can peeled whole tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons tomato paste, 1 parmesan cheese rind, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon Dried oregano, ½ teaspoon dried basil leaves, 2 bay leaves, Pinch crushed red pepper flakes, 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- Simmer: Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover pot and simmer for 2 hours.
- Shred Meat: Remove bay leaves, thyme sticks and cheese rind. Remove short ribs and shred meat (discard bones).
- Simmer Again: Return meat to the pot and continue to simmer for 30 minutes, to reduce some of the sauce. (If you like the sauce to be a thicker gravy consistency, scoop some into a cup and mix with ½ teaspoon cornstarch, then return to pot).
- Cook pasta according to package instructions in salted water. Once pasta is almost al dente, use tongs to remove it from the hot pasta water and add it to the ragu sauce. Toss to combine and cook for 5 more minutes.1 lb pappardelle or tagliatelle pasta*
- Serve: Spoon ragu and noodles into shallow bowls and garnish with fresh shredded parmesan cheese, for serving. (Or, if you’re feeling fancy top each bowl with a pinch of fresh burrata, sprinkle of flake sea salt and fresh chopped basil.)
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe February 2023. Updated September 2025.
This was unreal! Seared the meat and threw everything in crock pot low for 6-7 hours, then last hour and a bit lid off on high to thicken it. We also added diced mushrooms. We used a moose roast that I harvested. So good, the kids devoured it and my husband had 3 helpings. We loved it – gourmet restaurant quality dish! So good thank you.
Loved the Ragu…I did use short ribs and pork shoulder and served it with a dollop of ricotta as they do at a local Tuscan restaurant. Great recipe!
I made this today. The flavor is fantastic. I had invited a friend over for lunch and unfortunately the meat was entirely too tough. So I flipped it to the crockpot and we went out for lunch. It definitely needed way longer than 2.5 hours. It made an excellent dinner!
This was fabulous!! A nice change to the usual spaghetti or pasta dishes. I used the short ribs and pappardella pasta. Followed exactly except did not use kosher salt or cayenne just in case. I want to try it with a chuck roast, but gosh it hard to change on perfection. ❤❤
Really good recipe. Thank you for sharing. I made it with chuck roast that I had trimmed and cut in large chunks and threw it in the crockpot after searing it. Very forgiving as I added this and that and I think it would’ve turned out fantastic regardless. I really liked that I could trim a lot of the fat on my fatty chuck and still have that delicious, rich sauce without having to skim the fat out of it.
Would like to offer a piece of advice. Sautéing should last up to 20 minutes, until veggies are almost non-existent.
Like old Mediterranean grandmas would say, only when you know how to sauté the onion, then you mastered cooking.
The cook time was way off for me. It took over 3 hours before the meat could be shredded. Good recipe otherwise
This was SO good. I am mostly a vegetarian, so i pulled some sauce and veggies out for myself before throwing the shredded meat in for everyone else. Everyone loved it. I will definitely make again!
have made this twice now. banger recipe. so incredible.
This was so good!!
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t that excited about it. I picked it because I’ve been trying to use up the beef in our freezer. Though Lauren never lets me down, I was still envisioning a tomato-ey beef concoction that wouldn’t be my favorite. I was wrong. The sauce was so delicious, and it was perfect to sop up with our sourdough loaf. I loved the beef flavor and the additional veggies you could taste in it. Yet another lesson that I can trust this website 😁
I ended up using chuck roast instead of short ribs and also switched out the noodle. I’m really looking forward to leftover tomorrow 🙂
I have made this recipe several times now! I alter it slightly by draining the sauce so it’s smooth then reduce it down by half adding a touch of sugar, balsamic and a knob of butter before returning the meat to the sauce. Also top with a chilli, lemon and fennel seed pangratto for some crunch. Perfect dinner party meal that everyone has loved.
I made this today. It was so good.