Pasta alla Genovese boasts big flavors with a small number of ingredients. It features a hearty sauce or sugo of sweet slow-cooked onions and tender, shredded beef. This is a meat sauce like none other!
Pasta alla Genovese features a slow cooked onion-and-beef ragu, sugo alla genovese or simply la Genovese. While its name literally means "in the style of Genoa" it actually originates in Naples, a result of merchants from Genoa who settled in the area in the 15th century.
Genovese sauce is the principal pasta sauce in Naples. Its star is the onions, utilizing more onions than beef. Although some people add tomato, it's not traditional and really not needed when the slow cooking of the onions results in so much flavor of its own.
Figuratively, the most important ingredient is time. Time develops the flavor and yields the perfect, fall-apart, jammy, unctuous texture that makes Genovese such a unique and beloved tradition in the Campania region of Italy.
The flavor is reminiscent of French onion soup, but more hearty and umami thanks to the slow-cooked beef. It's kind of like if French onion soup and beef stew had a baby. Add this super cozy sweet-yet-savory sauce to some noodles and you've got the makings for the ultimate comforting pasta dish. Shower cheese over the top and *chef's kiss*.
Ingredient notes
- Chuck Roast: You need a tough cut of meat which benefits from a long, slow cooking process. Chuck roast is an ideal option, but you could use other cuts of beef that lend themselves to braising and stewing. I find it easier to get chuck stew meat because it's sold by smaller weights than a full size chuck roast which may be bigger than I need for this recipe. It's also already trimmed of a lot of the excess fat I would be trimming off anyway, so I'm not paying for something I will end up discarding. Avoid regular "stew meat" since you don't know what cut or cuts it's from and it may not cook evenly.
- Onions: Onions are actually the star of pasta alla genovese! Peel and thinly slice brown or yellow onions. They will practically melt and dissolve into the sauce to create a silky and glossy finish.
- White Wine: Use a dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Although the alcohol will cook off, if you need to avoid alcohol for any other reason, you could use chicken or beef broth instead to deglaze.
- Pasta: Large tubular pasta is the best and most common style for serving with sugo all genovese. Recommended shapes include ziti, rigatoni, penne, or paccheri.
How to make it
Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
In a Dutch oven, add pancetta over medium to medium-high heat. Cook until it renders its fat and gets crispy.
Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate, leaving the about 2 tablespoons of rendered fat in the pot.
Add the beef to the pot and sear on all sides until browned.
Remove to the same plate as the pancetta.
Add carrot and celery along with a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly, until softened.
Next, add white wine, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cook for a few minutes to slightly reduce.
Then add about half the sliced onions and the bay leaves, and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Top the onions with the seared beef and pancetta.
Finally top with the remaining sliced onions, seasoning with another pinch of salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer for about 3 hours or longer, checking every 30 minutes or so, stirring, and replacing the lid. If the mixture seems dry, add a splash or two of water. The onions and beef should practically be melting into each other.
Once the beef is very tender, remove bay leaves and mash it with the back of a spoon until it breaks apart.
Let the mixture continue to cook, uncovered, for another few minutes, or until thickened, reduced, and the onions are lightly caramelized. If the mixture seems dry, add splashes of water. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until about a minute shy of al dente. Save about 1 cup of pasta cooking water and set it aside in case you need it.
Drain the pasta, then add it directly to the pot of sauce. Over medium heat, stir to evenly coat the pasta with sauce for another minute or two. If it seems dry, add splashes of pasta cooking water and continue to stir until it's the right consistency.
Serve immediately topped with grated Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
Even though this is a meat sauce, don't be surprised that it doesn't coat the pasta in the same way other sauces do. It's really just beef, onions, aromatics, and of course time. There's no tomato sauce or cream to give it a silky base. The "sauce" comes from the cooking juices (and pasta cooking water if needed). That's more than enough to give every bite of pasta alla genovese the perfect flavor.
My chunks of chuck roast soften enough through the cooking process that I honestly just mash them with the back of a large spoon to break the meat down into the sauce. You can shred with two forks if you prefer (though it will probably take longer to do).
