Paleo Bolognese on zucchini noodles
A proper slow Bolognese built on onion, carrot and celery, simmered for an hour until thick and deep, and finished with a spoon of coconut milk where the classic has milk. Tossed for two minutes in a hot pan, the zucchini noodles stay bright and hold their bite under all that sauce.
- Time
- 115 min (20 prep + 95 cook)
- Servings
- 6
- Per serving
- 353 kcal
- Protein
- 31 g
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef (93% lean)
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 can (28 oz) canned crushed tomatoes, check the label for no added sugar
- 1 cup bone broth, beef
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup coconut milk, canned, full-fat
- 1/3 cup torn fresh basil
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook gently for 10 minutes, until soft and just starting to colour.
- Raise the heat, add the beef, salt and pepper and cook, breaking it up finely, 8–10 minutes, until browned and 160°F.
- Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaves and oregano. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 1 hour, stirring now and then, until thick. A thick sauce matters here, because the noodles release water.
- Take out the bay leaves, stir in the coconut milk and warm for 2 minutes. Stir in the basil.
- Just before serving, spiralize the zucchini and heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the oil and toss the noodles in two or three batches, about 2 minutes each, until warm but still with a bite. Take them off the heat, tip off any water and sprinkle with the salt. Top with the sauce. The sauce keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months. Keep the zucchini whole until you cook it, or store the raw noodles apart for up to 3 days.
Good to know
Will it taste of coconut?
No. A quarter cup disappears into this much tomato and beef, and all it leaves is a rounder, milkier sauce.
Can I serve it on something else?
Spaghetti squash or a mash of roasted root vegetables both hold the sauce well.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 76
- Protein
- (37%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (40%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (24%)
- 5 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 226 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 2118 kcal goes into the pot and 3451 g of ingredients comes out as about 2800 g of food: 76 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.