This Slow Cooker Baked Spaghetti is such a treat compared to regular our spaghetti night!
Do you have spaghetti weekly at your house? My family does and it can’t get boring. This Slow Cooker Baked Spaghetti is a perfect way to make spaghetti night spectacular. I remember my mom making spaghetti weekly, she would simmer the pasta sauce and meat all-day on the stove top, walking by and stirring every so often. With the slow cooker, ground beef and Ragu Homestyle sauce, I can get my mom’s simmered all day tasting sauce without having to stir until I’m ready to serve. How I make this spaghetti dinner extra special is by making it a casserole by topping the slow cooked sauce and noodles with a cream cheese and ricotta mixture AND I add mozzarella cheese too!
I made this for dinner last Saturday night. Keep in mind this is the night we usually dine out, this meal was special enough for me not to miss my Saturday night out.
I took lots of pictures of the making of this dish, it is simple to make!
This recipe starts out with 2 jars of RAGÚ® Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Sauce.
Seasoned browned ground beef.
The sauce and beef cook for 6 hours.
After the sauce and meat cook together in the slow cooker, I add cooked spaghetti noodles. Then I dollop a cream cheese/ricotta mixture on top of the spaghetti and smooth it out with a spatula.
Then Mozzarella cheese.
After everything is assembled I cook it for 20 minutes longer.
Serve and enjoy!
Below is my YouTube video on how to make the entire dish. You can follow me on YouTube here.
Which Ragu Homestyle sauce would you use for this recipe? I am going to try the roasted garlic sauce next time I make this, how good does that sound? What I love about the Ragu Homestyle sauce is that it has a made from scratch taste which saves me time in the kitchen! The sauce also hugs the pasta perfectly since it is thick. I hope you enjoy this meal as much as my family does! Have a great week!
- 2 (24-oz.) jars RAGÚ® Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Sauce
- 1.5 lbs. ground beef
- ½ cup diced white onion
- 1 minced garlic clove
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp.dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 lb. spaghetti noodles (see below for cooking instructions, these don't get cooked or added until after the sauce cooks for 6 hours)
- 4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 cup)
- 1 cup ricotta
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 6-quart or larger
- Pour the jars of Ragu in to the slow cooker. In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, brown the meat and onions together. After the meat is browned add the garlic, cook for a minute a longer. Drain the fat. Add the salt, oregano and basil and stir. Pour the meat onto the sauce in the slow cooker and stir.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- After the cooking time is up, cook the noodles as directed on the package in boiling water on the stove-top. I cooked my noodles for exactly 8 minutes after adding them to the boiling water. The noodles will cook a bit more after adding them to the slow cooker.
- Drain the noodles and add them to the meat sauce in the slow cooker. Stir, then flatten the noodles in an even layer.
- In a small bowl combine the cream cheese, ricotta and salt. The cream cheese will be in small chunks, but that is fine.
- Dollop the cream cheese/ricotta mixture over the spaghetti, then use a spatula to even it out over the spaghetti. Add the mozzarella cheese.
- Cover and cook for an extra 20 minutes on LOW.
- Serve and enjoy!
You may also like: Slow Cooker Seasoned Chicken, Potatoes and Green Beans
SunnyDaysNora says
May 10, 2016 at 7:27 amOh yum! I’ve made baked spaghetti and this looks like a great and simple alternative!
bonnie hepler says
December 13, 2016 at 8:39 pmI wonder if you could use cottage cheese instead of riacotta cheese?
Sarah Olson says
December 13, 2016 at 9:02 pmI’m sure it would be good. I love cottage cheese in lasagna.
Mary Hunnicutt says
May 10, 2016 at 11:21 amThis sounds great! I have never tried making spaghetti in the crock pot! I would try the mushroom flavor!
Judy Davis says
May 10, 2016 at 1:09 pmLooks yum! wondering if you can use any jarred sauce with the recipe?
Sharon says
October 7, 2016 at 8:21 pmYes, user what you prefer
Coco in the Kitchen says
May 10, 2016 at 2:06 pmI could eat this every night for dinner…my husband may not be on the same wagon.
Mary // chattavore says
May 10, 2016 at 4:37 pmThis looks so good, Sarah! I am putting this on my list to try! Shared.
Kathi says
May 12, 2016 at 11:41 amI can’t use Ragu – I have to use Prego because it has no MSG and Ragu does. Other wise – this is a great dish and I am going to share it and make it. Thanks. P.S. I bought your cook book and I love it.