If you use larger pieces of chuck roast, you may need more cooking time. You may also want to remove the pieces after cooking, and cut it into smaller pieces with a knife rather than just break tit apart with the back of a spoon.
You can sear the meat in batches depending on the size of your Dutch oven. If you end up overcrowding the pan and the meat releases excess liquid, you can either let the liquid evaporate or just remove the excess liquid yourself. I use a folded up paper towel (or two) gripped by tongs to soak some of it up, then discard it.
Don't stress. Some folks don't even sear their beef cubes for this recipe. They just add them raw to the pot on top of the first layer of onions. I think the searing adds more flavor so I keep that step, but this recipe is very forgiving even if you don't.
Other recipes you may like
- One Pot French Onion Soup Pasta
- The BEST French Onion Soup
- Giouvetsi / Youvetsi (Greek Beef Stew and Orzo Casserole)
- Ghackets mit Hörnli (Swiss Macaroni with Meat Sauce)
- Pasta alla Norcina (Creamy Pasta with Sausage)
- Pasta e Piselli (Pasta and Peas)
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Pasta alla Genovese (Pasta with Neapolitan Beef and Onion Ragu)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds (680 grams) beef chuck stew meat or boneless beef chuck roast cut into 2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces (113 grams) pancetta diced
- 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots peeled and finely diced
- 1 large or 2 small stalks celery finely diced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 3 pounds (1.4 kg) onions peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1 pound (450 grams) large tubular pasta such as ziti, rigatoni, penne, or paccheri
- Grated Parmigianno-Reggiano for serving
Instructions
- Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Season on all sides with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a Dutch oven, add the pancetta and heat over medium to medium-high heat. Cook until the pancetta renders its fat and gets crispy, but not overcooked, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove pancetta with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the pot. If it's a lot of fat, remove some until you only have about 2 tablespoons left in the pot. You can discard the rest or save it for cooking other things (like you might with bacon fat).
- Add the seasoned cubes of chuck roast to the pot and sear on all sides until browned, about 7 to 10 minutes. If the beef releases liquid while cooking, continue searing until the liquid has evaporated. Alternatively, you can remove some of the excess liquid manually to speed things up. I use a folded paper towel gripped by tongs to soak up the excess liquid, then let the beef finish searing in the dry pan. Remove the seared beef to the same plate as the pancetta.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot and celery along with a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes or until softened.
- Add the white wine, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes to slightly reduce the wine.
- Then add about half the onions and the bay leaves, and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Top the onions with the seared beef and pancetta, then finally top with the remaining sliced onions, seasoning with another pinch of salt and pepper.
- Cover the pot with a lid and simmer for about 3 hours or longer, checking the mixture every 30 minutes or so, stirring, and replacing the lid. If the mixture seems dry, add a splash or two of water as needed. The onions and beef should practically be melting into each other.
- Once the beef is very tender, remove the bay leaves and carefully mash it with the back of a spoon until it breaks apart or shred the meat with two forks. Let the mixture continue to cook, uncovered, for another few minutes, or until thickened, reduced, and the onions are lightly caramelized. If the mixture seems dry, add splashes of water as needed. It should be quite glossy and thick. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until about a minute shy of al dente. Save about 1 cup of pasta cooking water and set it aside in case you need it.
- Drain the pasta, then add it directly to the pot of sauce. Over medium heat, stir to evenly coat the pasta with sauce and cook together for another 1 to 2 minutes. If it seems dry, add splashes of pasta cooking water and continue to stir until it's the right consistency.
- Serve immediately topped with grated Parmigianno-Reggiano cheese.
Notes
- I find it easier to get chuck stew meat because it's sold by smaller weights than a full size chuck roast which may be bigger than I need for this recipe. Avoid regular "stew meat" since you don't know what cut or cuts it's from and it may not cook evenly.
- Onions are actually the star of pasta alla genovese! Peel and thinly slice brown or yellow onions. They will practically melt and dissolve into the sauce to create a silky and glossy finish.
- Large tubular pasta is the best and most common style for serving with sugo all genovese. Recommended shapes include ziti, rigatoni, penne, or paccheri.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
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