Giada De Laurentiis’ Make-Ahead Baked Bolognese Is Perfect for Feeding Guests This Holiday Season

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.

When the holiday season arrives, we’re always struck by the same conundrum. On the one hand, we want to cook delicious, hearty, comforting food for our families and any guests who are visiting from out of town. But on the other hand, we already have a to-do list about 3 miles long, and the last thing we want is to be stuck in the kitchen all day while our friends and loved ones are in the other room making memories together. So what’s the solution? According to Giada De Laurentiis, author of Giada’s Italy, there’s an easy way to have your cake and eat it, too: make your entree ahead of time! In this case, she’s talking about her baked bolognese pasta, a comforting dish for cold days if ever there was one, and it feeds a crowd, too.

The secret to a classic bolognese is a long simmer, which helps the meat break apart and become tender, and for all of the flavors of the sauce to meld together. So, instead of spending an hour and a half stirring sauce the day you have company, De Laurentiis shares that you can make it ahead of time.

Her bolognese is made with ground chuck, the classic aromatic trio of onions, carrots, and celery, then garlic and bay leaf. Then, Corbara Pomodorini Whole Tomatoes and tomato paste are added, along with the optional Calabrian chili paste, and a hefty pour of red wine and and whole milk are added to round things out. Last but not least, De Laurentiis adds a secret ingredient before the long simmer begins: Parmesan rind.

After the sauce has finished simmering, it’s set aside to cool. De Laurentiis cooks up some pasta — she opts for Nodi Marini pasta for this recipe, though any short pasta would do — lets that cool a bit too, then combines pasta and bolognese with parmesan and places the mixture into a 9×13 baking dish. A topping of mozzarella and more parm seal the deal, and the whole thing can be transfered to the fridge until you’re ready to bake it. Since it’s already cooked, the pan of make-ahead bolognese pasta needs less than an hour in the oven once you’re ready to bake it.

There aren’t really any shortcuts taken, so this bolognese pasta still has the depth of flavor you might expect from one that’s traditionally made, but the fact that you can make it a day or two ahead of time will free you up to spend time with your loved ones the day of your big celebration.

Before you go, check out our gallery:

Watch: How to Make Giada De Laurentiis’ Stuffed Lasagna Rolls