How to Make Braciole - An Easy Braciole Recipe for a Special Dinner (2024)

Braciole is a recipe that is perfect for a special occasion that only requires 20 minutes of active preparation time. Flank Steak is topped with cheese, herbs, and breadcrumbs, seared, and then roasted in tomato sauce. Let this recipe for Braciole with tomato sauce be your secret weapon for hosting a dinnerparty.

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This scalable Braciole recipe requires very little active preparation time, and is a perfect dinner to serve for a special occasion.

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Braciole is an Italian meat dish that consists of thin flank steak rolled up with cheese, herbs, and breadcrumbs. The first step to prepare braciole with a tomato sauce is to pound the meat out until it is very thin.

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Next you create a mixture of cheese, garlic, and breadcrumbs. I like to use a blend of Parmesan and provolone.

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The cheese and breadcrumb mixture gets spread over the steak.

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Then you roll up the steak and tie it up with butcher’s twine.

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The meat is quickly browned before being cooked low and slow in a pool of tomato sauce.

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The result is slices of tender beef with swirls of cheese, herbs, and breadcrumbs. It’s easy and elegant, and sure to impress your dinner guests.

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The active preparation time for this recipe is just 20 minutes, and you can easily increase the number of portions by purchasing a larger steak. I love recipes that can be scaled without any extra effort.

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If you have a large dutch oven you could even cook two bracioles together.

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I like to use my roasted tomato sauce in this recipe. It is my go-to tomato sauce recipe. It is made my pureeing roasted cherry tomatoes and has a really fresh taste.

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Sometimes I serve Braciole with roasted potatoes and asparagus.

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Most recently I served it with baked penne in tomato sauce and creamy spinach.

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And for dessert… I made an angel food cake with a light whipped chocolate frosting – it one of my all-time favorite desserts!

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This is one of my favorite meals to serve at a dinner party – the prep work can all be done in advance before guests arrive.

Before we get to the recipe – want some more recipes for a special dinner? Here are some options:

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This is my Mom’s recipe for Braciole – it is made with a red wine sauce instead of being cooked in tomato sauce.

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I love this Classic Chicken Marsala recipe and it tastes even better then it is made a day ahead of time.

How to make Braciole with Tomato Sauce:

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Braciole with Tomato Sauce

Yield: 2-3 servings

Active Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Braciole is a recipe that is perfect for a special occasion that only requires 20 minutes of active preparation time. Flank Steak is topped with cheese, herbs, and breadcrumbs, seared, and then roasted in tomato sauce. Let this recipe be your secret weapon for hosting a dinner party.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb - 1.25lb Flank Steak
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/3 cup grated Provolone
  • 1/3 cup Italian Breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian Parsley
  • 2 cloves pressed or finely chopped garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Butter
  • 1 cup White Wine
  • 3 cups Tomato Sauce
  • *Butchers Twine

Instructions

First heat your oven to 300 degrees.

Then get started by pounding the flank steak to make it thinner. Pound it for about a minute getting it as thin as possible. Then dust both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the Parmesan, Provolone, breadcrumbs, parsley, and garlic together in a bowl. Then spread them out evenly on the top of the flank steak.

Next roll up the steak, and tie it closed with 3-4 pieces of butcher's twine. Tie the twine tightly so that the filling won't fall out of the steak as it cooks.

Then melt the butter in a dutch oven over medium high heat, and brown the steak on all sides. This will take about 8 minutes total, turning the steak every 2 minutes.

Once the steak has been browned, add the white wine, and bring to a bubble. Then pour the tomato sauce over the steak, and cover it with a lid, and place it in the oven.

Roast the steak at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours, basting the steak every 30 minutes, by spooning the tomato sauce over it.

After 90 minutes, pull the dutch oven out of the oven, and let the braciole rest for 10 minutes before slicing it. Remove the butcher's twine as you slice. Serve immediately after slicing, spooning some of the tomato sauce on top.

Did you make this recipe?

