Slow Cooker Spaghetti sauce is slow-cooked and full of vegetables and herbs; perfect over any shape of pasta.
We love pasta night at our house. When we aren’t making this classic spaghetti sauce in our crockpot, we have Pesto Mozzarella Chicken and pasta, Cajun Chicken Fettuccine, or Ravioli Lasagna.
How to make slow cooker spaghetti sauce:
You will need these ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 28 oz. diced tomatoes (two 14 oz. cans) do not drain
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- ½ cup diced white onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes
Directions:
- Set a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown and crumble the beef. Drain the fat.
- Add remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir
How long do I cook spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker?
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.
- Stir and serve on desired noodles. I use bucatini noodles, they are a larger noodle with a hollow in the center and goes great with slow cooker spaghetti sauce.
How do I make a thick spaghetti sauce?
A small can of tomato paste is what I use thicken this spaghetti sauce. Do not forget to add it or you will have a watery sauce.
Can I use Italian sausage instead of ground beef?
- You can substitute one pound of Italian Sausage for the ground beef in this recipe.
- Cut the salt in half for the recipe in half if you use Italian sausage.
Can I add frozen meatballs instead of ground beef?
Use a 2 lb. bag of frozen meatballs if desired in place of the groung beef.
Can I add uncooked noodles into the sauce in the slow cooker?
DO NOT add uncooked noodles to the slow cooker. The slow cooker doesn’t get hot enough, fast enough to properly cook noodles. The noodles will turn out mushy.
Can I make this vegetarian?
- Add soy crumbles to this recipe instead of ground beef if desired.
- Or add chopped carrots, celery and mushrooms.
Can I add red wine?
Add a half cup of red wine at the beginning of the recipe if you would like a red wine flavored sauce. I like to use red blend when I’m cooking (and for drinking).
How should I serve Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce?
- Pour over cooked noodles. Standard spaghetti, angel hair or bucatini.
- Parmesan cheese
- Green salad and dressing
- Garlic bread
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Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment Needed:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 28 oz. diced tomatoes (two 14 oz. cans) do not drain
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
For serving:
- cooked noodles
- parmesan cheese
Instructions:
- In a large skillet set to medium high heat, add the ground beef. Brown and crumble with a spatula or wooden spoon. Drain the fat.
- Add the meat to the slow cooker. Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, onion, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Do no open the lid during the cooking time.
- Serve with desired cooked noodles and top with parmesan cheese.
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
- You can substitute one pound of Italian Sausage for the ground beef in this recipe.
- Cut the salt in half for the recipe in half if you use Italian sausage.
- Add soy crumbles to this recipe instead of ground beef if desired.
- Or add chopped carrots, celery and mushrooms.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More pasta night recipes:
- Slow Cooker Baked Spaghetti
- Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce with Kielbasa
- Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken and Pasta
- Slow Cooker Southwestern Cheesy Chicken Pasta
- Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Penne
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tetrazinni
- Slow Cooker Pizza Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Zucchini Bolognese
Delicious and easy to make! My family loved this spaghetti sauce! It isn’t super sweet or too salty, just a really nice sauce! Will definitely be making it again! Thank you!?
Best slow cooker spaghetti sauce ever, and I’ve tried a lot on my family. This is a keeper with a huge gold star. Thank you for sharing an awesome recipe. My family loves a meaty sauce so I did add crumbled sausage along with the ground beef.
If I don’t have dryed basil what can I add instead?
A large bay leaf. That’s what I’ve always used in mine, and I got my recipe from an Italian family member. Also add a pat of butter. It’s really good!
What temperature is “low” My slow cooker has degrees. I can’t understand why more people don’t rely on slow cooking at a certain temp rather than trusting the “low” setting of anywhere between 140 and 300 degrees.
I’ve never owned a slow cooker with a temperature setting like that, you’re the first to ask that here. I would set low at 200 degrees.
This recipe is SO easy and tastes so much better than trying to jazz up any jarred spaghetti sauce. My recommendation is to use one pound of ground Italian sausage meat (not in the casing) instead of ground beef. I also use Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, and red whine instead of beef broth. My Italian mother in law (who is EXTREMELY picky about Italian food) said that it tasted like home! I’m currently cooking it for dinner tonight
Thank you for the tips!
I couldn’t find a way to ask a question. How do you reduce this for one person? I always make enough for 3 servings – 1 for me to have, one for a leftover and one to freeze. Sooooo frustrating b/c recipes are always written for large families. Why do you ignore the large number of empty nesters and single people???? Much easier to enlarge a recipe than to try and reduce it.
Hi! I am a one-person show running this website. I cook for my family and publish the recipes. This recipe for instance you can freeze BEFORE slow cooking in small bags. So you can make fresh spaghetti sauce every week for a few weeks.
I also only cook for one but the ability to I scale the recipe is great. I understand that most people use slow cookers for families.
Sarah does a brilliant job and the scale tool works perfectly for every recipe I have tried.
Thank you for sharing Sarah you are a godsend to someone like me who wouldn’t know where to start.
Thank you Jayne!
I agree completely!
Yummy: can’t wait to try this.
Best recipe for slow cooker spaghetti I have ever made. Secret is using the full 8 hours on low.
I want to make this sauce but was give 2 cans of crushed tomatoes with my pick up order. Can I make the sauce with these and omit the diced tomatoes.
Yes that will work fine!
I make this all of the time. There’s only 2 of us but I love it because I freeze majority of it tor left overs. Super nummy. Super easy I use hamburger but I use 1/2 Italian sausage and 1/2 hamburger for my meatballs