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama says
May 13, 2016 at 7:26 amThis sounds amazing! I just made baked spaghetti this past week, but I think I love this slow cooker version even better. 🙂
Patti says
June 16, 2016 at 11:23 pmSarah, this is such an amazing recipe. I am doing a baked spaghetti recipe round up in September, and this recipe is very unique. May I use one of your photos in the round up? I will, of course, be linking back to this post.
Cindy says
July 5, 2016 at 4:52 amCould you leave out the ricotta cheese and just add more cream cheese?
Sarah Olson says
July 5, 2016 at 7:40 amI don’t see why not!
Dani says
July 9, 2016 at 7:51 amThis recipe looks delicious! Could you use cottage cheese instead of ricotta? I have had success making that substitute in lasagna recipes…
Sarah Olson says
July 9, 2016 at 5:52 pmI think so! I love lasagna with cottage cheese!
Sylvia says
July 13, 2016 at 10:36 amSeems like it would take longer then oven baked spaghetti….??
Sarah Olson says
July 13, 2016 at 11:49 amThe sauce is slow cooked, so it has more flavor. 🙂
Bob Younglas says
July 15, 2016 at 3:51 pmWhy the six hour cook time on the sauce? I would think since everything was already cooked you would just need to warm it up.
Sarah Olson says
July 16, 2016 at 12:27 pmSlow cooking the sauce gives it more flavor. 🙂
Sunny says
September 20, 2016 at 10:41 amDon’t get me wrong but slow cooking a jar of store bought sauce will not give it any more flavor than it already has.
Sarah Olson says
September 20, 2016 at 11:02 amThe meat, garlic and seasonings added give it more depth of flavor. I did not add just a bottle of sauce to the slow cooker.
Lisa says
July 24, 2016 at 6:14 amCan I cook it longer than 6 hours? With drive time & work time I’m away from home 10-11 hours!
Sarah Olson says
July 25, 2016 at 9:46 amHi Lisa, that may be too long of cooking time for this recipe. Though I have heard of people cooking spaghetti sauce that long, it may need more liquid than this recipe calls for.
Lucinda says
July 26, 2016 at 6:38 pmFamily loved it!
Katie says
August 10, 2016 at 5:49 pmIt is SUPER RARE for all six of the people in my home to ALL be pleased with one single dish for dinner!! This blew everyone away!! We ALL totally loved it!! So yummy!! Thank you! This one is a keeper, for sure!!
Jess says
September 1, 2016 at 4:11 pmSo yummy,! I made an organic version with simple truth 4 cheese sauce. Officially added to comfort foods.
Sarah Olson says
September 1, 2016 at 4:12 pmSounds amazing!
Nancy Peck says
September 6, 2016 at 10:32 pmI have a slow-cooker recipe that uses uncooked spaghetti noodles, everything cooks at the same time in the pot AFTER you’ve cooked the meat….it’s very good.
Becca says
March 6, 2018 at 12:42 pmWhen did you add the uncooked noodles? I’d like to do that but don’t want it to end up mushy.
Sarah Olson says
March 6, 2018 at 1:42 pmI didn’t add them, I cook them on the stove top, then add them at the end. They will be mushy if you add them to the crock pot 🙂
Bobbi says
September 18, 2016 at 8:09 amCan I just throw my noodles (uncooked) in all at once since I won’t have time to cook the noodles and add them later?
Sarah Olson says
September 18, 2016 at 8:54 amNoodles get extremely mushy and flourly tasting cooked in the crock pot. Perhaps you could could the noodles and place them in the fridge? Then stir them in the crock pot at the end?
geraldine says
September 21, 2016 at 12:28 amthanks for the recipe
Linds says
October 28, 2016 at 6:25 amThis was wonderful! I followed the recipe exactly and everyone loved it!
Susan Cobb says
October 30, 2016 at 1:19 pmWhat a delicious meal. after adding the cheeses I placed everthing in a casserole dish and baked on 400 degrees for 20 minutes
Brittney Dargusch says
December 5, 2016 at 9:33 amCould this recipe be cut in half
Sarah Olson says
December 5, 2016 at 10:58 amI don’t see why not Brittney, I would cut down the cooking time though.
Stephen Doerk says
December 16, 2016 at 9:42 pmHow do you reduce the size of the recipe? My son just bought me a crock pot (haven’t had one for several years) and being divorced, I am mostly cooking for myself so we picked out a 4 qt… And unless there is a recipe to work from I tend to be useless!!
Shannon Cottle says
January 17, 2017 at 7:04 amCould you use other pastas? Like Ziti or Regatoni?
Sarah Olson says
January 17, 2017 at 10:32 amyes! Be sure to pre-cook it and use a 16 ounce box still.
Angie says
January 17, 2017 at 9:45 pmIs it possible to cook it on high for 3 hours instead? I want to make it tomorrow but I forgot to buy the sauce tonight and will purchase tomorrow. I hope you get back to me in time!
