If you want to spend less time in the kitchen but you still like to cook, you’ve almost certainly heard of “meal prep”, right? Instead of cooking each day of the week you take some time on one day and prepare all meals for the week in one go. This Sausage & Bacon Ragù with White Beans and Polenta is not an explicit meal prep recipe, but if you make a big pot, you can use the ragù as a base for several other recipes. Meals for several days of the week with little to no effort.
Ragùs or stews like this one here are usually pretty straightforward to make. Sauté and fry some veggies and meat to get some nice roasting flavors – top that with some liquid like broth or tomato passata and you got yourself a delicious meal in no time. A bubbling pot with ragú does not need a lot of attention. Easy peasy.
One of my favorite sides for this type of sauce is a simple polenta. So easy to prepare. If you haven’t tried it you should definitely change that one day. Maybe with this recipe ;) However, mashed potatoes also work great here and taste at least as good ;)
Meal prep alternatives for the ragù
Speaking of alternatives. As mentioned above, you can also turn this ragù into a great meal prep base. The recipe is designed to serve 4-5 people. If you’re only two people at home, there’s not much you need to adjust. Make the sauce according to the recipe and you already got enough to create several meals for the week. Larger families should double the ingredients and cook a bigger pot without much extra effort…
Ragù with pasta or fried potatoes
The easiest way to use the ragù in other dishes is to change the sides. Instead of polenta, you can serve the ragù with mashed potatoes, or a large pot of good old pasta. Both can be prepared in advance as well and then simply heated up again in a pan or the microwave. Also nice but a bit more work – roasted potatoes ;)
Ragù on toasted bread with poached egg
If you don’t want to add a lot of carbs to your diet you can skip the pasta and potatoes and create a meal with fewer carbs. Instead of pasta you can toast a piece of (wholemeal) bread and serve that together with the ragù. Just heat up a pan with some oil, roast/toast the bread and add the ragù on top and finish, for example, with a poached egg. Something you can make for breakfast or for lunch. So simple but oh so good ;P
The ragù can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days normally. If you want to keep it longer, you can also freeze the sauce and take a portion out of the freezer and reheat it whenever needed.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the ragù:
3.5 oz. (100g) dried white beans
some olive oil for frying
4.3 oz. (120g) bacon, diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
14 oz. (400g) pork sausages, casings removed
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups (500ml) beef stock
1 can (14 oz./400g) chunky tomatoes
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper
For the polenta:
2 1/2 cups (600ml) water, plus some more if needed
7 oz. (200g) polenta
1 tbsp. butter
salt, pepper
2-3 tbsp. grated Grana Padano
some grated Grana Padano for serving
some chopped parsley
Für das Ragù:
100g getrocknete weiße Bohnen
etwas Olivenöl zum Braten
120g Speck, gewürfelt
1 mittelgroße Zwiebel, fein gewürfelt
2-3 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
400g Bratwürste (Schwein), Därme entfernt
2 EL Tomatenmark
500ml Rinderbrühe
1 Dose (400g) stückige Tomaten
2 TL Oregano (getrocknet)
2 TL Basilikum (getrocknet)
1 Lorbeerblatt
Salz, Pfeffer
Für die Polenta:
600ml Wasser, ggf. etwas mehr
200g Polenta (Maisgrieß)
1 EL Butter
Salz, Pfeffer
2-3 EL Grana Padano, gerieben
etwas geriebener Grana Padano zum Servieren
etwas gehackte Petersilie
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Heat up a large pot or dutch oven with some olive oil. Add the diced bacon and fry until crisp. Add the onions and sauté until soft and glossy – about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute or so – stir often so nothing burns. Remove the casings from the sausages and crumble the pork filling. Add to the pot and fry until nicely browned. Takes about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir in. Let cook for another minute or so. Deglaze with the beef stock and chunky tomatoes. Add the oregano, basil, and bay leaf. Season with some salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat a bit and let the ragù simmer for about 45 minutes – stir from time to time. Add the cooked beans for the last 5 minutes of the cooking time so they can heat up in the ragù. Remove the bay leaf when ready to serve.
3. While the ragù is cooking prepare the polenta. Add the water with some salt to a small pot and heat up. As soon as you can see bubbles coming up in the water, reduce the heat and stir in the polenta. Let cook gently for 1 minute while stirring constantly, then remove from the heat. Add the butter and stir in, then let the polenta soak for about 8 minutes. If the polenta seems too thick, add a bit of hot water – you want a thick and spreadable consistency. Stir in the grated cheese.
