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The Magical Slow Cooker » Recipes » Beef » Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu

Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu

by Sarah Olson on May 29, 2020 | Updated June 9, 2022 31 Comments

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close up of short rib ragu in slow cooker
shredded beef in marinara with gnocchi in slow cooker
collage of photos of short rib ragu for pinterest

Step up your pasta sauce with this Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu recipe. The pasta sauce is simmered together with short ribs and served with gnocchi.

Gnocchi is a fun pasta to add to the slow cooker, also try my Chicken Gnocchi Soup.

Marinara sauce with shredded short ribs with gnocchi pasta

Hello! This Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu is inspired by a recipe I had a while back in an Italian restaurant in Portland. They served a rich short rib ragu over little gnocchi. Before I had that meal, the only time I’ve had gnocchi was in the olive garden soup. The short ribs give the sauce so much rich and beefy flavor and the wine makes it even better.

short ribs, seasonings, rao's marinara, onion and red wine in front of slow cooker.

Below is what the short ribs and sauce look like before cooking, note I did brown the ribs before adding them to the slow cooker.

brown short ribs with marinara sauce on top, uncooked.

Here is what it looks like after cooking for 7 hours. The sauce has deepened in color and the ribs are falling off the bone.

Cooked short ribs in marinara sauce.

After the cooking time has finished, I remove the short ribs and shred the meat, discarding any fatty pieces. Before I add that meat back into the sauce I degrease the sauce by laying paper towels over the top. Works so good!

Shredded short ribs in marinara sauce

To serve this, I boiled a box of gnocchi on the stove top. I highly recommend trying it, you can find the gnocchi above the dried pasta in the store. You can serve this over regular pasta if you would like.

Gnocchi in short rib marinara sauce.

I hope you enjoy this meal, try it this week! I’ll be back soon with more recipes.

Try one of these pasta recipes next time:

  • Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Penne
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Pasta
  • Slow Cooker Easy Spaghetti Dinner
  • Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce
  • Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Want to make more magic in your crockpot? Stay up to date and subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

shredded short ribs in sauce with gnocchi stirred in

Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu

5 from 22 votes
Short ribs and pasta sauce simmered together in the slow cooker.
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 7 hours
Total Time: 7 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 365kcal
Author: Sarah Olson

Equipment Needed:

  • Slow Cooker – 4 quart or larger

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
  • 2 lbs. beef short ribs (bone-in)
  • 24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce (I use Rao’s tomato basil sauce)
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1/2 cup red wine (I like to use a red blend)
US Customary – Metric

Instructions:

  • Set a large skillet on the stove top and set to medium high heat. Add the cooking oil when the pan is hot. Brown the short ribs on all sides, no need to cook through.
  • Add the browned short ribs to the slow cooker.
  • Pour over the spaghetti sauce, add the onion, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and wine. Stir
  • Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours on low.
  • When the cooking time is done remove the short ribs, remove the meat from the bones. Discard the fatty pieces and bones. Before  adding the meat back to the sauce. I like to degrease the sauce by laying paper towels over the grease and lifting quickly. Discard paper towels. Add the meat into the sauce and stir.
  • For serving I boiled a 16 oz. box of Gnocchi (dumplings) and then stirred them into the sauce. These stood up to the sauce very well and didn’t get soggy. We didn’t eat for over an hour after I added them to the sauce. I found the gnocchi on the top shelf above the dried pasta in the store. You can serve this sauce over any noodle as well. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!
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Recipe Notes:

Nutritional values are approximate, please use your own calculations if you require a special diet. Values below are for the sauce and meat only and are for 1/6 of the recipe.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 365kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 889mg | Potassium: 1019mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 515IU | Vitamin C: 10.1mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 6mg

Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.

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    6415 shares
    • 2658

    Filed Under: Beef, Dinner

    Comments

    1. Kelly says

      February 5, 2022 at 1:56 am

      5 stars
      This is a winner in our household … we have added it to our family cookbook. Thank you !

      Reply
    2. Kristy says

      January 16, 2022 at 11:17 am

      5 stars
      Absolutely loved it! The meat was so tender and the ingredients were just the perfect combination. Also, this is incredibly easy to make. My whole family loved it.

