White Ragu (also called Ragù Bianco in Italian) is a rich, savoury pasta sauce that’s similar in structure to the classic Italian ragù alla bolognese—but without tomatoes.
Make our simple white ragu recipe at home and toss it with your favourite al dente pasta like fettuccine noodles. Top with chopped parsley and parmesan before serving. It’s the ultimate pork, cream and carb lovers comfort food dream!
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How To Make White Ragu Pasta Sauce
White Ragu is a slow-simmered meat sauce made with ground pork, aromatics, broth, wine, and cream. It’s called “white” simply because it omits tomatoes, which are a key ingredient in traditional red ragùs like Bolognese.
White Ragu is popular pasta sauce in Northern Italy, especially in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. While we use ground pork in our recipe, the sauce is commonly used to showcase delicate meats like rabbit or veal, so the meat can easily be substituted.
Recipes vary by region and family so you may also find white ragu recipes prepared with local and seasonal ingredients like wild mushrooms, truffle or pancetta.
The most popular pasta shapes to toss in this ragu is fettuccine, tagliatelle, and pappardelle. It’s a great sauce for wine pairings since blonde ragu is less acidic than tomato sauce.
Fettuccine Pasta with White Ragu
Equipment
- French knife
- Large Skillet
- Large pot
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 Small Spanish Onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Carrot finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Celery finely chopped
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- Kosher Salt + Pepper
- 1 lb Ground Pork
- 1/4 cup Dry White Wine
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/4 cup Whipping Cream
- 300 g Dried Fettuccine Pasta
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 2 tbsp Chives or Parsley garnish
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch Oven or large pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil and butter, and once it is warm, add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned. Add the pork, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Add the wine, and scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the broth, milk and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low, leaving the lid off.
- Meanwhile cook pasta until al dente in salted water. Before you drain it, ladle a cup of the pasta water into a glass by the stove.
- Over the next 60-90 minutes. Check the sauce every 15-20 minutes, adding more pasta water to keep the sauce loose. The sauce is done when the meat tastes tender, buttery and rich. Remove from heat, discard the bay leaf and add the cream.
- Drain the pasta, and add it directly to the ragu, along with some of the remaining reserved pasta water. Cook the pasta and sauce together for 2 minutes then serve in bowls garnished with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley or chives.
Nutrition
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