Sarah Olson says
January 17, 2017 at 9:54 pmYes I think that would be just fine!
Erika says
January 20, 2017 at 2:45 pmI have a 4-quart crock-pot not a 6-quart….how would you reduce the recipe so it would fit?
Emilie says
January 30, 2017 at 7:26 amWhat would you suggest doing if you wanted to make this a freezer meal? Thanks for the help!
Sarah Olson says
January 30, 2017 at 7:37 amJust do the sauce and meat in a baggie. Then add everything else after cooking.
ushealthjournal says
May 4, 2017 at 2:34 amI will try to make this recipe for my son today. I hope he will like it.
Robert Tyler Thompson says
October 8, 2017 at 10:18 pmI rolled this in a flour mixture and deep fried it.
Sarah Olson says
October 9, 2017 at 9:08 amAwesome! I bet that was great.
Amber says
November 7, 2017 at 3:04 pmThinking of freezing half of it. How long would I need to cook it in the oven after it defrosts?
Sarah Olson says
November 7, 2017 at 3:52 pmI’m unsure. I’m guessing 30 minutes.
Ashley Allred says
December 1, 2017 at 8:10 amHi! I’m SO excited to try this! I only have 1 pound of hamburger meat. I was thinking maybe trying to just use 1 and a half jars of sauce but still cooking for the full time? Do you think that would be okay?
Sarah Olson says
December 3, 2017 at 8:03 pmI think it should be fine!
Joleen Ann Jorge says
December 7, 2017 at 2:02 pmI made this recipe for an Italian themed luncheon at the school where I work Teachers are generally very good cooks and these meals are always wonderful. Everyone asked for the recipe! That’s a big 5 stars!!!! Thanks for all your recipes. I haven’t tried anything that wasn’t delicious
Sarah Olson says
December 8, 2017 at 7:16 amHappy to hear that Joleen, this recipe is one of my favorites. Makes so much and the leftovers heat up great.
Vicki says
December 31, 2017 at 10:55 amHow do you suggest reheating?
Sarah Olson says
December 31, 2017 at 12:24 pmWe heat in the microwave. Sorry I don’t have a fancier answer!
Vicki Kolstad says
December 31, 2017 at 12:29 pmThanks! I am not fancy either! I am going to try putting it on the warm setting on the Crock-Pot but, if not hot enough, will also use microwave!
mc7783M. Coffey says
December 15, 2017 at 7:12 amCan you make another mixture with just mozerella cheese and cream cheese somehow? I’m stuck st home for the weekend and don’t have ricotta at the moment. I can’t wait to try this thank u
Sarah Olson says
December 15, 2017 at 7:15 amYes, I think that will work fine!
deagra2015 says
December 20, 2017 at 9:42 amWhile I liked this recipe, the prep work is the same as regular spaghetti and would have been easier to just do the prep and bake it in the oven. Pre cooking everything kind of ruined the whole crock pot idea. It was a very good meal but just think easier doing it in the oven.
Joleen A Jorge says
December 20, 2017 at 3:26 pmFlavors are enhanced with the slow cooking! More economical to use the slow cooker than to use your big oven!
Judi says
January 18, 2018 at 11:04 amHas anyone tried it with ground turkey instead of beef? Thanks.
Anonymous says
May 28, 2018 at 8:25 amJust mixed the meat in the sauce
The anticipation is killing me there is no doubt it will come out delicious
Anonymous says
June 10, 2018 at 5:46 amThank you it was a hit last night. My son doesn’t come often so when he does I like to make it special. He told me he was in the mood for spaghetti with meat balls. I asked if he would opt for spaghetti with ground beef instead and he agreed. I made it and him and my little ones are it all up… I loved it myself. My husband wasn’t a fan but he is not a cheese lover. So WHATEVER… lol
Anyhow thank you for sharing and making our night special because my son absolutely loved it.
Anonymous says
September 1, 2018 at 4:23 pmThis is the best spaghetti I’ve ever had. It’s a hit at slumber parties for my daughter and her friends and it’s great for potlucks. It does take a lot of time but it’s worth it. I find it takes longer than 20 minutes after the cheese addition. We usually let it go for an hour or two to ensure it’s nice and gooey. But I do have a crockpot from like 15 years ago.
Sarah Olson says
September 2, 2018 at 4:30 pmGreat tip, It could go a little longer without anything bad happening, just makes it hotter and bubbly.
Barbara Warner says
October 24, 2018 at 2:39 pmI cook my ground beef in my crock pot first with my spices and onion. Then I add my sauce. My cooked noodles and cheese. Etc.