How to Make Braciole - An Easy Braciole Recipe for a Special Dinner (2025)

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?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

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 (2025)

FAQs

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

If you have never had braciole, it is basically thin flank steak stuffed with a bread crumb mixture and rolled up. It is browned on the stove and nestled in a big pot of tomato sauce.

What is the Italian dish braciole made of? ›

Braciole is an Italian-style roulade, a rolled and stuffed meat. It's also called involtini, or bruciuluni in Sicilian. The etymology of the word translates to a slice of meat rolled over coals. The meat — typically beef, veal, or pork — is pounded thin and stuffed with prosciutto, breadcrumbs, cheese, and herbs.

How to cut top round for braciole? ›

I recommend slicing a 2 lb top round roast into about 8 pieces. You'll pound the beef thin with a meat tenderizer to make it easy to roll around the breadcrumb filling. See below for alternative cuts of meat that would also work.

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 is the difference between braciole and involtini? ›

Reserve the term "braciole" for pork loins, large cuts of flank steak or turkey breasts - essentially, big cuts and roasts that get sliced up and served to many people. Involtini, however, is the name used for thin cutlets of meat that are most often served in individual portions.

Which cooking method is best for a cut of meat with a lot of marbling? ›

Barbecues and char grills are too hot and will cause the marbled fat to flame and melt away, resulting in a dry steak. Instead, cook in a non-stick pan over medium heat, without any added fats. The marbled fat will baste the meat from inside as it slowly melts, resulting in a great flavour.

What is a braciole in Italian slang? ›

“Braciol” is not an Italian word; it's an Italian-American slang catch all for all rolled things especially when long cooked in sauce.

What is the rarest Italian dish? ›

Su filindeu—literally “threads of God” in Sardo—is unfathomably intricate. It's made by only three women on Earth, all of whom live on Sardinia. And they make it only for the biannual Feast of San Francesco. It's been this way for the last 200 years.

What are the three main ingredients of Italian cooking? ›

Although some may debate that the holy trinity of Italian cuisine is really tomato, garlic, and basil, most do agree that the vegetable combination, or soffritto is more commonly used as the flavor base for many dishes.

How do you cook top round so tender? ›

You can also cook the steak in a skillet on the stovetop or with an electric grill pan. Slice the steak thinly against the grain, which shortens tough fibers and makes the meat more tender. Serve with garlic roasted potatoes and asparagus for a delicious meal.

How long to cook top of the round? ›

To start, roast the meat for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. After that, leave the roast in the oven and lower the temperature to 325 degrees. From here it will take about 1 hour to reach medium-rare. I've made both a 2 ½ pound and a 4 ½ pound roast, and I found they both took almost the same time.

What cut is top round? ›

Round cuts are from the section of the hind leg of beef that expands from rump to the ankle. The top round is on one of the six major sections in which round cuts can be divided. Its lies in the inside of the leg and is more tender than the sirloin tip, bottom round, and eye of the round.

Can I prep braciole the night before? ›

Make ahead: The uncooked braciole can be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight. This dish gets better with time. If you can, make it in the morning or the night before, refrigerate, and reheat when you're ready to serve.

What cut of beef is braciole made from? ›

Braciole is a hearty southern Italian dish involving thinly pounded top round steaks that are stuffed, rolled and simmered; traditional fillings vary by location. In Sicily, the filling might include raisins and pine nuts, while in Calabria, cheese and crispy pork are commonly used.

How do you make meat not rubbery? ›

8 simple tips to make meat softer
  1. Utilize the meat tenderizer. A quick and easy method is the use of the meat tenderizer. ...
  2. Cover the meat with coarse salt. ...
  3. Acid marinade. ...
  4. Marinade with fruit puree. ...
  5. Slow cooking in a pan. ...
  6. Grilling. ...
  7. Add the coarse salt halfway through cooking. ...
  8. Use baking soda.

What cut of meat is used for Capicola? ›

Capicola is a dry cured meat covered in spices. It comes from the coppa muscle and it's located between the head (capo) and includes the fourth or fifth rib of the pork shoulder (collo). Or for us folks in the U.S., you'll find it buried in a pork shoulder/butt. It's used for it's ratio of 30% fat and 70% lean meat.

What cut of meat is Italian beef made from? ›

The Ingredients You Will Need To Make An Italian Beef Sandwich. The Meat: Boneless chuck roast is the cut of choice. Due to its fantastic marbling, chuck roast cooks to that signature melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich beefy flavor you love.

What cut of meat is Prego steak? ›

Our prego steaks are cut from matured rump steaks.

What cut of meat is used for prosciutto? ›

How is prosciutto made? Prosciutto is made from high-quality pork legs. The meat is covered in salt and left to rest for a few weeks. During this time, the salt draws out blood and moisture, which prevents bacteria from entering the meat (and is why it's safe for us to eat it "raw").

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