• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Savory Tooth

Simple Tasty Recipes

  • Home
  • Recipes By Course
    • Mains: Poultry
    • Mains: Beef
    • Mains: Pork
    • Mains: Seafood
    • Mains: Lamb
    • Mains: Vegetable
    • Appetizers
    • Sides
    • Desserts
    • Breakfast
    • Salads and Dressings
    • Soups
    • Drinks
    • Snacks
    • Sauces and Dips
  • Recipe Collections
    • Instant Pot
    • Low Carb
    • Beef Dishes
    • Chicken Dinners

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu Rigatoni

Updated Aug 3, 2023Published Jul 24, 2017 By Julia 3 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.

Summary:
This ragu pasta is made using shredded beef after hours of cooking, paired with rigatoni pasta.
Here's a recipe that really makes the slow cooker shine: deliciously tender shredded beef ragu sauce paired with rigatoni pasta.

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu Rigatoni

3.5 from 2 votes
PRINT PIN EMAIL
Prep: 30 minutes mins
Cook: 6 hours hrs
Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat chopped into 1-2 inch chunks
  • 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 8 ounces rigatoni pasta
  • 1 cup diced onions about 1/2 onion
  • 1/2 cup sliced carrots about 1 carrot
  • 1 cup beef stock
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For serving:

  • grated parmesan cheese
  • chopped fresh parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Add beef broth to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add beef chunks in a single layer, and sprinkle salt and thyme over the beef. Drizzle balsamic vinegar on top.
  • Evenly distribute carrots and onions over the beef. Pour can of crushed tomatoes on top.
  • Cover and cook on high for 5 hours. Uncover and transfer the beef to a plate, leaving everything else including the liquid in the slow cooker. Use 2 forks to shred the beef.
  • Add rigatoni pasta to the slow cooker, stirring with the liquid. The rigatoni should be completely submerged. Evenly distribute the shredded beef on top of the rigatoni, patting it down to make contact with the liquid.
  • Cover and cook on high for 45 minutes. Uncover and taste the rigatoni for doneness. If not tender yet, stir and cook on high for another 30 minutes or until cooked through.
  • Stir and serve hot. Top with grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

NUTRITION

581 kcal/serving

PHOTOS

Here's a recipe that really makes the slow cooker shine: deliciously tender shredded beef ragu sauce paired with rigatoni pasta.
Here's a recipe that really makes the slow cooker shine: deliciously tender shredded beef ragu sauce paired with rigatoni pasta.
Here's a recipe that really makes the slow cooker shine: deliciously tender shredded beef ragu sauce paired with rigatoni pasta.
Here's a recipe that really makes the slow cooker shine: deliciously tender shredded beef ragu sauce paired with rigatoni pasta.
Here's a recipe that really makes the slow cooker shine: deliciously tender shredded beef ragu sauce paired with rigatoni pasta.

NOTES & TIPS


One-Pot Recipe. This recipe is different from your typical ragu recipe because everything cooks in one pot — the slow cooker. This includes the rigatoni pasta, which means you don’t need to use a separate pot to boil water for cooking the pasta. The rigatoni is added during the last steps of the recipe, and because it’s cooked in the slow cooker, it has the soft and tender texture of baked pasta. It takes my slow cooker about 45 minutes to cook the rigatoni to my preferred doneness. Optionally, you can cook your pasta separately by boiling it in a separate pot. If you do so, you should add less beef stock to the slow cooker (1/2 cup only). After the pasta is cooked, stir it with the beef ragu sauce in the slow cooker so that the pasta can absorb the sauce.
Beef. Almost any cut of beef will work for this recipe since it’s slow cooked for hours. I prefer leaner cuts with the fat trimmed, and boneless. I recommend using beef stew meat or flank steak. There’s no need to use any expensive cut of beef since it’s going to be slow cooked until it’s practically falling apart. This is where you can use a budget cut of beef and it will taste great regardless.
Pasta. The recipe’s liquid amounts and cooking estimates are for rigatoni pasta. You can certainly substitute with your favorite kind of pasta — pappardelle is a common choice for ragus like this — but you will need to make other adjustments to the recipe accordingly. Depending on what you use, you may need to cook for longer or shorter periods of time until the pasta is tender and you may need to add more liquid if the slow cooker gets too dry.

More Mains: Beef

meatballs with sauce on black plate

Meatballs With Creamy Marinara Sauce

close up view of asian lettuce wrap

Asian Lettuce Wraps

close up view of beef and broccoli

Instant Pot Beef And Broccoli

ground beef picadillo in white bowl

Ground Beef Picadillo

Filed Under: Mains: Beef, Per Serving: More Than 10g Net Carbs Tagged With: beef stew meat, carrot, crushed tomatoes, fall, onion, rigatoni, slow cooker, thyme, winter

About Julia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth, and lives in California. Since 2015, she has been sharing simple recipes for tasty dishes in a user-friendly format. She typically prefers savory foods over sweet, hence the name of the site.

Previous Post: « Huevos Rancheros
Next Post: Crispy Lemon Breakfast Potatoes »
4000
Did you make this? Rate this recipe:




4000
Did you make this? Rate this recipe:




newest oldest most voted
April Walker

My rigatoni fell apart in the crock pot. What would you suggest to prevent this from happening?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
Julia

I suggest cooking the pasta separately by boiling it in a pot. If you do so, you should add less beef stock to the slow cooker (1/2 cup only). After the pasta is cooked, stir it with the beef ragu sauce in the slow cooker so that the pasta can absorb the sauce.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago
Jenny

Delicious! Drooling here.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
5 years ago

Primary Sidebar

Trending Recipes This Month:

pan seared swordfish served on a plate

Pan-Seared Swordfish

close up view of microwaved artichoke served on plate

Microwaving Artichokes

chicken adobo with onions served on plate

Instant Pot Chicken Adobo

stirring cabbage and ground beef in skillet

Ground Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry

fried cabbage and potatoes served in white bowl

Fried Cabbage and Potatoes with Bacon

Footer

About

Terms And Conditions
Privacy Policy

Search

Copyright © 2015–2023 · Savory Tooth

MENU
  • Home
  • Recipes By Course
    • Mains: Poultry
    • Mains: Beef
    • Mains: Pork
    • Mains: Seafood
    • Mains: Lamb
    • Mains: Vegetable
    • Appetizers
    • Sides
    • Desserts
    • Breakfast
    • Salads and Dressings
    • Soups
    • Drinks
    • Snacks
    • Sauces and Dips
  • Recipe Collections
    • Instant Pot
    • Low Carb
    • Beef Dishes
    • Chicken Dinners