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This Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Short Rib Pasta is best for cold winter nights. Slow-cooked short ribs or chicken braised in a rich, garlicky, red wine/tomato/bacon sauce. The beef is then shredded and tossed with your favorite cut of pasta. If there’s one cozy winter meal you need to be making, it’s this simple short rib pasta. It’s the simplest dinner to put together, but feels fancy, festive, and most importantly? It’s truly delicious. Serve this Sunday style pasta topped with plenty of parmesan cheese and a side of crusty bread. You’ll have the perfect dinner for a cold night-in with family. You can make this pasta easily in the slow cooker, instant pot, or on the stove-top. Do what works best for you!
You guys, I truly love the month of December, but especially this year. It’s so refreshing to feel all the excitement in the air. I’ve never put a ton of pressure on myself to make everything perfect for the holidays, though I try! Instead I just attempt to have a lot of fun creating and sharing the things I love most.
And for me, that also means really good family meals. With my family all very slowly beginning to arrive for Christmas over the next couple of weeks, I’m excited to spend some time with them. I want to take a minute to soak everything in and be thankful for all this year has had to offer. It’s been a crazy year, a scary year, and also an exciting year, all at the same time. But this year more than ever I’m so thankful to be doing what I love each and every day.
It has been go, go, go for months now, so I haven’t really had the chance to chill, and probably won’t anytime soon. But the point in all of this rambling? With my family arriving soon, and things as hectic as they are, I’m currently on the lookout for the easiest recipes. Recipes that I can throw together in the morning and simply serve up that night.
And even more importantly? These are simple recipes that I know everyone will really love and enjoy. Enter this slow cooker pasta.
The Inspiration.
If any of you own the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook, you may recall a recipe for Caroline’s Family’s pasta. Caroline is my cousin’s longtime girlfriend and soon to be wife. This recipe has been in their family for quite some time. It’s a very simple chicken and tomato-based pasta, but it’s a recipe that everyone loves.
I was thinking about their family recipe the other week. I then had the idea to create the sauce in the slow cooker. And instead of using chicken, to use heartier short ribs. Since the sauce already has red wine, the short ribs sounded like they could be a delicious pairing.
I don’t make short ribs all too often, but whenever I do it seems to be around the holidays. Something about short ribs over pasta just feels extra special, even fancy, but yet they are so simple! I slow-cooked these all day and a few hours into cooking, I knew this was going to be good.
The smells coming from the slow cooker were those perfect cozy smells you want on cold December days.
This Slow Cooker Pasta is Simple
This recipe starts with a little bacon, which I think is key to Caroline’s family’s sauce. The bacon adds a rich layer of flavor that really hooks everyone in right away.
Once the bacon has been crisped, sear the short ribs or you can use chicken too! Trust me, I know how much of a turn off this is in any slow cooker recipe. But searing the ribs or chicken will give you an even more tender, flavorful short rib every time. I know you might not want to dirty the pan or deal with grease splatter, but if you want your short ribs to be great, give them a nice sear before slowly braising them all day.
Once the bacon has been crisped and the short ribs seared, you pretty much just throw all remaining ingredients into the slow cooker and cook all day long. Low and slow is key with short ribs, so I recommend cooking the full six hours on low. Of course, if you’re short on time, you can also cook this using the instant pot. And if you don’t have a slow cooker or an instant pot? The stovetop is a great option too!
The major flavor for this pasta come from dry red wine, tomato paste, garlic, and allspice.
One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to slow braise short ribs or chicken in red wine. Normally I make this recipe with cranberries, but I LOVE this more Italian-style short rib.chicken pasta too. The tomato paste paired with the warming allspice is really key and infuses the sauce with flavor. It feels very fancy when tossed with pasta. It’s really one of the best, coziest meals I serve up during the winter.
As the sauce slowly cooks, the kitchen is filled with warming hearty scents leaving you very excited for dinner. Every bowl of pasta is just oh so slightly spicy, creamy, and has just the right amount of garlic and cheese.
It’s that so very good…stick to your bones, enjoy a second helping, kind of delicious.
To sum it up
Our temperatures have been dropping so low at night, so this was perfect. If you need something warm and hearty to serve on these days leading up to Christmas, I highly recommend these short ribs.
Or? Make this pasta a part of your Christmas Eve or Christmas night dinner menu. It’s fancy enough for both, but yet so easy!
You can even prepare the sauce way ahead of time, then just add the pasta before you’re ready to serve. Try serving alongside my Pull-Apart Garlic Butter Bread Wreath or Salted Butter Parker House Rolls. Add a simple Winter Pomegranate Salad into the mix and you’ll have the perfect holiday meal. It’s one of those pasta dishes that’s easily loved by all.
Looking for other good wintery dinners? Here are my favorites:
Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms and White Wine Cream Sauce
Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
Lastly, if you make this Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Short Rib Pasta be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Short Rib Pasta
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 788 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 4-5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, chicken breast, or thighs
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, chopped or grated
- 2 cups dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 parmesan rind, plus parmesan, for serving
- 1 pound dry pasta any cut
- fresh basil or parsley, for serving
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- 1. In the bowl of your slow cooker, combine the wine, 2 cups water, the tomato paste, onion, garlic, allspice, and bay leaves. Season heavily with salt and pepper. 2. Season the short ribs or chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from the skillet, drain excess grease. Add the bacon to the slow cooker. Going back to the same skillet, sear the ribs on both sides over medium-high heat. Transfer the ribs to the slow cooker. Gently toss everything to combine. Add the parmesan rind. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. 3. Just before serving, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain4. Remove the bay leaves and parmesan rind. Shred the meat, discard the bones, and toss the meat with the sauce. If needed, thin the sauce with pasta cooking water. Serve the sauce over pasta. Top with lots of parmesan and fresh basil. Enjoy!
