If your family loves pasta night but you want to actually nourish them while you're at it… this Easy Ancestral Bolognese is for you.
This has become one of my favorite weeknight dinners. It comes together in under an hour, uses two of my household staples: Force of Nature Ancestral Blend and FOND Bone Broth, and tastes like it's been simmering all day. It's high protein, kid-friendly, great for meal prep, and honestly just really good comfort food made with real ingredients.
I serve this with heirloom pasta and always add extra veggies to everyone's plates by mixing in roasted broccoli or cauliflower with the pasta or even folding in kale or spinach to the sauce.
Why You'll Love This Ancestral Bolognese
Force of Nature Ancestral Beef
The ancestral blend is one of my favorite proteins for growing kids, postpartum mamas and everyone in between. It combines ground beef with organ meat including heart, liver, kidney, and spleen, making it one of the most nutrient-dense options you can put on the table. It provides highly bioavailable iron, zinc, B vitamins, choline, CoQ10, and complete protein to support growth, energy, blood sugar balance, and satiety. And because it's blended with ground beef, the flavor is completely mild your family will never know it's there. Use code BECKIYOO to save on your order over at Force of Nature.
FOND Bone Broth
Adding a full jar of bone broth to the sauce is what takes this from good to great. FOND's beef broth is rich in collagen, glycine, and gelatin, nutrients that support gut lining integrity, joint health, skin elasticity, and sleep. From a culinary standpoint, it adds an incredible richness and body to the sauce that makes it taste slow-cooked even on a Tuesday night. It's one of the easiest ways to sneak extra nourishment into a family dinner without anyone noticing. I opt for bone broth instead of the classic wine in a bolognese simply to make this more nourishing for all household members. You can use the code BECKIYOORD for savings on FOND Bone Broth. Note I also use their tallow as a kitchen staple so be sure to pick up a jar!
Garlic & Onion
These two are the aromatic foundation of the sauce and they earn their spot nutritionally too. Garlic is one of the most well-studied functional foods and it contains allicin, which has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immune-supportive properties. Onion is rich in quercetin, a powerful antioxidant and natural antihistamine that also supports cardiovascular health. Together they build the savory base that makes this sauce taste deeply flavorful from the very first step. My rule of thumb is to always double the amount of garlic in any recipe, so I'm using 4 cloves here (and you can use as much as your heart desires!)
Tomato Paste + Jarred Marinara
Using both is the trick to a sauce that tastes like it took all day. Tomato paste is incredibly concentrated and adds deep umami, body, and a richness that thickens the sauce beautifully. Tomatoes are also one of the best dietary sources of lycopene, a potent antioxidant that becomes more bioavailable when cooked and consumed with fat (hello, olive oil). A good quality jarred marinara--look for one with just tomatoes, olive oil, and herbs on the label-- keeps this recipe weeknight ready without sacrificing flavor or nutrition.
Fresh Basil & Oregano
Fresh herbs are doing real work here both in the sauce and nutritionally. Basil and oregano are rich in antioxidants, antimicrobial compounds, and anti-inflammatory polyphenols that support immune and gut health. Oregano in particular is one of the most antioxidant-dense herbs you can cook with and can combat yeast and bacterial overgrowth. And from a culinary standpoint, fresh herbs add a brightness and depth that dried simply can't replicate, they're what make a quick weeknight sauce taste like it came from a real Italian kitchen.
Heavy Cream Finish
A splash of heavy cream at the end rounds out the acidity of the tomatoes and gives the sauce a silky, luxurious texture — it's a classic bolognese move. It also adds fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K2, and the fat helps your family absorb the lycopene and fat-soluble nutrients from the rest of the sauce. A little goes a long way and it makes a big difference in the final dish.
Perfect for Busy Nights
This sauce reheats beautifully, which means you can make a big batch on Sunday and have dinner ready in minutes throughout the week. It also freezes well for postpartum meals and is comfort food in a bowl while replenishing iron stores and supporting connective tissue healing.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds Force of Nature Ancestral Beef (use code BECKIYOO)
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1 jar marinara sauce (24 oz)
1 jar FOND Bone Broth, any flavor will do, I used the plain beef (use code BECKIYOORD)
4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
Freshly grated parmesan, for serving
How to Make Easy Ancestral Bolognese
- Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion with a generous pinch sea salt and cook for 5–7 minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook another 1–2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the Force of Nature Ancestral Beef. Break it apart and cook, stirring occasionally, until fully browned, about 8–10 minutes. Season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, letting it caramelize slightly into the meat.
- Pour in the marinara sauce and the full jar of FOND Bone Broth. Stir to combine.
- Add the fresh basil and oregano. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and deepened in flavor.
- Stir in heavy cream and taste for seasoning. Serve over your favorite heirloom pasta, gluten free pasta, or over roasted vegetables and top with freshly grated parmesan.
Tips + Serving Ideas
Make Ahead
Make the sauce earlier in the day or the night before. It actually tastes better the next day as the flavors develop.
Serve With
- Heirloom wheat pasta
- Gluten free pasta
- Zucchini noodles
- Polenta
- Roasted spaghetti squash
- Garlic bread
- Simple green salad
Meal Prep Friendly
Leftovers reheat really well for lunch the next day. The sauce also freezes beautifully, store in mason jars or Souper Cubes for up to 3 months.
Kid Tip
If your kids are skeptical of "different" beef blends, don't mention it — the flavor is mild and familiar, and the sauce masks it completely. This is one of the easiest organ meat upgrades for picky eaters. If you or your child is a "super taster", you could always do one pound of the ancestral and one pound regular ground beef to start.
Makes 8 servings
Macros per serving (sauce only): 419 Calories, 27g Protein, 14g Carbs, 29g Fat, 3g Fiber