Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce is an easy crock pot recipe that's hearty and delicious. This slow cooker beef recipe will become your new go-to!
When morning walks start requiring a hoodie, neighborhood trees begin to change color, and Halloween candy starts appearing on grocery store shelves — I know crock pot season has officially arrived!
Not to say you can’t use a crock pot in the summertime – I mean it’s perfect in that it doesn’t heat up the house – but I usually associate crock pots with a warm and hearty dinner, like Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce, which goes much better with the cooler temps that are inevitably heading our way.
We had “spaghetti night” every Monday when I was growing up, and this yummy tomato sauce simmered with herbs and ground beef all day totally took me back.
Except now I’m not 12, kicking my brother under the table, and getting told NOBODY IS EXCUSED UNTIL THEIR PLATE IS LICKED CLEAN! INCLUDING YOUR WARM MILK!
Now, normally I skip over crock pot recipes that require cooking outside the CP, but I made an exception for this spaghetti sauce. After all, it’s just browning 1lb ground beef in a skillet before draining and adding it to the crock pot with 1 medium onion.
To the beef and onion, add 28oz crushed tomatoes, 8oz tomato sauce, and 6oz tomato paste, which will cook down to create a fabulously rich and luscious tomato sauce.
Finally, add zee spices that will flavor the sauce: 2 teaspoons each dried oregano and basil, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme,
2 small bay leaves, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, and 3/4 teaspoons salt.
Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a spicy kick (or leave it out – totally your call!) followed by 3 minced garlic cloves.
Mix everything up – then set it, and forget it, baby! That is to say, cook on low for 5-6 hours…
When time is up, stir in the magical ingredient that will take your sauce from good, to great: 2 Tablespoons butter. Don’t leave it out!
Scoop over cooked pasta then dig in to this easy, comforting spaghetti supper!
I cannot praise crock pot meals enough. I usually add everything to the pot at night, then place it on the base and turn it on in the morning. Could not be easier!
Some crock pot meals can be heavy and gloopy, but Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce is right on the money. Give it a try sometime!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- salt and pepper
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, optional
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Directions
- Season ground beef with salt and pepper then brown with onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain then add to a 6 quart crock pot.
- Add all the ingredients except for the butter, stir to combine, then cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove bay leaves, stir in butter, then serve over cooked pasta.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
A tip for the onion haters- if you grate the onion with a box grater, it will just ” melt away ” as it cooks. My fiance hates onions so i do this for any of the soups or sauces that call for onion. He never knows the difference and you get a the flavour & don’t waste the onion pieces once the cooking is done.
I made this pasta sauce and bread for dinner last night for my family. They all loved it. And seriously, the bread was so good! The whole family raved about it, and it was so simple to do! Thanks for another great recipe, this will be on our dinner rotation from now on!
Yum! Tried this tonight and it was great! I didn’t get to try the bread though, maybe next time. I just wanted to say that you have my favorite food blog. Every recipe I’ve tried has been easy and tasty! Thank you! Keep up the great work!
Made this last weekend and it was AWESOME. Best homemade sauce I have ever had. Seriously.
Made this just as directed. Was a little skeptical re adding the butter- but took a leap of faith and it was delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing. Maybe if making for lasagna would add an extra 8oz can sauce. Thank you!!
Wow, tummy growling pictures! Love them! Anxious to try this recipe today! Just came upon your blog & I love it!
Love this sauce!!! I also added 8 oz of beef stock a little wine, and a palm full of chili powder for some spice!!! This is delish!!
just made this tonight and it was delish!!!!
sounds & looks so good!
Do you think this sauce would freeze well? I’d love to make a big batch and save it!
Yes, definitely!
I made this the other night and am still enjoying the leftovers – even better the next day! I just wanted to post and say that this recipe is pretty fool proof and forgiving. I was throwing this together on a really busy day, and I was about to walk out the door when I realized I didn’t add the garlic! I just threw in a few whole cloves – my mom’s spaghetti sauce recipe is simmered with whole cloves that are removed at the end – and it worked great. I left it on for 8 hours because I was gone, and I didn’t have trouble with burning. I did, however, forget the onion also! I cut one in half and put it in for the last few hours, and again, still tasted great. Last but not least, I realized way later that I forgot the sugar (where was my brain that morning?!?). While I think the little bit of sugar would have been a nice addition to cut acidity, I still thought the sauce was great without it. Then again, I love all things tomato-y.. :)
Loved this over macaroni noodles, reminded me of goulash!
OH! One more thing. I threw raw sliced mushrooms in there to cook with everything and wasn’t sure how it would work since they release a good amount of liquid, but the sauce still turned out thick and delish :)
Thank you for a great quick recipe!
I have tried many crock pot sauce recipes and this is the BEST! My family loved it!
Thanks, I have found “my” sauce recipe :-)
Awesome!! So glad you all enjoyed!
Made this yesterday on the stove-top and simmered on low for about 1.5 hours in a huge pot…it was delicious! I am watching calories so I used 96% lean Angus beef from TJ’s and halved the sugar and butter to save some calories. It was excellent! Hooray for leftovers today…
I’m sure it’d be fine! I use butter because I like the taste and how creamy it is, but I’m sure margarine would work fine! :)