Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce – two kinds of meat, loads of vegetables, and a hearty dose of herbs and seasonings make this easy marinara sauce a winner!
When you have a large family, pasta is always an economical and tasty dinner option. We also love Skillet Lasagna and Lemon Chicken Pasta with Bacon. Yum!
A PERFECT FAMILY DINNER RECIPE!
Spaghetti is one food that we rarely have at my house. I’m not sure why, because it is super easy and everyone likes it. I just never think of it. My boys had been asking for it, so I put it on the menu for the week.
Then I proceeded to scour my cookbooks looking for a new recipe to try. Because I can’t use the stuff in the can when there are so many recipes out there just waiting to be discovered. I know, I need intervention. 🙂
I adapted a crock pot recipe I found in a magazine and it turned out even better than I expected. My family LOVED this easy crockpot pasta sauce.
I was a little worried that they would think the carrots were funky, but they didn’t even notice them. I couldn’t even taste them and I knew they were there. I love it when you can sneak vegetables in under the radar!
This makes a fairly large batch, so we froze half of it. My hubbie was putting it in the freezer and I asked him to make sure and put a label on it. When I opened the freezer this morning, I smiled when I saw what he wrote. The label read: “Spaghetti Sauce (Awesome!)”. So I know it is a keeper!
(To skip my tips and just see the full recipe card, scroll to the bottom of the post.)
How do you make spaghetti sauce from scratch in a crock pot?
Ingredients needed:
- lean ground beef (I haven’t tried it with ground chicken, but if that’s your thing, go for it!)
- Italian sausage (Adds incredible flavor! In a pinch ground pork sausage can be used, but it isn’t quite as tasty.)
- canned crushed tomatoes (If you can’t find them, you can used canned diced tomatoes. Petite diced work well, but if you use the regular ones, pulse them a couple times in the blender first.)
- small green pepper (The green peppers at the store are usually large, so I just use half of one.)
- onion (I use regular yellow onions.)
- carrots (I know it sounds strange in pasta sauce, but they add a nice sweet flavor, and since they are finely grated, they disintegrate in the sauce.)
- tomato sauce (If you use low sodium, you may need to add extra salt.)
- sugar (offsets the acid of the tomatoes)
- Italian seasoning
- ground sage
- dried parsley flakes
- garlic (I used fresh garlic, but dried minced garlic works too.)
- Salt and pepper
BROWN MEATS: I like to use a non stick skillet to brown the ground beef and sausage. I use a ladle to scoop out most of the fat, and after that I use a paper towel to soak up any remaining fat.
CHOP VEGETABLES: While the meat is cooking, chop the onion and green pepper, and peel & grate the carrots.
ADD TO CROCK POT: Transfer the meat to your slow cooker, and add the remaining ingredients.
COOK: I like to let it cook on low heat all day long, but you can cook your slow cooker spaghetti sauce on HIGH for about 3-4 hours if you prefer.
SERVE: Just before serving, cook up your pasta in some salted boiling water. Serve the hot sauce over your pasta. I typically use spaghetti noodles, but I have also served it over rotini noodles.
LEFTOVERS? YOU CAN FREEZE THE PASTA SAUCE.
Thankfully, this spaghetti sauce freezes really well. I like to cool it completely in the fridge, then scoop it into heavy duty freezer ziplock bags. It will last for 3-4 months in the freezer.
However, if you just have a small amount left over, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
I DON’T HAVE A SLOW COOKER. CAN I COOK IT ON THE STOVE INSTEAD? -Yes, you can! Just add a cup of water and simmer in a large pot for 1-2 hours. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH MEATY SPAGHETTI:
- At our house, spaghetti is almost always served with a tossed green salad, and sometimes corn.
- Soft Garlic Knots go perfectly with any Italian meal.
- Garlic Cheddar Breadsticks are great for soaking up that extra sauce on your plate.
- My family LOVES these Cheesy Focaccia Bread Sticks.
MORE TASTY CROCK POT DINNER RECIPES:
- Crockpot Roast Beef (makes its own gravy)
- Best Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- Crock Pot Taco Beef Over Noodles
- Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie
- Glazed Crockpot Chicken
MEATY CROCK POT SPAGHETTI SAUCE RECIPE
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 small green pepper finely chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- 40 oz tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp ground sage
- 1 tsp dry parsley flakes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Brown hamburger and sausage in a large skillet.
- Drain off the fat and transfer to a 5 or 6 quart crock pot.
- Add remaining ingredients and cook on LOW for about 8 hours, or on HIGH for about 4 hours.
- Serve over hot spaghetti noodles.
Notes
- This can also be made on the stove. Just add a cup of water and simmer in a large pot for 1-2 hours. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.
Nutrition
(originally published 5/19/2009, updated May 2020)
See all my BEEF RECIPES.
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Do you really mean 40 ounces of tomato sauce for this recipe? Just checking….you always have great recipes!
Yes, it makes a lot of spaghetti sauce! It’s perfect for freezing. But you can also cut it in half if you prefer.
Do you take the meat out of the sausage casting. And just want to verify you wrote 5 8 oz cans tomato sauce. 5 cans of tomato sauce do you mean passata, they come in jars.
I usually remove the casing, but it depends on the brand and how thick it is. Yes, it is five 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce. Passata isn’t available in my area, but it is different than tomato sauce, because it hasn’t been cooked. I’m not sure how it would work in this recipe.
This spaghetti sauce is so easy and so tasty! No need to buy it in the store. This is so much better!
Thanks Anna! So glad to hear that you loved it!
Very tasty recipe…easy to play around ( increase/decrease/add to ) with the spices. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Just put this in the crock pot. I put half the amount of sage in it and I’m still concerned about the strong smell/taste of it. Does it even out?
Yep, don’t worry, it isn’t overpowering at all. With all of the other spices in there, everything just blends together perfectly. 🙂