Name: Easy Pork Bolognese Pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 350 g pork sausage; 800 g peeled tomatoes (equi. 2 cans); 300 g tomato concentrate; 2 carrots (cut into small cubes); 1 onion (cut into small cubes); 2 garlic clove (minced); 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 bay leaf; 1 tbsp oregano; 1/2 tsp fish sauce (*optional); salt and pepper

This Pork Bolognese is a fast, kid-approved dinner ready in under 45 minutes! Made with pork sausage, tomatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, and oregano, it’s served with dinosaur-shaped pasta to keep mealtime fun!

This Quick Dino Pork Bolognese Pasta is so tasty and made twice as fast as regular beef bolognese sauce! It contains all the usual ingredients, like carrots, onions, garlic, and tomato, and a little secret: some extra umami flavour. If you run out of Bolognese and want to make the kids a fast and tasty meal, try this! Even the pickiest eater will love it!

Pork Sausage to the Rescue

Why pork sausages and not just minced pork? Well, because the meat is already seasoned to perfection and has the right amount of fat to get the most taste possible in the shortest time. You could leave the pieces of meat in chunks, but frankly, if the meal is intended for kids, blend slightly in the end with an immersion blender. This way, your picky eaters won’t see the difference between a long-cooked Bolognese sauce vs. a short-cooked one. I’ve used a simple Italian sausage type, but it could be a sage-flavoured or mildly spiced one, you choose.

Kid-Friendly Pasta

I found those lovely dinosaur pasta the other day and thought they were perfect for my kids to dig in! My kids need their sauce as homogeneous as possible; otherwise, they might get fuzzy about it. Plus, the dinosaur pasta will distract them from any texture issues. Also, these animal forms are great at holding in the meat sauce and make less of a mess than spaghetti. It could also be fusilli, penne, or rigatoni. If it’s intended for a toddler, you can use those tiny stars or mini cylinders for soups. This way, your little one will enjoy much more!

Secret Ingredient

Substitute the salt with fish sauce as a nice trick to bring in the umami! This Southeast Asian sauce is the key to a well-balanced pork Bolognese. This step is optional since it’s not a common ingredient in Western Cuisines, but highly recommended. To learn more about this secret ingredient, check out this article!

Storage

To reheat your pasta, always keep the sauce and the pasta in separate containers in your fridge. Boil some water and cook the pasta for a minute to warm it up so it holds its shape and texture. You can freeze the sauce in an airtight container for up to four months.

Other Pasta Meals

5 from 14 votes

Easy Pork Bolognese Pasta

By: Marie Breton

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings people

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

This Express Pork Bolognese with Dino Pasta takes half the time of a standard one. It's a busy family lifesaver made with pork sausage, tomato, onion and oregano!

Ingredients

350 g pork sausage
800 g peeled tomatoes equi. 2 cans
300 g tomato concentrate
2 carrots cut into small cubes
1 onion cut into small cubes
2 garlic clove minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp oregano
½ tsp fish sauce *optional
salt and pepper

Instructions

Start by breaking the sausages, collecting solely the meat.
On medium-high heat in a skillet or large pan, cook the meat in olive oil.
Once brown, add the carrots, onion and one garlic, and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add tomato, paste, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
Let it simmer for 30 minutes.
Add, 5 minutes before the end, the other garlic and fish sauce.
Remove the bay leaf.
If desired, blend lightly and carefully with an immersion blender before serving.