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Inspired by Giada de Laurentiis

How to Make Braciole - An Easy Braciole Recipe for a Special Dinner (18)
How to Make Braciole - An Easy Braciole Recipe for a Special Dinner (19)
How to Make Braciole - An Easy Braciole Recipe for a Special Dinner (2024)

FAQs

What cut of meat is best for braciole? ›

To make the braciole, you'll need flank steak that has been butterflied and pounded until it is 1/4-inch thick for the base of the braciole. First, layer the steak with prosciutto, then top it with the toasted panko (toasting the breadcrumbs first means they will absorb the flavor of the roll and sauce).

What does braciole mean in Italian? ›

Etymology. Italian, literally, slice of meat roasted over coals, from brace live coals, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Swedish brasa fire.

Why is my braciole tough? ›

Further, if you haven't pounded the meat thin enough, it can still be tough after cooking, so make sure to pound it to an even, thin slice. Lastly, the cooking time matters, as if you cook it too short it can be tough, so make sure to cook it slow and prolonged to get a more tender result.

What cut of meat is braciole made from in the oven? ›

The other common way to make braciole is to use the top round cut of beef, which is a little less expensive than flank steak. Instead of being prepared as one long, thin roast, top round is sliced and pounded into multiple smaller steaks that are then rolled into individual bundles.

Which cut of meat is more tender? ›

The most tender of all cuts of beef, tenderloin steaks are lean and known for their delicate, butter-like texture and thick cut. These mouthwatering steaks are so tender they can be “cut with a butter knife.” Tenderloin steaks are commonly known as filets or filet mignon.

What is the national dish of Italy? ›

Answer and Explanation: The national food of Italy is a pasta dish that is called Ragu alla Bolognese, which is a Bolognese sauce of meat and tomatoes with tagliatelle pasta. The dish is also sometimes just called Bolognese, because the sauce has become so popular that it is often identified as the meal itself.

What does Pica mean in Italian? ›

Italian: nickname for a gossipy or garrulous person from the central-southern Italian word pica 'magpie'.

What is the hardest Italian food to make? ›

Pasta alla carbonara! If the mixture of egg yolk and grated cheese is to thick it will be difficult to coat the pasta evenly, if it's too thin one risks cooking the eggs to a mess of scramble eggs and cheese. If the guanciale is cooked for too long it will be too crispy or even hard as bullets.

Does cooking tough meat longer make it tender? ›

Depending on the cut of meat you're dealing with, taking most quick-cooking steaks (sirloin for example) to medium (or 140ºF) is a good bet. The exception to this rule is tougher cuts of meat like brisket that need to be cooked longer to become tender.

What is the number 1 Italian dish? ›

Pizza. Besides pasta, pizza is perhaps the most popular and recognized Italian food. Pizza is considered a national symbol representing Italy to the rest of the world, so much so that UNESCO has acknowledged pizza as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

What popular Italian dish should not be cut? ›

Always before the boiling. Please, never cut your spaghetti in your plate with a knife in front of an Italian. There are also traditional Neapolitan and Sicilian dishes that require the spaghetti to be previously broken. For example, the Neapolitan pasta with provola cheese and potatoes.

What's the best kind of meat to use for Italian beef? ›

The cut of beef used for Italian beef is typically chuck. The beef is slow cooked until fall-apart tender, then piled high in a hoagie bun with some of the meat's tasty, sloppy cooking juices.

What cuts of meat are best for Italian beef? ›

Italian Beef is chuck roast (the cut of meat used for pot roast) that is slowly cooked with savory Italian spices until it is soft and tender and easily shredded with a fork. To create the iconic sandwich, soft hoagie rolls are filled with this shredded meat, and then topped with sliced provolone and pickled peppers.

What is thinly sliced Italian meat? ›

Capicola, commonly known as capocollo in Italy, is a classic cured meat made from pork neck or shoulder, with paprika, spices, and herbs. It is also dry-cured, very thinly sliced, and commonly served as an appetizer or snack.

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