Slow-Cooker Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

The kind of Sunday dinner you don’t have to earn

This is the ragu you make when you want a long-simmered, “spent the day in the kitchen” kind of dinner — but you also want to do absolutely nothing all day. The slow-cooker takes over, melting a budget beef cut into something silky and rich, while pantry tomatoes, boxed broth, and a splash of balsamic build depth you’d swear came from a chef’s stockpot.

The pappardelle is the secret weapon. Wide, tender ribbons catch the sauce in every fold, so every bite delivers both the soft strands of beef and that velvety tomato-broth magic. It’s not heavy in the way some ragus can be — there’s brightness from the tomatoes, a whisper of sweetness from the balsamic, and the kind of balance that makes you keep twirling your fork without thinking.

This is Sunday dinner without the ceremony:

• Minimal prep — the chopping stops at one onion and a few garlic cloves
• Pantry power — everything else comes from the shelf or the freezer
• Luxury without fuss — it tastes indulgent, but no one has to know it was a dump-and-walk-away situation

It’s just as at home in a big serving bowl in the middle of the table as it is eaten straight from the pot while standing in the kitchen. Serve with Parmesan, maybe a green salad if you’re feeling virtuous, and let the rest of the day be as low-effort as the cooking.

Fancy-feeling food for fried people.

Slow-Cooker Beef Ragu with Pappardelle

Like you wandered into a Tuscan grandmother’s kitchen, but she’s secretly been binging TV all day and let the slow-cooker do the work. Fork-tender beef tangled in ribbons of pappardelle, swimming in a rich tomato-broth sauce that tastes like you spent hours fussing (you didn’t).

Ingredients

• 2 ½ –3 lbs cheap beef cut like chuck roast or beef shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (pantry hero)
• 1 cup boxed beef broth
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes optional, for a gentle kick
• 2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 lb pappardelle pasta fresh or dried
• Freshly grated Parmesan for serving
• Optional: chopped parsley or basil for garnish

Instructions

• Load it up: Place beef in slow-cooker. Scatter onion and garlic over top.
• Pour the magic: Add crushed tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, balsamic, oregano, basil, red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Stir slightly around the meat — no need to be thorough.
• Walk away: Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 4) until beef is fall-apart tender.
• Shred + simmer: Remove beef to a cutting board, shred with two forks, then stir it back into the sauce. Let it mingle on “warm” while you cook pasta.
• Pasta finale: Boil pappardelle in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, drain, and toss noodles with a ladle of sauce to coat.
• Serve like you meant it: Divide pasta into bowls, heap on the ragu, and finish with Parmesan and fresh herbs.

Notes

Cheap cut = flavor win: Chuck roast or shoulder thrives with slow-cooking — the longer it goes, the silkier it gets.
• Sub swaps: Short on beef? Try pork shoulder. No pappardelle? Any wide noodle will do.
• Toddler tweak: Chop noodles into bite-size pieces before serving, skip the pepper flakes.
• Lazy luxury: Tastes like a Sunday dinner, but you could be in sweats the whole time.