      Reply
    3. Leslie says

      January 10, 2022 at 5:22 pm

      5 stars
      Fantastic dish and so easy. My hubby made it even easier by browning the ribs on the BBQ for me.

      Reply
    4. Anonymous says

      November 2, 2021 at 8:22 am

      5 stars
      Lovely with creamy polenta (we have Celiac folks) to which I added 1/2 cube cream cheese. Did that in another slow cooker to keep it creamy. Great flavors.

      Reply
    5. Lee says

      July 21, 2021 at 4:45 pm

      Can you over cook it on low? Say if I need to put it in 10 hours before we plan on serving?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        July 22, 2021 at 8:22 am

        Yes, that will work great. The longer the better for this type of recipe.

        Reply
    6. Lauren says

      December 20, 2020 at 3:45 pm

      Is there a way to do this on stove top?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        December 20, 2020 at 4:29 pm

        You could try simmering on low. You may need to add touch of water.

        Reply
    7. Todd says

      November 25, 2020 at 7:32 am

      5 stars
      You had me at Rao’s!!

      Reply
    8. Tamara says

      November 9, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      what do you mean by cooking oil? which kind, canola , olive oil?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        November 9, 2020 at 2:50 pm

        A high heat cooking oil (canola or vegetable). What you normally would brown meat in 🙂

        Reply
      • Laura Quinn says

        January 24, 2021 at 9:20 am

        Is there a substitute for the red wine? Love the rich flavor it adds, but we don’t drink. Thanks!

        Reply
        • Wendy says

          March 15, 2021 at 6:14 pm

          Can you use something else instead of red wine

        • Sarah Olson says

          March 15, 2021 at 7:01 pm

          You can use beer or beef broth.

    9. Marge says

      September 26, 2020 at 12:35 pm

      Can you cook this on high to

      Reply
      • Anonymous says

        October 26, 2020 at 12:01 pm

        ??

        Reply
        • Sarah Olson says

          October 26, 2020 at 12:16 pm

          Yes, 4-5 hours on high will work fine.

      • tamara says

        November 9, 2020 at 1:59 pm

        if i want to double the meat – how long should i leave it on for high and low?.

        Reply
        • Sarah Olson says

          November 9, 2020 at 2:50 pm

          I would do 8-9 hours on low.

    10. Toddy says

      July 3, 2020 at 10:38 am

      Will it be possible to substitute the short ribs with beef back ribs? My store is out of the short ribs. If so, do I have to adjust the weight of the ribs and the cooking time? I’ve got 4 lbs of the beef back ribs. Thinking about doubling the recipe for that amount of beef back ribs.

      PS: I’ve tried so many of your recipes, and they all always came out so good! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        July 3, 2020 at 9:31 pm

        I think they will work fine! If you are doubling you may want to add an hour to the cook time.

        Reply
        • Toddy says

          July 6, 2020 at 1:24 am

          5 stars
          The recipe turned out awesome! Everyone loved it! Thanks! 🙂

    11. Jenn says

      May 29, 2020 at 8:42 pm

      Would boneless country style ribs work with this?
      If so, would you adjust the cooking time at all?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        May 29, 2020 at 10:24 pm

        I think those would work fine, I think 7 hours on low would be plenty.

        Reply
    12. Julie Marble Cain says

      February 13, 2019 at 11:41 am

      Will it be okay, I only have white wine, so I used it since I had to use my short ribs. Thank you.

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        February 14, 2019 at 9:42 am

        I think it will be fine!

        Reply
    13. Anonymous says

      December 24, 2018 at 11:24 am

      5 stars
      We are on our 5th pot of this in a couple months – sooooooooo good!!!!! But no gnocci… 🙂

      Reply
    14. Anonymous says

      October 25, 2018 at 10:20 am

      5 stars
      Making this a second time. Its delish!!! Minus the gnocci. We did spaghetti. This time thinking over mashed potatoes:)

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        October 25, 2018 at 10:59 am

        Oh! mashed potatoes sound amazing.

        Reply
    15. Pat says

      October 7, 2018 at 5:27 pm

      5 stars
      Made your slow cooker short rib ragu , such great flavor and excellent with the gnocchi. Thank you

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        October 7, 2018 at 7:08 pm

        So happy to hear Pat, I’ve been requested to make it again this week.

        Reply

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