After reading about stirring Bolognese sauce through pasta to save money, I wondered if there were any "obvious" tips I could use?

[RhubarbThumb]

The thread advised you'd use less meat if you stir the sauce through the pasta and then serve. I did this yesterday and it used maybe half as much meat, maybe less, we still enjoyed our dinner.

I pad out mince dishes with red lentils, as my tip.

Also, make pizza at home with dough from yoghurt and flour, and then minimal toppings, but increase things like spinach in there.

Anything else?

Add dumplings or cobbler (scones) to casseroles and stews to make them more filling.

To use up leftover bread, make Queen of Puddings or Poor Knights of Windsor or treacle tart as a change from bread & butter pudding.

Another use for left over bread is to whizz into breadcrumbs and freeze. When you make a dish topped with grated cheese add breadcrumbs and you can cut back on the cheese.

If you have half of the bolognese sauce left then pad it out with a tin of haricot beans to make a cottage pie. Two meals from the mince instead of one.

Pearl barley is good for bulking stews and I often add a tin of beans to a chilli beef casserole.

Ah, yes, my mum would put pulses in stews, thanks for the reminder 🙏

@RhubarbThumb we've always used variations on Jamie Oliver's "secret vegetable" sauce when making bolognese,not because it costs less (though it does), but because its healthier: https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables/secret-veg-sauce

Cheap stuffing - the type that comes in a packet and you add water to - makes a cheap and filling topper for mince/casserole type things as well.

@RhubarbThumb "The thread advised you'd use less meat if you stir the sauce through the pasta and then serve"

Sorry-not the point, I know, but instead of doing what?

Why pad out mince with lentils? Just use lentils (brown or green) instead. They make a good cottage pie!

I'm a bit confused
You are meant to stir the sauce and pasta together
Do you serve in separate dishes?

I was on that thread I think it's meant to be instead of the dollop method

(I'm a dolloper)

Do you not stir your pasta sauce into your pasta? How are you using less meat? Very confusing!

We mix half through the pasta and then the rest goes on top as a dollop!

This is a picture of the classic way for British people to serve spaghetti bolognese.

Oh! The best way to do it is to lift the pasta out of the water with a slotted spoon and stir it into the sauce. That way you get some of the pasta water too-it loosens the sauce.

And any leftovers freeze really well if you do it that way.

Mixing the ragu through the pasta before serving is the American style of serving, right?

I always serve spaghetti with the ragu on top personally.

I'm not sure how either method would use more/less meat though? 🤔

I also wondered what on earth you were supposed to do with a pasta sauce if NOT stir it through...!

I've always stirred it through so the sauce coats the pasta , add tons of parmesan and basil then serve
Add more parmesan at the table

I do that with all pasta dishes

Forget to say I'm not American

That's what I was thinking.

Add pearl barley to stews, double the amount of veg too.

Make a curry with just a small of lamb, can of chickpeas, some butternut squash and frozen spinach

How exactly does doing this use less meat if you've already made it? I'm so confused.

I mean, another obvious tip is not to buy meat. As others have said, lentils and pulses make great pasta sauces and shepherd's pies, plus there are lots of delicious curries and stews etc that are meat-free. South Indian cooking is largely meat-free and so, so tasty.

I imagine that you either make less in the first place because you know that you need less to create the same number of portions, or you serve some and freeze the rest for subsequent meals.

Also, why do people keep asking about the alternative to stirring it through when I have already posted a picture upthread?

Anyway moving on...
My top tips are to always stretch a meal to placing a small serving into a takeaway box and freezing.
I take these into work for lunch
No-one notices

Toad in the hole is a good way to fill up plus lots of veg carrots and cabbage are cheap

Tray bakes
Chicken thighs, potato, onions pepper , season and toss in oil, herbs etc

Surely I'd just add all my meaty sauce to my spaghetti though? Is it that it just looks more of you do it that way? Otherwise I'm going to be hungry if I'm using less to just look like more

But you must be familiar with the way the meal is served in the photo.
Saving money obviously isn't a need for you but is for lots of people