When morning walks start requiring a hoodie (sob!), neighborhood trees begin to change color (seriously, stop it), and Halloween candy starts appearing on grocery store shelves (love me some fun-size Snickers, but come on – it’s not even September!) 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!Â
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. (FYI – you can mince up the onion and cook it with the ground beef, but since we’ve got an onion hater in da house, cough, Ben, I just slice it in half and let it cook like that!)
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!
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Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Description
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!
Ingredients
- For the Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce:
- 1lb ground beef
- salt and pepper
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 28oz can crushed tomatoes
- 8oz can tomato sauce
- 6oz can tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 bay leaf (or 2 small)
- 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 large 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.
Notes
Sauce slightly adapted from Food.com
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
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!
~~~~~
What are some of your favorite crock pot recipes? Always looking for new ones to try!
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Amanda Peterson 11.22.2015
Made this today and it was wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
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Sarah 12.01.2014
I made this garlic bread recently and it was great! I want to prepare and freeze a couple of loaves for future dinners. Have you tried this? How long should I bake the ones from the freezer? Thank you!
Kristin 12.01.2014
Hey Sarah! I haven’t tried freezing this bread but I’d probably just google “freezing garlic bread” to see what some other sites recommend.
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Sarah 09.07.2014
This looks so good! How much pasta do you usually cook to go with it?
Kristin 09.15.2014
Hey Sarah! This makes enough for at least 1lb pasta.
Liz 07.14.2014
Kristin, this sauce is amazing! I made it for the first time last night when I had no jarred sauce in the house. Confession: I rarely bother with homemade sauce because it seems like a hassle but this “set it and forget it” sauce blew my mind! I even had to get creative using what I had on hand and used whole tomatoes (just crushed them a bit with a fork) and subbed 3 tsp of garlic powder for fresh garlic. I stirred the butter in after 5 hours and let it sit overnight. I refrigerated the sauce and I’m reheating now to make with with your sneaky meatball subs (haven’t made those in awhile) and I just snuck a taste and it’s incredible!!! This is my new go-to sauce. I love all your wonderful recipes. Your blog is always the first one I consult when I am looking for something specific, or just need inspiration!
Kristin 07.14.2014
Thank you so much for the feedback, Liz – hope you’re doing well!
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[…] took the recipe for this sauce from Iowa Girl Eats and it was so, so good. That’s all I have to say. Make it. You can make it on the stove, […]
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[…] It’d have to use beef as I have exactly one beef crock pot recipe on the blog (Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce.) […]
Cheryl 10.14.2013
Do you think you could add the pasta the last half hour like other recipes call for or must you cook it separately?
Christa 08.11.2013
Thank you so much for this recipe. I doubled it and cooked it on low for 8 hours ~ fantastic! I love it and how easy it is. The flavor is great. No more store bought for us! Love. Love. Love it!
Jen 07.11.2013
We made this last night and Tim, my husband, said it was the best thing I’ve made in awhile. It’s funny, he says that everytime I make one of your meals! Thanks for all your hard work and congrats on your upcoming bundle of joy!
Sandy 05.30.2013
I made this tonight and somehow burned it in the crockpot :( I did cook it a bit longer than 6 hours so that was probably why. A few teaspoons of peanut butter made it edible, but it still wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. I will try again though!
Toni 05.14.2013
Loved It!! I forgot to put the butter in, maybe next time but I don’t think it needs it.
leona 04.19.2013
My son invited his church over for dinner last night .
Told me at midnight last night. I was going to have spaghetti for dinner anyway. but this made it easy for me to double recipe and not have to watch pots while I clean up the house for company. I added italian sausage that I browned with the onions and some peppers cross your fingers for me its cooking now
Reni 04.06.2013
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.
Tiffany 03.21.2013
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!
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