This quick and easy spaghetti bolognese recipe uses only a few key ingredients and is quick to cook. Perfect for students who may have little time on their hands. It’s wonderfully versatile. Any leftover bolognese sauce can be turned into another meal for another day.

Ingredients

For the Bolognese Sauce

500g 5% minced beef
Olive oil or sunflower oil
Box or jar of passata (either plain or with herbs, or onions and garlic)
Spicy Italian seasoning (or Italian Seasoning)
2 crushed cloves of garlic (*optional)
1 peeled and finely chopped onion (*optional)
Worcester Sauce (*optional)

Spaghetti
Salt

To Finish

Grated parmesan or cheddar cheese if liked.
A little freshly ground black pepper
Garden peas (optional)

Equipment

A large pan
A medium-sized pan
A spatula or wooden spoon.

Method

If you are using a finely chopped onion, pop this into the large pan with a little oil. Place over a lowish heat and stirring gently allow the onions to soften without letting them go brown. If the onions start burning or going brown, turn the heat down a notch.

Once the onions (if you’re using them) look nice and glossy add the mince.

Fry the mince over a medium heat until it has all gone brown
Once the meat is brown, add the passata and a shaking of herbs or Italian seasoning to taste. If you’re using Worcestershire sauce, add a couple of shakes of that now.

Stir well. Continue cooking for 15-20 mins until the sauce has thickened a little bit.

Whilst the bolognese sauce is cooking, cook the spaghetti

For the spaghetti

Boil a kettle full of water

Put in the other pan, add salt. I normally use about 3 or 4 grinds of freshly ground salt, but you add it to taste.

Bring the water back to the boil. When the water is boiling add the spaghetti and stir slightly so that the spaghetti doesn’t clump together.

Cook for about 10 mins or so until cooked

Drain the spaghetti

Pile onto plates, top with the bolognese sauce

Add grated cheese to taste. Serve with garden peas, a salad.

What to do with any leftovers.

Cool, pop in a bowl and cover with cling film or beeswax wrap or failing that, a plate!

The next day

Add either some more tomatoes or some kidney beans in chilli sauce to make a chilli. Serve that with either rice or tortilla chips, cheese, dips and guacamole.

Alternatively, you can freeze it for up to about a month unless you have a chest freezer. (It should tell you on the freezer how long you can freeze things in it for!)