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This Leftover Pulled Pork Ragu is the perfect way to use up leftovers and turn it into something truly special. A ragu that’s ready from start to finish in just 40 minutes and tastes incredible. Toss with your favorite pasta and serve with crusty bread.
Wanna know how this ragu tastes like it’s been simmering for hours but takes just 40 minutes? Use the most delicious leftover pulled pork that’s been slow cooked for 10 hours (which btw only requires 10 minutes prep time).
Leftover pulled pork will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can also be frozen (as can this ragu) so it’s the perfect way to be cost-effective and get 2-3 meals out of one piece of meat PLUS have the most delicious tasting meals.
This ragu is SO rich and intense in flavour but is made with only a few simple ingredients. Whaaat? No catches, nothing bottled, nothing jarred there are just a few simple but important steps to follow for the very best results every single time.
How to Make a Simple Sauce with Incredible Flavour
- Soffrito – soffrito is finely chopped carrot, celery and onion that’s slowly cooked until softened and just starting to brown. Now THIS is a really important step that creates a great depth of flavour to the sauce. Don’t be tempted to rush it or you won’t see the benefits.
- High-quality tomatoes – I’ve said this so many times because it’s SO important if you use cheap tomatoes your sauce will likely be bland and acidic tasting. This is my favourite brand that I use all the time and always gives the most delicious flavour.
- Using passata/sieved tomatoes – passata is much more concentrated than canned chopped tomatoes so it’s an easy way to get a rich tomato sauce, fast!
How to Make Leftover Pulled Pork Ragu – Step By Step
Heat olive oil in a large pan and add the diced carrot, celery and onion, cook until soft and translucent, around 10 to 15 mins (photo 1).
Then add the red wine and reduce by half or until the smell of wine has disappeared (photo 2 & 3).
Add the tomato paste, passata (pureed tomatoes) and 1 cup of water rinsed out from the passata can or jar, stir. Simmer the sauce down on a medium heat for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Once the sauce has reduced add the leftover pulled pork to the sauce and leave on the heat for another 5 minutes until heated through then add cooked pasta and toss to coat (photo 7 & 8).
Top Tips for Making Leftover Pulled Pork Ragu
- Make sure to slowly cook the soffrito until soft and translucent on medium heat (don’t turn up the heat, see the video and step by step photos for reference)
- Make sure to reduce the wine down for extra flavour.
- Use pureed tomatoes for rich flavour fast.
- You can use any pasta shape for this recipe, I love using a long shape such as bucatini or pappardelle.
- I used 300g (2 cups) of leftover pulled pork but you could also get away with less if you don’t have as much.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
- Leftover pulled pork ragu can be stored in the fridge or freezer (without the cooked pasta). To reheat from frozen make sure to defrost it completely then reheat on the stove until piping hot all the way through. You may need to add a splash of water to help loosen the sauce.
More Ragu Recipes You Might Like:
- Venetian Duck Ragu with Pappardelle
- Easy Sausage Ragu With Ricotta Gnocchi
- Italian Beef Ragu – A Classic Recipe
- Lentil Ragu Lasagne
If you’ve tried this Leftover Pulled Pork Ragu or any other recipe on the blog please let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW MEon FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.
Step By Step Photos Above
Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!
Leftover Pulled Pork Ragu
Ingredients
- 1 Carrot , finely diced (1/2 cup)
- 1 Celery , finely diced (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 Onion , finely diced (1/2 cup)
- 2 cups Leftover Pulled Pork, chopped (300g)
- 1/2 cup Red wine, (125ml)
- 2 cups Passata (sieved tomatoes), (500g )
- 1 Tbsp Tomato paste
- 1.5 cups Water, (375ml)
- 14 oz Bucatini or long pasta of choice , (400g)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente (according to packet instructions). Heat olive oil in a large pan and add the diced carrot, celery, and onion, cook until soft and translucent, around 10 to 15 mins.
- Then add the red wine and reduce by half or until the smell of wine has disappeared.
- Add the tomato paste, passata (pureed tomatoes) and 1 cup of water rinsed out from the passata can or jar, stir. Simmer the sauce down on a medium heat for another 10 to 15 minutes
- Once the sauce has reduced add the leftover pulled pork to the sauce and leave on the heat for another 5 minutes until heated through then add cooked pasta and toss to coat.
Video
Notes
- Soffrito - soffrito is finely chopped carrot, celery and onion that's slowly cooked until softened and just starting to brown. Now THIS is a really important step that creates a great depth of flavour to the sauce. Don't be tempted to rush it or you won't see the benefits.
- High-quality tomatoes - I've said this so many times because it's SO important if you use cheap tomatoes your sauce will likely be bland and acidic tasting. This is my favourite brand that I use all the time and always gives the most delicious flavour.
- Using passata/sieved tomatoes - passata is much more concentrated than canned chopped tomatoes so it's an easy way to get a rich tomato sauce, fast!
Extra Tips
- Make sure to slowly cook the soffrito until soften on medium heat (don't turn up the heat, see the video and step by step photos for reference)
- Make sure to reduce the wine down for extra flavour.
- Use pureed tomatoes for rich flavour fast.
- Make sure to roughly chop the pulled pork before adding to the sauce.
- You can use any pasta shape for this recipe, I love using a long shape such as bucatini or pappardelle.
- I used 300g (2 cups) of leftover pulled pork but you could also get away with less if you don't have as much.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
- Leftover pulled pork ragu can be stored in the fridge or freezer (without the cooked pasta). To reheat from frozen make sure to defrost it completely then reheat on the stove until piping hot all the way through. You may need to add a splash of water to help loosen the sauce.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I want to make this but red wine isn’t a product I would ever buy. Is there something else I can use? Thanks in advance.
Hi Ellen, you can just leave out the wine 🙂