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 dinner party.
This scalable Braciole recipe requires very little active preparation time, and is a perfect dinner to serve for a special occasion.
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.
Next you create a mixture of cheese, garlic, and breadcrumbs. I like to use a blend of Parmesan and provolone.
The cheese and breadcrumb mixture gets spread over the steak.
Then you roll up the steak and tie it up with butcher’s twine.
The meat is quickly browned before being cooked low and slow in a pool of tomato sauce.
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.
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.
If you have a large dutch oven you could even cook two bracioles together.
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.
Sometimes I serve Braciole with roasted potatoes and asparagus.
Most recently I served it with baked penne in tomato sauce and creamy spinach.
And for dessert… I made an angel food cake with a light whipped chocolate frosting – it one of my all-time favorite desserts!
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:
This is my Mom’s recipe for Braciole – it is made with a red wine sauce instead of being cooked in tomato sauce.
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:
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. 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.Braciole with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
Julia Bethune
Wednesday 13th of September 2023
I love braciole! Used to be able to get it at Italian restaurants, but it is very hard to find now, and if you can it is made with pork. I have made this recipe and it is really good. I have used butch cut sirloin sandwich steaks and they work perfectly. I do like to put a piece of prosciutto or bacon inside too.
Ann
Sunday 10th of September 2023
My grandma made this when I was growing up. Except she put raisins and hard boiled egg in it. I did the raisins but next time I will also do the egg. It's cooking as I write. Also made your homemade sauce today. But 2pds of cherry tomatoes is definitely not enough ro make a lot of sauce. Will use more tomatoes next time. Thanks
Ella
Friday 28th of July 2023
When I was a kid my best friend’s grandmother made a version with egg in the filling. I have never found a recipe that does this. Any ideas?
Kit
Sunday 30th of July 2023
My best advice is that this recipe might be in an old cookbook - maybe check your local library!
Kath Shultz
Tuesday 25th of July 2023
Can I do this in a crock pot? I don't have time to baste every 30 minutes.
Kit
Wednesday 26th of July 2023
I think it would work!
Ellen
Thursday 29th of June 2023
I first had it made by my husbands step father. He was Italian and lived on “the Hill” in St Louis, Missouri. This is the first time I’m trying it. Thanks. I also saw the episode but knew how good it could be.