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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.
Why You’ll Love This Short Rib Ragu Recipe
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.
Traditional Italian recipes like this can be a special occasion meal and can definitely be seen as an ultimate comfort food meal.
Recipe Ingredients
- Beef Short Ribs: I use bone in for this recipe.
- Spaghetti Sauce: I like to use Rao’s tomato basil sauce.
- Cooking Oil: For browning the ribs prior to putting them in the slow cooker.
- Onion: White onion, diced.
- Seasonings: minced garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper.
- Red Wine: I like to use a red blend.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – 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.
Step Two – 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
Step Three – Cover and cook in the crock pot on LOW for 6-8 hours or until the beef short rib is fall apart tender.
Step Four – When the cooking time is done remove the short ribs, remove the meat from the bones. Discard the excess fat 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 to the sauce and stir. Enjoy!
How to Serve
- To serve this, I boiled a box of gnocchi on the stove top and then stirred them into the meat sauce. These stood up to the sauce very well and didn’t get soggy. I highly recommend trying it, you can find the gnocchi above the dried pasta in the store.
- You can serve this over regular al dente pasta or over any noodle as well if you would like.
- Top with parmesan cheese and add a side salad for a full meal! Fresh herbs like fresh thyme and fresh parsley also taste great on top.
- If you don’t want to use pasta you can serve this over white rice or mashed potatoes- try my slow cooker mashed potatoes recipe.
Recipe FAQs
I found the gnocchi on the top shelf above the dried pasta in the grocery store.
Store any remaining short ribs in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
I’ve seen people use beef chuck riblets and boneless beef short ribs. You may need to adjust cooking time when using something other than what the recipe calls for.
You can play around with using different types of tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, beef broth, or even different meats like beef chuck roast.
Try one of these pasta recipes next time:
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Penne
- Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce
- Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Pasta
- Slow Cooker Easy Spaghetti Dinner
- Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce
- Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
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Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu
How to Video
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)
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!
Sarah’s Notes
- I find the gnocchi on the top shelf above the dried pasta in the grocery store.
- Store any remaining short ribs in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- You can play around with using different types of tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, beef broth, or even different meats like beef chuck roast.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Made this last night and it was excellent. Didn’t remove the fatty pieces adds to the flavor
Fully enjoyed the slow cooker short rib ragu. It has GREAT flavor!! Part of the family liked the gnocchi and the other half had mashed potatoes….so everyone was happy. I do have a question: Just bought some boneless beef short ribs——how do I adjust this recipe to accommodate the boneless ribs ???
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Fully enjoyed the slow cooker short rib ragu. It has GREAT flavor!! Part of the family liked the gnocchi and the other half had mashed potatoes…so everyone was happy.
QUESTION: just bought some boneless beef short ribs—-how do I adjust this recipe to accommodate the boneless ribs?
Are beef chuck riblets the same as short ribs? Do I need to adjust anything – cool time or amount?
Thanks!
I think they have a little less meat on them. I think you will only need to cook on low for 6 hours.
This is a winner in our household … we have added it to our family cookbook. Thank you !
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.
Fantastic dish and so easy. My hubby made it even easier by browning the ribs on the BBQ for me.
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.
Can you over cook it on low? Say if I need to put it in 10 hours before we plan on serving?
Yes, that will work great. The longer the better for this type of recipe.