Spaghetti is one of those go-to meals that is on every home cooks list. It doesn’t get any easier than tossing all the ingredients for Homemade Spaghetti Sauce into the Slow Cooker, and letting it simmer away until dinner time. This Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce recipe can be used in a number of dishes, and you can freeze it for later too.
Growing up, my Mom served Spaghetti once a week, but her version came from a jar. While she cooked from scratch often, Spaghetti Sauce was one of those dinners that she did not make herself. For many years, I followed in her foot steps and bought jarred Spaghetti Sauce, until I learned how to make my own from scratch.
As busy Moms (and Dads), it’s important to get dinner on the table fast, and using our Slow Cooker saves a lot of time.
Over the years I have tweaked my recipe for Spaghetti Sauce, and this Slow Cooker version is my favorite. Not only does using the Slow Cooker cut down on time, but in my opinion, cooking for a long amount of time – slow and low, gives the ingredients time to blend well together.
The other nice thing about this recipe is that you can double, triple or even quadruple it, freeze it and have it for other dishes. Lasagna is a huge hit every time I make it, but lets face it, it takes time to cook the sauce, boil the noodles, assemble and then bake. What if you had sauce already made and all you had to do is cook the noodles, assemble and toss it on the oven? That would simplify dinner time a lot, right?
Or how about Goulash? I often use leftover Spaghetti Sauce, mix it with cooked elbow macaroni and toss it in the Slow Cooker to warm through slowly.
Next time you have Spaghetti on the menu, why not make a double batch of sauce, toss it in the Slow Cooker and get a few meals from it.
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
- Total Time: 6 hours 10 mins
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
Rich and flavorful spaghetti sauce made in the Slow Cooker – recipe can be doubled or tripled to freeze for later use.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or 1 tablespoon Gourmet Garden Fresh Garlic
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes or Italian tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs or Parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden Fresh Basil or Dried Basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in skillet until almost done, add onion and continue cooking, drain
- Add remaining ingredients along with cooked ground beef mixture to Slow Cooker
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours
Notes
This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled and frozen for an extra meal or two.
Freeze in an airtight container. Thaw in fridge overnight.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Category: Main Dish
3 Comments
I have never heard of Gourmet Garden, where is this available?
Hi Debi, Gourmet Garden is fresh herbs in a tube, found in the produce section at most grocery stores. We buy ours at Walmart.
Happy Cooking!
~Liz
The Slow Cooker Spaghetti Recipe calls for 1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes or Italian tomatoes. Is it okay to use crushed tomatoes, as well, or will it not taste as good?