Slimming World's spaghetti Bolognese recipe

Slimming World's spaghetti Bolognese has all the flavour but it's balanced and healthy with a good portion of vegetables in it.

It uses lean mince beef - 5% fat or less - to keep the calorie count down, plus it's bulked out with carrots, celery, mushrooms and onion. If you're keep to make your dish go further without spending too much extra, add in more veggies. They will soak up the flavour from the stock and tomato purée so the whole dish will still taste great. And use a fresh bay leaf if you can - the aroma is much better than from a dried leaf.

Ingredients

• 500g lean beef mince (5% fat or less)
• 1 onion, very finely chopped
• 8 rashers of back bacon (all visible fat removed), finely chopped
• 4 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, very finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 200g button mushrooms, finely diced
• 500ml beef stock 
• 400g can chopped plum tomatoes
• 6 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 375g dried spaghetti
• A handful of fresh oregano, to garnish

Method

1. Place the mince in a large heavy-based pan with the onion, bacon, celery, carrots and garlic. Dry-fry over a medium heat, stirring from time to time, for 8-10 minutes to brown the mince and lightly colour the veg.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the stock, tomatoes, tomato purée, bay leaf and dried oregano. Season well, stir and bring to the boil, then simmer very gently for 30-40 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
3. Increase the heat to medium and let the sauce bubble for a further 10 minutes, or until rich and thick. Stir regularly so it doesn’t stick.
4. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the pack instructions. Drain well and divide between warmed bowls. Top with the Bolognese (removing the bay leaf), garnish with the oregano and serve.  Recipe courtesy of Slimming World (opens in new tab)

Top tips for making Slimming World's spaghetti Bolognese

Any leftovers can be frozen until needed. Leave to defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating thoroughly.

If you don’t have spaghetti, you could opt for other pasta instead. Choose brown or wholewheat pasta over white as it's a much healthier option.

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