You'll love my family's Pasta alla Genovese Recipe from Naples! We use a combination of beef and pork in our caramelized onion sauce, for maximum flavor. Set aside time to make this special ragu, which is the best we've ever tasted!
My mom was from Naples, so I've been eating pasta with Genovese sauce my entire life. It's a highlight of Neapolitan cuisine, and I'm excited to share it with you!
Our La Genovese Napoletana features nearly five pounds of onions slow-cooked to a jammy consistency in a savory, golden broth dotted with tender chunks of beef and shredded pork. This sweet nectar of the gods coats al dente pasta accented with Pecorino and basil.
You'll never taste a better Genovese recipe. And don't miss our Bolognese sauce with Italian sausage!
Recipe ingredients
We don't use carrots here, because they make the sauce too sweet. The wine and caramelized onions provide the perfect level of sweetness!
Yellow Onions: Onions are the main ingredient, so make sure to use the correct kind. You'll need 4.5 pounds of them (about six onions).
Yellow onions have brown skin and a pungent flavor. They'll cook for several hours, becoming sweet and caramelized.
Don't buy sweet onions for this recipe, or your Genovese ragu will turn out too sugary. If you need a substitute, you can use white onions or red onions.
Boneless Beef Shank: This cut of meat is traditional for Genovese sauce. It's lean beef from the leg area that becomes so tender and flavorful after low, slow cooking for hours.
The shank is usually sold with a round bone in it. It needs to be removed, or else you'll end up searching for it when it disappears into the sauce during five hours of cooking.
In the Cleveland area, Heinen's sells boneless beef shanks. If you don't see a boneless one at your grocery store, you can ask the butcher to remove the bone for you. Otherwise, you'd have to cut it out after you sear the meat.
Boneless Pork Country Rib: Country ribs come from the pork shoulder. This is a fatty, flavorful cut of meat that will shred on its own during five hours of cooking in the Genovese sauce.
You just need one pound for this recipe, so grab one or two from a package of boneless country ribs, or cut it yourself off a pork shoulder.
White Wine: We're using white wine to deglaze the pan after searing the meat. It brings delicious, slightly sweet flavor.
I prefer Sauvignon Blanc here, but you can use Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. Don't use a sweet wine.
Red wine would probably change the golden color of the sauce, so I don't recommend using it.
If you need to omit the alcohol, you can use half a cup of water to deglaze the pan.
Tomatoes: My family adds a few peeled tomatoes to the Genovese sauce during the last hour of cooking. The acidity helps balance the sweetness of the onions. The tomatoes also bring additional savory flavor.
Pecorino: Salty, pungent Pecorino Romano tastes so delicious sprinkled on each serving of Genovese pasta. I also stir a little freshly grated Pecorino into the sauce once it's done cooking to amp up the flavor and slightly thicken the ragu.
Pasta: Authentic Pasta alla Genovese calls for ziti, but it's also delicious with rigatoni, penne or mostaccioli. We've even served it with homemade spinach fettuccine, and it was incredible!
How to make it
See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview. You'll need to thinly slice all of the onions first. I recommend using a food processor (affiliate link). If you don't have one, use a good chef's knife instead.
- Sear the seasoned pork and beef in a tall, 8-quart pot (affiliate link).
- Remove the meat and deglaze the pot with dry white wine.
- Add chopped celery and two thinly sliced onions. Cook them for up to six minutes to build flavor before adding the meat back in.
- Add the rest of the onions to the pot, add seasonings and pour in 2 ½ cups of hot water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for four hours, loosely covered.
- Stir in a few peeled tomatoes and cook the sauce for another hour.
- Turn off the heat and stir in Pecorino, fresh basil and more seasoning.
Recipe tips
- There are lots of onions to digest, so plan to make this Genovese sauce recipe when you don't have to travel the next day or be stuck in meetings. It'll be worth it!
- Be sure to pat the meat completely dry before searing it. If you leave moisture on it, it will create steam and prevent proper browning.
- Don't be tempted to shorten the cooking time for the sauce. I tested this with four hours of cooking instead of five, and the flavor and texture were not on point!
- If you double the amount of sauce, you'll need to cook it longer. My mom used to make her ragu alla Genovese with nine pounds of onions and three pounds of meat. She cooked it for six or seven hours!
What to serve with it
This is a hearty dish. Serve it with light sides such as Italian marinated carrots and an Italian tossed salad. But, don't forget the artisan Italian bread to sop up the juicy sauce!
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Genovese sauce freezes well! Portion it out into containers that hold two cups of sauce, which is enough for half a pound of pasta. Or, if you'll be cooking less pasta, freeze smaller amounts.
You can thaw the Genovese ragu overnight in the refrigerator or use the microwave if you didn't plan ahead. For best quality, use the sauce within three months.
Since this sauce hails from Naples, not Genoa, the name can be confusing. Some say the original chef's last name was "Genovese."
Some say sailors from Genoa brought a beef and onion sauce with them to Naples in the 1400s and 1500s, and the Neapolitans changed the recipe to make it their own.
Regardless of its origin, Pasta alla Genovese will be one of the best meals of your life!
More recipes to try
- Beef Braciole
- Pork Ribs in Tomato Sauce
- Italian Beef Meatballs with Sauce
- Italian Pork Loin Roast
- Lasagna with Ricotta
Enjoy!
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Pasta alla Genovese
Equipment
Ingredients
Genovese Sauce
- 4 ½ pounds yellow onions (About 6. Don't use sweet or Vidalia onions. Can use white or red onions. See notes.)
