Jamie Oliver Cheesy Bolognese Buns

Jamie Oliver’s cheesy Bolognese buns are hollowed crusty rolls rubbed with garlic, baked with melting Camembert inside, then loaded with rich Bolognese. It’s a 16-minute way to use batch-cooked ragù, and it serves 4.

In Simply Jamie (2024) this is his reimagined burger, using thick Bolognese as the filling instead of a patty. It’s built to use his batch-cooked A Better Bolognese, turning last night’s ragù into something that feels brand new rather than reheated leftovers.

The clever bit is melting the Camembert inside the bun first. Baked into the hollowed, garlic-rubbed roll, the cheese soaks into the crumb and lines the bread before the sauce goes in. Nothing is wasted either, as the scooped-out middles crisp into croutons alongside.

Jamie Oliver Cheesy Bolognese Buns

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

6

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

429

kcal

Total time

16

minutes

Jamie’s 16-minute assembly from Simply Jamie: crusty buns rubbed with garlic, baked with melting Camembert, then loaded with rich batch-cooked Bolognese, the middles crisped into croutons. Serves four.

Ingredients

• 500g (1 lb 2 oz) A Better Bolognese

• 4 crusty bread buns

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 4 sprigs of thyme

• olive oil

• 100g (3½ oz) Camembert cheese

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Directions

• Reheat the sauce:Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Reheat the Bolognese in a pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally and loosening with a little water if needed.
• Hollow and rub:Slice the tops off the buns and set aside. Hollow out the soft middles with a small knife. Halve the garlic cloves and rub the cut sides around the inside of each bun. Sit the buns in a roasting tray, tear the soft middles around them, and lay the lids alongside.
• Season the tray:Finely slice the garlic and scatter it in and around the buns, strip in the thyme leaves, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Bake with cheese:Add a quarter of the Camembert to each bun and bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the buns are golden.
• Load up:Fill each bun with Bolognese and pop the lids on, using the crispy torn middles as croutons to mop up any excess.

Notes

• Note (air fryer): Prep as above, stripping the thyme into the garlic-rubbed buns before the cheese. Put the buns, soft middles and garlic in an air fryer at 180°C in a single layer, in batches if needed. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil and cook for 4 minutes, then load with Bolognese.

FAQs

Do I need Jamie’s “A Better Bolognese”, or will any do?

It’s designed around his batch-cooked A Better Bolognese, which is exactly the point: the buns are a way to reinvent a ragù you already made. But any good bolognese works, whether homemade or last night’s leftovers.

What matters is that it’s thick and well reduced, not loose and saucy, so it sits in the bun without turning the bread soggy. If yours is stiff from the fridge, reheat it and loosen with just a splash of water. A watery sauce is the one thing that lets this dish down.

Why melt the cheese inside the bun first?

Baking the Camembert inside the hollowed, garlic-rubbed roll lets it melt down into the crumb and line the inside of the bun before any sauce goes in. That waterproofs the bread a little and flavours it all the way through, rather than leaving a cold slice of cheese sitting on top.

It also gives the bun time to toast golden and crisp in the oven. By the time you load the hot Bolognese in, you’ve got a molten, cheesy, sturdy shell ready to hold it. Add the cheese generously, a quarter of the 100g per bun.

What are the scooped-out middles for?

Don’t throw them away, they’re half the fun. You tear the soft middles out and scatter them in the tray around the buns with the garlic, thyme and oil, so they bake into crisp, savoury croutons. It’s a neat piece of zero-waste cooking.

Once everything’s assembled, use those croutons to mop up any Bolognese that escapes the bun, or pile them on top. They soak up the sauce and add crunch against the soft filling. Many people rate them the best bit of the whole plate.

Why rub the buns with raw garlic?

Rubbing a halved raw garlic clove around the inside of each bun leaves a subtle, savoury garlic note baked right into the bread, much like a good garlic bread. It perfumes the crumb without being harsh.

Then the finely sliced garlic scattered in the tray roasts down sweet and mellow as the buns bake. Using garlic in two forms, raw-rubbed and roasted, gives you two different depths of flavour in one quick step. It’s a small touch that makes them taste considered.

Can I use the air fryer, or a different cheese?

The air fryer works well: prep as above and cook the buns at 180°C for 4 minutes, per the note. It crisps them fast if you don’t want to heat the oven for four rolls.

Camembert is ideal because it melts to an oozy, gooey pool, but Brie, mozzarella or a strong melting Cheddar all do the job. Just pick a good melter rather than a crumbly cheese. Stick to around 100g across the four buns so they’re cheesy without overflowing.

What do I serve with them, and is this good for leftovers?

A sharp green salad is all they need, cutting through the richness of the beef and cheese. These are hearty, so keep the sides light. A cold beer doesn’t hurt either.

This is one of the best ways to stretch a batch of Bolognese into a second, different meal, exactly the cook-once-eat-twice thinking behind secret veg sauce and his slow-cooked sichuan pepper beef brisket.