Simple & Hearty Saucy Slow Cooked Italian Beef & Noodles
Beef + Noodles — Well, if you are like me and short on time — this dinner is sure to save the day. Not only is it super easy to make, (thanks to a short-list of handy ingredients) it is also very tasty!I started off with 3 pounds of FROZEN chuck roast that was cut into 2″ chunks prior to going in the freezer. If you have fresh beef – the cooking time needs to be reduced. (I’ll include that variation to the instructions in the recipe card.)
In addition to the beef, I added
- 2 cloves of chopped garlic
- salt
- pepper
- 10 oz of a sweet red wine
- 12 oz crushed tomatoes
- 8 oz water
Next I added a 26 oz jar of my favorite pasta sauce and 2 T cornstarch.
I stirred the ingredients to combine and placed the lid on the pot.
Into the oven it all went – 350° for 4 hours. Be sure not to peek – just let it do its thing. While it’s cooking, the meat becomes so tender and the rich flavors combine.
In the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time, boil one pound of your favorite type of pasta.
If you have a couple of minutes to spare, you could easily add cubed potatoes, carrots, onions and celery — but if your kiddos are anything like mine, they’ll hope you don’t have any extra time on your hands.
Even after all of these years, diced veggies still make them squirm.
This right here is comfort food at its finest. So tasty, so painless to make — but so flavor-packed and hearty. Tastebuds are pleased and the effort is minimal.
Happy eating!
- 3 lb chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2" chunks (frozen)*
- 2 cloves of chopped garlic
- 10 oz of a sweet red wine
- 12 oz crushed tomatoes
- 8 oz water
- 26 oz jar of pasta sauce
- 2 T cornstarch
- 1 t salt
- 1 t pepper
- 1 pound dried pasta, cooked according to package instructions
- 3 T Italian parsley, chopped (for garnish)
- Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients in a large cast iron braiser or 7-9 qt. covered dutch oven. Cover and place into the preheated oven for 4 hours*.
- During the last 15 minutes of cooking time, prepare pasta**.
- When cooking time is complete, remove the pot from the oven, season the beef to taste and serve over hot, cooked pasta.
- Serves 6
- * for fresh meat, reduce cooking time by 1 hour
- **reserve 2 c of pasta cooking water in case the saucy beef needs to be made a little juicier. If so, add hot pasta water to the saucy beef (to achieve desired thickness), stir to combine.
