Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Making one of the easiest dinner recipe even easier, I have super simplified making Spaghetti Sauce! I love this simple Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce, full of flavor and something my family loves. You will love how great the flavors are after they have been slow cooker all day!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is so easy to make!

I have been making my own spaghetti sauce for years! It’s so easy and I think it tastes great. Yes, buying a couple jars of your favorite brand of spaghetti sauce is the easiest way to make your spaghetti dinner, but there is something about making it homemade.

To make life even easier I used my slow cooker and just had to boil my spaghetti 10 minutes before dinner time.

Cooking it low and slow all day is the best way to do it.

How to make Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce:

So, you may be thinking, slow cooker spaghetti sauce seems like a long process for spaghetti sauce. Well, let me tell you, the saying low and slow works perfectly for this recipe!

The spices and tomatoes simmering all day in the crockpot really make this recipe tasty. I cannot tell you how many times I have started dinner after a busy day and over cooked the noodles or burnt the spaghetti sauce.

Do the sauce like this ahead of time really is a time saver when dinner time comes. All you have to worry about is your noodles!

Ingredient Notes:

• Olive Oil: I love a good EVOO for cooking.
• Ground Beef: I used a leaner ground beef 90/10 for this recipe.
• Onion: diced.
• Bell Pepper: diced. I used a green bell pepper.
• Minced Garlic
• Crushed Tomatoes: I used a regular style and not a seasoned style of tomatoes for this.
• Petite Diced Tomatoes: I also used a regular style here.
• Seasonings: I used dried oregano, dried basil, dried parsley, a little sugar, salt and pepper.

Directions:

Step One – Start by heating your olive oil in a skillet and cooking your beef.

Cook on medium heat and add minced onions, green peppers, and garlic.

Step Two – Drain the beef’s excess fat and place it in the slow cooker.

Step Three – Add in crushed and diced tomatoes.

Step Four – Lastly add in all the seasonings.

Step Five – Allow to cook on low for up to 7-8 hours.

Step Six – Stir and then serve on warm noodles!

Do I have to brown ground beef first?

For this recipe, you will need to start your meal on the stovetop. Also, the onions, peppers, and garlic will cook with the beef, and it should take no longer than 10 minutes.

If you are choosing to not use beef and make a tomato-based spaghetti sauce you can add everything right to the slow cooker including the veggies.

What alternative can I use instead of ground beef?

There are definitely some very tasty alternatives you can add to this spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker that will be great!

1. Italian Sausage – Italian Sausage so very flavorful and you can even add some spiciness to your spaghetti sauce if you get a Hot Italian Sausage. Cook it according to directions above before adding to your slow cooker.
2. Meatballs – Yes, add frozen meatballs to this recipe at the start of the cook time. You will thank me later.
3. Tofu – If you have dried tofu, you can make this a meatless spaghetti sauce and just add the tofu to the slow cooker at the start of the cook.

Can I ground beef in my slow cooker?

Some slow cookers are stovetop safe but a lot of them are not. Before using your insert on the stovetop make sure to find out if your model made to do that.

If your slow cooker allows it, then you can easily cook the ground beef and veggies in the insert then move to your slow cooker. Here is an example of a slow cooker that can be used on the stovetop, Crock-Pot with stovetop browning.

How do I thicken my spaghetti sauce?

If you like a thicker spaghetti sauce here is the trick. Add in a can of tomato paste. It will help thicken your recipe.

Now if you want a chunkier spaghetti sauce dice up some more peppers and onions and add them into the slow cooker!

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