4. Divide the polenta between serving bowls, add some of the ragù and sprinkle with some grated Grana Padano and chopped parsley.
2. Einen großen (gusseisernen) Topf mit etwas Olivenöl erhitzen. Den gewürfelten Speck dazugeben und knusprig anbraten. Die Zwiebeln dazugeben und glasig andünsten – dauert etwa 2-3 Minuten. Den Knoblauch ebenfalls dazugeben und eine Minute mit anschwitzen lassen. Immer wieder umrühren, damit nichts anbrennt. Die Wurstdärme entfernen und die Wurstfüllung etwas zerkrümeln/zerdrücken. Zum Topf dazugeben und krümelig anbraten. Das Fleisch sollte etwas Farbe bekommen – dauert etwa 4-5 Minuten. Dann Tomatenmark dazugeben, unterrühren und etwa eine Minute anschwitzen lassen. Mit der Rinderbrühe und den stückigen Tomaten ablöschen. Oregano, Basilikum und Lorbeerblatt dazugeben. Mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Die Mischung einmal aufkochen lassen, dann die Hitzezufuhr reduzieren und das Ragù etwa 45 Minuten köcheln lassen. Ab und an umrühren, damit nichts anbrennt. In den letzten 5 Minuten der Kochzeit die vorab gekochten Bohnen zugeben. Vor dem Servieren das Lorbeerblatt entfernen.
3. Während das Ragù kocht, die Polenta zubereiten. Dazu das Wasser mit etwas Salz in einen kleinen Topf geben und erhitzen. Sobald das Wasser anfängt zu kochen, die Hitze reduzieren und die Polenta einrühren. Unter ständigem Rühren 1 Minute leicht köcheln lassen, dann vom Herd ziehen. Die Butter unterrühren, dann die Polenta etwa 8 Minuten lang quellen lassen. Wenn die Polenta zu fest ist, einfach noch etwas heißes Wasser dazugeben und unterrühren. Die Konsistenz sollte dick, aber auch streichfähig sein. Den geriebenen Käse unterrühren.
4. Die Polenta auf Servierschüsseln verteilen, etwas von dem Ragout darauf verteilen und mit etwas geriebenem Grana Padano und gehackter Petersilie bestreuen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Sausage & Bacon Ragù with White Beans and Polenta
- Prep Time: 00:35
- Cook Time: 00:45
- Total Time: 12:00
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italy
Description
One of our favorite dishes of all time: Sausage & Bacon Ragù with White Beans and Creamy Polenta. So many flavors. So delicious!
Ingredients
For the ragù:
3.5 oz. (100g) dried white beans
some olive oil for frying
4.3 oz. (120g) bacon, diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
14 oz. (400g) pork sausages, casings removed
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups (500ml) beef stock
1 can (14 oz./400g) chunky tomatoes
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper
For the polenta:
2 1/2 cups (600ml) water, plus some more if needed
7 oz. (200g) polenta
1 tbsp. butter
salt, pepper
2–3 tbsp. grated Grana Padano
some grated Grana Padano for serving
some chopped parsley
Instructions
1. Start the evening before and let the white beans soak in water for about 12 hours. The next day cook the beans in enough water for about 60 minutes. Drain and let cool down.
2. Heat up a large pot or dutch oven with some olive oil. Add the diced bacon and fry until crisp. Add the onions and sauté until soft and glossy – about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute or so – stir often so nothing burns. Remove the casings from the sausages and crumble the pork filling. Add to the pot and fry until nicely browned. Takes about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir in. Let cook for another minute or so. Deglaze with the beef stock and chunky tomatoes. Add the oregano, basil, and bay leaf. Season with some salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat a bit and let the ragù simmer for about 45 minutes – stir from time to time. Add the cooked beans for the last 5 minutes of the cooking time so they can heat up in the ragù. Remove the bay leaf when ready to serve.
3. While the ragù is cooking prepare the polenta. Add the water with some salt to a small pot and heat up. As soon as you can see bubbles coming up in the water, reduce the heat and stir in the polenta. Let cook gently for 1 minute while stirring constantly, then remove from the heat. Add the butter and stir in, then let the polenta soak for about 8 minutes. If the polenta seems too thick, add a bit of hot water – you want a thick and spreadable consistency. Stir in the grated cheese.
4. Divide the polenta between serving bowls, add some of the ragù and sprinkle with some grated Grana Padano and chopped parsley.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
