I made Ina Garten's easy weeknight Bolognese pasta. The delicious dish was ready in 30 minutes.

Ina Garten's Bolognese is the perfect weeknight dinner. Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Ina Garten has always been my go-to for pasta. I've tried so many of her recipes that I've even ranked them.One of my all-time favorites is her weeknight Bolognese, which can easily be adapted with whatever's in your fridge or pantry.The rich and comforting dish was exactly what I needed after a long workday. Better yet? It only took 30 minutes. Garten's weeknight Bolognese includes orecchiette, ground sirloin, and dry red wine. Ingredients for Garten's weeknight Bolognese pasta. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider To make Garten's weeknight Bolognese for 4-5 people, you'll need:1 pound of dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells1 pound of lean ground sirloin1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes1 ¼ cups of dry red wine, divided¼ cup of heavy cream¼ cup of chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed4 cloves of minced garlic2 tablespoons of tomato paste1 tablespoon of dried oregano¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes¼ teaspoon of nutmegFreshly grated Parmesan cheeseWhen it comes to the canned tomatoes, Garten strongly recommends using the San Marzano variety. The "Barefoot Contessa" star is not a fan of plain canned tomatoes. But Garten does allow for other adjustments — this recipe is meant to be pantry-friendly!You can substitute the sirloin for any ground meat or chopped mushrooms. Garten says it's also fine to "use any dried pasta that you like" for this dish, and that it's OK to skip the cream and basil if you don't have any on hand. Before I started making the Bolognese sauce, I needed to do a little prep. You'll need 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves for Garten's recipe. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I minced my garlic and chopped my basil. Then I began cooking the ground sirloin. I used a wooden spoon to crumble my ground sirloin. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I heated 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and added my meat.I used a wooden spoon to crumble the meat, stirring it occasionally. Garten's recipe recommends cooking the meat for five to seven minutes, until it's no longer pink. After the meat had fully browned, I added my seasonings. Seasoning the browned meat. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I threw in my minced garlic, along with the dried oregano and red pepper flakes. It was time for some wine! Adding the red wine. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I let the meat cook for one minute, then I poured a cup of red wine into the skillet. Garten's recipe specifies using a dry red wine, so I went with a pinot noir.After pouring the wine, I used my wooden spoon to stir everything together. Then I added my San Marzano tomatoes and tomato paste. Garten's recipe calls for a whole can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I couldn't find crushed San Marzano tomatoes at my local supermarket, so I had to get peeled ones instead. I ran the tomatoes through a food processor before I threw them into the pan, but you could easily use your hands to crush them up.After adding the tomato paste, I seasoned everything with salt and freshly ground black pepper. I gave everything a good stir, then brought my sauce to a boil. As my sauce simmered, I brought a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Once it began to bubble, I lowered the heat and allowed the pan to simmer for 10 minutes while I got a separate pot of water going for my pasta. (Don't forget to add salt!) As the noodles cooked, I put the finishing touches on my sauce. My Bolognese sauce looked beautiful. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I added fresh basil leaves, along with nutmeg and heavy cream. The sauce smelled delicious and had turned into a comforting, deep-red color. The sauce filled my kitchen with an incredible smell. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider And after 10 minutes, my pasta was al dente and ready to go. I transferred the pasta shells to my sauce using a slotted spoon. My pasta cooked in about 10 minutes. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Per Garten's instructions, I made sure to save the pasta water. I added another ¼ cup of the red wine and a few spoonfuls of my pasta water to the pan. The more wine, the better! Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Dinner was almost served! Garten's pasta looked glorious — and it tasted great too. Garten's weeknight Bolognese lived up to my high expectations. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider The "Barefoot Contessa" star has a knack for giving classic recipes a new twist, and her weeknight Bolognese is no exception. The pasta shells are the perfect vehicle for her sauce, delivering its rich and delicious flavor with every bite. The nutmeg in the Bolognese nicely balances the kick from the red pepper flakes, and the freshly grated Parmesan cheese I added on top melted beautifully into the warm sauce.My family, who helped me test the recipe, only had rave reviews."It's a very meaty, very hearty pasta," my dad said. "Perfect.""I really enjoy how the pasta holds onto the sauce," my sister added. "With every spoonful, you get a good amount of meat and a good amount of pasta."I'll definitely be adding Garten's weeknight Bolognese (along with her five-cheese penne pasta) to my comfort-food repertoire. Read next Anneta Konstantinides is a lifestyle correspondent at Business Insider, with a focus on food and travel. She loves taking readers inside Michelin-starred kitchens and exploring the world of fine-dining, and she's always trying to find the best Ina Garten and Gordon Ramsay recipes. Her second home is LAX, where she's often catching a flight and reviewing airlines.Anneta has also been reporting on the pageant industry for the last six years and has interviewed every Miss USA and Miss Universe winner since 2019. She was a finalist at the LA Press Club Awards for her investigation into the 2022 Miss USA scandal and was featured in The New York Times Presents episode "How to Fix a Pageant" on Hulu in September 2023. After graduating from UCLA with a B.A in English Literature and a minor in film & television, Anneta worked as a journalist in London, Sydney, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. You can reach Anneta at akonstantinides@businessinsider.com. Ina Garten Pasta Food More