Instant Pot
- 1. In the bowl of your Instant Pot, combine the wine, 2 cups water, the tomato paste, onion, garlic, allspice, and bay leaves. Season heavily with salt and pepper. 2. Season the short ribs or chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from the skillet, drain excess grease. Add the bacon to the Instant Pot. Going back to the same skillet, sear the ribs on both sides over medium-high heat. Transfer the ribs to the Instant Pot. Gently toss everything to combine. Add the parmesan rind. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes.3. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function. Finish as directed above from step 3 on.
Stove-Top
- 1. Season the short ribs or chicken with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon until crisp. Push the bacon to the side, add the ribs sear on both sides over medium-high heat. Drain off excess grease. 2. Add the in the wine, 2 cups water, the tomato paste, onion, garlic, allspice, and bay leaves. Season heavily with salt and pepper. Gently toss everything to combine. Add the parmesan rind. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, stirring every hour until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. If needed, add water throughout cooking to keep the ribs mostly covered. 3. Finish as directed above from step 3 on.
Hi, I made with chicken and cooked on high for about 6.5 hours. The sauce was very thin, it came out more like soup.
Hi Heather,
Thanks for giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear your sauce was so thin, next time I would try adding a cornstarch slurry to help thicken it up. I hope this helps! xx
I served this for dinner on NYE. Everyone loved the flavor but my sauce was very thin. I did add the two cups of water along with the wine. Any recommendations?
Hi Lori! I would maybe cook it a little bit longer if you’re wanting a thicker sauce!
The flavor is SO GOOD! However, the sauce was a little too thin, and didn’t coat the pasta…more like a broth consistency. Is that how it’s supposed to be? Any advice to thicken it so it feels more like a sauce? Thanks!
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
I absolutely love this meal! How would you change this recipe when using bone-less short rib?
Love to hear this Francesca! I would think you should just follow the recipe the same, if not just reduce the cook time slightly! I hope this helps! xx
Is it two onions or twelve? Its different in the US recipe vs the metric one.
It’s not the only thing changing, bay leaves and bacon also.
Looks yummy! I’d like to try this using chicken thighs. Would I use bone-in or boneless? I imagine the skin would not be a tasty addition for this dish.
Hi there! Yes, you definitely can! xT
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, for sure.
This had the right flavor but the sauce turned out more like a chili than a pasta sauce. The short rib didn’t shred as easily as expected after following the recipe for InstantPot but it was still really tasty! Well received by my family but as the cook I didn’t feel it hit the mark like other Half Baked recipes.
Hi Leanne! Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate it xT
Delicious family enjoyed with some Mac and cheese!
Hi Liz! Love to hear this! Thank you so so much! xT
Simply amazing!! Your recipes never disappoint and this one was delicious! Did the stove stop method in my Dutch Oven and turned out so tender!
Hi Vanessa,
Happy Monday!!⛅️ Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it turned out well for you:)
Excited to make this. This looks amazing. Thoughts on cooking the short ribs via oven in a Dutch I’ve. versus stove-top? Does it change the flavor profile? Thank you!!
Great snow storm recipe! I substituted the short ribs for beef Chuck roast and it was delicious. Shredded nicely. Big hit with the family.
I also forgot to mention I cooked it all using my Instant Pot. Used sauté feature to cook bacon, brown meat and even soften onions. Then added it all back in and put on slow cooker for 8 hours. One pan! Easy!
Thanks for sharing what worked well for you!
Hi Laura,
Happy Wednesday!🌈 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner!
Hi! I made this last night and did it in the crock pot on low for about 7 hours. The ribs came off the bone pretty easily but the meat did not shred apart. I had to cut it with a knife and it almost seemed more like a steak consistency. Any thoughts on what I could have done wrong?
Hey Danielle,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback!! Hmm, did you use short ribs? They should be easily shreddable by the end of 7 hours on low. Let me know how I can help! xx
I made this in the slow cooker. It was absolutely delicious!!! Such great flavors that all blend together.
I froze some and used it two weeks later and it was as delicious as Day 1
Strongly recommend this as a family meal but would easily serve this for a dinner party. Thank you so much!!
Hey Jackie,
Wonderful! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your comment, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Hi Jackie! I was thinking of freezing some of the leftovers too, did you just put the sauce and meat together in a freezer bag? How did you warm it when it was time to eat? I’ve struggled in the past with freezing things as I find they never taste as good when I go to reheat and not sure what I’m doing wrong!
This looks fantastic! Could I cut the recipe in half if I’m only cooking for 2 people? Do the cook times stay the same?
Hey Olivia,
Totally!! Yes, I would keep the cooking times the same:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Decent recipe. I actually used beef country style ribs because the store was out of short ribs. Those came out good. To me, the wine flavor was just a bit too strong. Would be better with maybe a cup of wine and a cup of beef broth. I cooked it on high in my slow cooker for about 5 hours. Maybe cooking longer would’ve helped. I love all of your other recipes I have tried, though!!!
Hey Kaitlyn,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear you didn’t love it! xT
This has become a go-to dish for entertaining this winter! We just love it.
Hey Jen,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe so often and your comment, so glad to hear it is always enjoyed! xT
Made this twice now. Once on high for 6 and once on low for 8 and definitely recommend low and slow. The meat just falls off the bone and was delicious! Classic comfort dish and so easy!
Hey Jennifer,
Happy Friday!!⛄️ Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx