WW chilli beef pasta recipe

This chilli beef pasta is created by WW (formerly Weight Watchers) and it's a great alternative to a traditional beef spaghetti bolognese.

The sauce is so rich and delicious, you'd never know it was a healthy option. It contains extra lean beef mince, bulked up with low calorie veggies such as peppers and grated courgette. Although this is one of our healthy pasta recipes, it still uses a glass of wine in the sauce to give it an unmistakable richness. This recipe serves four. To serve two, cook half the amount of pasta and reserve half the sauce for another meal. The sauce will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. We find it tastes even better after a night in the fridge. It also freezes well.

Ingredients

• 300g extra-lean beef mince
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 
• 150ml wine 
• 350g passata 
• 1 medium yellow pepper, cut into chunks
• 1 courgette, grated
• 200g pasta, dried
• 25g pine nut kernels, lightly toasted 
• 1tsp basil, to garnish

Method

1. Heat a large saucepan or sauté pan and add the minced beef a handful at a time, cooking it for 3-4 mins until browned. Add the onion, garlic and chilli and cook for a further 2 mins.
2. Pour in the red wine and let it bubble up, then add the passata pepper. Stir well, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 mins, adding a splash of water if necessary. Season to taste.
3. When the sauce has been cooking for 10 mins, put the pasta on to cook in a large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water and cook for 8-10 mins, or according to pack instructions. Drain thoroughly and share between 4 warmed bowls or plates. Spoon the sauce on top and serve, sprinkled with the pine nuts and garnished with basil leaves.

Top tip for making WW chilli beef pasta

Used chopped tinned tomatoes in place of passata if you like a chunkier tomato sauce. You can add other vegetables too if you want it to go further. Chopped carrot and celery both work well.

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