This post may contain affiliate links.For more information, please see our affiliate policy.Leave a ReviewJump to RecipeThis easy slow cooker Beef Ragu with pappardelle pasta is the epitome of Italian comfort food.

Tender chunks of beef and hearty vegetables simmering in a red wine-tomato sauce sounds fancy, but after a few minutes of flavor-building up front, your slow cooker does all the work!   Meggan’s notes Back in culinary school, we spent a whole unit on sauces.Unlike the popular jars of tomato sauce lining the grocery shelves, a proper ragù is a meat-based Italian sauce with only a small amount of tomato added to it.The meat can be anything, really: veal, beef, lamb, pork, elk, or venison.

It’s slowly simmered with a mixture of carrots, garlic, celery, and onions.Add wine and tomatoes and simmer away, often all day.To translate those delicious flavors into a recipe that you actually have the time to make, I turned to my trusty slow cooker.

But I’m never a fan of dump-and-pour recipes; you need to spend just a little time up front to really maximize your flavors.Here, we sear the roast before adding it to the pot, then cook the vegetables in its rendered fat.By deglazing the pan with wine, you release the brown bits (fond) and transfer all that flavor to your slow cooker.

These simple steps lead to the best possible Beef Ragu, even in a crockpot, and no Norther Italian trattoria required.Table of ContentsMeggan’s notesRecipe ing

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