- 1 pound boneless beef shank (See notes.)
- 1 pound boneless pork country ribs (You'll need 1 or 2 boneless ribs or slice a pound of meat from a pork shoulder.)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. Don't use sweet wine. See notes.)
- ½ teaspoon salt (divided use)
- 1 celery stalk
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ cups hot water
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 peeled roma tomatoes (from a can of peeled tomatoes)
- 3 Tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese (plus more for serving)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 medium basil leaves (chopped)
Pasta
- 1 pound ziti (or rigatoni, penne, mostaccioli)
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
- Start with two onions. Cut off the root and stem ends. Peel the onions and slice them thinly. (Use a food processor if you have one. You'll need to first quarter the onions and make sure each section is small enough to fit into the feeder of the machine. Use the slicing blade on the food processor. Feed the onion sections into the machine while pressing the pulse button until they're sliced.) Set aside the slices from the two onions in a small bowl. Then continue thinly slicing the rest of the onions, placing them in a large mixing bowl.
- Rinse the celery and scrape off any dirt. Pat it dry with a paper towel. Use a knife to trim off each end a bit, then chop the celery into small pieces. Set it aside.
- Pat the beef and pork dry with paper towels. Do not leave any moisture. Cut off any hanging fat from the beef.
- In a tall, 8-quart pot, heat two tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat until it's sizzling. Add the meat to the pot and season it with â…› teaspoon of salt. Sear the meat on each side to brown it. (Let the meat cook on the first side until it's easy to nudge and flip over. It could take 15 minutes. Use tongs to flip the meat, then brown the second side.) When you can nudge the meat easily, remove it to a platter.
- Add ½ cup of white wine to the pot. Use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pot, scraping up the browned bits until they're not stuck. Add the two onions you sliced at the beginning, plus the chopped celery. Season with ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Brown the onions and celery for up to six minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the meat on top of the onions and celery. Transfer the remaining sliced onions to the pot. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper and the bay leaf. Pour 2 ½ cups of hot water over the onions. Stir with a wooden spoon to moisten the onions.
- When the pot starts boiling, lower the heat to a simmer. Loosely cover the pot, with a wooden spoon resting on the edges to prop the lid open. Simmer the sauce for four hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- After four hours of cooking, cut up three peeled tomatoes (it's fine to include a little of their juice) and add them to the Genovese sauce. Stir to combine. Loosely cover the pot again and simmer the sauce for another hour, stirring occasionally.
- When the sauce has about 20 minutes left to cook, get the pasta pot ready and cook the pasta according to the directions below.
- After the Genovese sauce has cooked for the 5th hour, turn off the heat. Stir in ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Add 3 tablespoons of grated Pecorino and four chopped basil leaves. Stir to combine.
Cook the Pasta
- Fill a large pasta pot â…” full with hot water. Add a couple of teaspoons of salt. Cover and heat on high.
- When the water is boiling, add the pasta to the pot and stir briefly. Cook the pasta according to the al dente directions on the package, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick. Taste the pasta three minutes earlier than it says, to see if it's ready. When the pasta is al dente, drain it in a colander in the sink.
- Add three tablespoons of salted butter to the empty pasta pot to let the butter start melting. Transfer the drained pasta back to the pot. Stir to mix the pasta and butter.
To Serve
- Stir two or three ladles of the Genovese sauce into the pot of cooked pasta. Then, ladle some pasta into each dish and top with more of the pork, beef and onion sauce. Serve with grated Pecorino on top.
- Store leftover sauce and pasta separately, covered in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can freeze the Genovese sauce in sealed containers and use it within three months, for the best quality.
Notes
- Onions: Don't start with sweet onions, because the Genovese sauce will turn out too sugary. Use yellow onions (with the brown skins), ideally. The onions will cook for several hours, becoming sweet and caramelized.
- Boneless Beef Shank: In the Cleveland area, Heinen's sells boneless beef shanks. If you don't see a boneless one at your grocery store, you can ask the butcher to remove the round bone for you. Otherwise, you'd have to cut it out after you sear the meat, so you don't have to search for a loose bone later in the cooked sauce.
- Don't use carrots in this recipe, because they'll make the sauce too sweet.
- Wine: Red wine would probably change the golden color of the sauce, so I don't recommend using it.
- If you need to omit the alcohol, you can use half a cup of water to deglaze the pan.Â
- Don't shorten the cooking time. It's needed for the proper taste and texture.
- To make double the batch, you'll need a huge pot. You can use nine pounds of onions and three pounds of meat total. Cook the sauce for six or seven hours.
- There are lots of onions to digest, so plan to make this when you don't have to travel the next day or be stuck in meetings. It'll be worth it!
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C. Adapted in several ways from my mom's version after extensive testing. I added wine, a bay leaf and Pecorino to the sauce. I used a different cut of pork to produce more tender results. I used a slightly higher ratio of meat to onions.)
Pamela says
My grandmother used to make this and now I have been making it for at least 40 years. One of my sons actually asks for this for his birthday meal every year. It’s coming up so I better find some beef shank. I know that families have slightly different recipes. We use only beef shank, onions, and white wine. For many years if I mentioned Genoese to anyone, they immediately thought of pesto. No one knew of it, not even Mario Batali. I attended a cooking/booking signing of his. When he was signing my cookbook I mentioned it. He thought it was pesto!! Anyway, it is a very delicious yet simple recipe.
PAMELA says
I forgot to add…..a lots of pecorino cheese!