Is chicken mince bolognese ultra-processed?

Not when made from scratch. This recipe uses whole vegetables, chicken mince, and tinned tomatoes — all NOVA 1–3 with zero UPF markers. However, if you replace the homemade sauce with a jar of Dolmio, you introduce 3 UPF markers: two types of flavouring and sunflower oil, pushing the dish to NOVA 4.

How many hidden sugars are in bolognese sauce?

This homemade bolognese has zero hidden sugars. The natural sugars come from tomatoes and vegetables. Dolmio Bolognese jar sauce adds 1 hidden sugar source (sugar listed as an ingredient), taking the sugar content to 5.4g per 100g.

Is Dolmio bolognese sauce ultra-processed?

Yes. SpikeSaver’s analysis classified Dolmio Bolognese Original as NOVA 4 (ultra-processed) with 3 UPF markers: flavouring, natural flavouring, and sunflower oil. It contains 14 ingredients compared to a simple homemade version’s 5–6 sauce ingredients.

Glucose: Low15 ingredients

Chicken Mince Bolognese — Ingredient Analysis: NOVA Scores, Hidden Sugars & Glucose Impact

We analysed every ingredient in this chicken mince bolognese. 15 ingredients, all NOVA 1–2. Swap the from-scratch sauce for Dolmio and you add 3 UPF markers including flavourings and sunflower oil.

Original recipe by

Easy Chicken Mince Bolognese by Eb Gargano at Easy Peasy Foodie · @easypeasyfoodie

SpikeSaver Ingredient Analysis

Ingredient	Qty	NOVA	Hidden Sugars	Glucose	Protein
Spaghetti	300g	NOVA 3	None	Medium	36g
Olive oil	1 tbsp	NOVA 2	None	Negligible	—
Onion	1, finely diced	NOVA 1	None	Low	1.5g
Carrot	1, finely diced	NOVA 1	None	Low	0.9g
Celery	1 stick, finely diced	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	0.5g
Chicken mince	500g	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	120g
Garlic	2 cloves, grated	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	—
Tinned chopped tomatoes	400g	NOVA 3	None	Low	3.2g
Chicken stock (from cube)	200ml	NOVA 2	None	Negligible	—
Tomato puree	1 tbsp	NOVA 3	None	Low	0.7g
Dried oregano	1 tsp	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	—
Soy sauce	1 tbsp	NOVA 3	None	Negligible	1.2g
Black pepper	To taste	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	—
Parmesan (optional)	To serve	NOVA 3	None	Negligible	3.5g
Fresh basil (optional)	Garnish	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	—

Per serving (4 servings)

480

Calories

42g

Protein

52g

Carbs

10g

Fat

Fibre

Overall verdict

NOVA 1–3: whole ingredients with processed staples (pasta, tinned tomatoes, cheese)0 hidden sugarsGlucose: Low

A well-balanced recipe using a classic soffritto base (onion, carrot, celery) with chicken mince and tinned tomatoes. Zero hidden sugars and zero UPF markers. The spaghetti and tinned tomatoes are NOVA 3 (processed) but contain no ultra-processing additives.

The swap comparison

What happens when you swap from-scratch ingredients for shop-bought shortcuts?

From-scratch tomato sauce (tinned tomatoes, stock, fresh veg soffritto)

→

Dolmio Bolognese Original Red Pasta Sauce 450g

NOVA 43 UPF markers1 sugar alias14 ingredients

Lens	From Scratch	Shop-Bought	Delta
NOVA/UPF	NOVA 1–3, 0 UPF markers	NOVA 4, 3 UPF markers (flavouring x2, sunflower oil)	+3 UPF markers; jumps to ultra-processed
Hidden Sugar	0 sugar aliases	1 alias (sugar added to tomato sauce)	+1 hidden sugar source
Glucose Impact	Low (tomatoes, vegetables)	5.4g sugar/100g, 8.0g carbs/100g	Moderate sugar increase
Protein/Macros	Fresh veg soffritto provides micronutrients	1.3g protein, 0.67g salt, 45kcal/100g	Similar calories but less nutritional density

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