Pasta topped with a savory red sauce is one of the easiest dinners. So much more so when you make this Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce. The delicious pasta sauce cooks easily in the slow cooker. For extra richness, cook sausage links or meatballs in the same pot.
Serve this delicious spaghetti sauce over cooked noodles or Spaghetti Squash. It’s super tasty layered in Lasagna as well as included in Instant Pot Pasta with Sausage & Cheese. Be sure to freeze leftover sauce for another easy dinner in the future.
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I learned early in adulthood to make big batches of food and freeze it for later. Over the years it was a way that I could ensure great food for myself, roommates, husband, kids… without wearing myself out. This easy Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce recipe is one that I have had on repeat for well over a decade.
Easy to make and simple to freeze, its been a mainstay in our kitchen as well as hundreds of other Good Cheap Eaters. If you haven’t tried it, let this be the day!
Why Make This
It is simple and delicious. Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce couldn’t be easier. Saute some onion and garlic and let those aromatics infuse a rich tomato sauce along with Italian sausage links. The flavors vibe so well together and cook hands-free! There are many homemade sauce recipes you can make and this is a great one!
It freezes well. This is one of my first and favorite freezer meals. If you’ve got a quart of this sauce on hand, you’re set for all kinds of delicious Home Cooked Meals!
It makes a big batch. Even with our full house, a single batch of this Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce lasts us two to three meals. Make it easy on yourself by making extra.
It’s a good cheap eat. Generally speaking, all the ingredients are on the Budget Grocery List, making this crock pot spaghetti sauce one to keep in rotation, a perfect cheap meal kids love.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce:
olive oil – You can use another cooking oil or even butter, but olive oil gives this Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce an authentic Italian taste and texture.
aromatics – Standard onions and garlic are both affordable and easily available. Add more or less depending on your tastes or what you have on hand. In a pinch, leeks or shallots will work. And be sure to scroll down for some tasty variations.
canned tomato products – Canned tomato puree and diced tomatoes are my go-to’s for this sauce, but if you have crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, or tomato sauce, those will work as well. Just be sure to adjust the texture with water or broth until you have your preferred texture.
herbs and spice – You’ll need coarse salt, dry parsley flakes, dried basil, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes, but feel free to swap in Italian Seasoning Mix or even Herbes de Provence if that’s what you have on hand.
Italian sausage links or meatballs – One of the secrets to the rich flavor of this Slow COoker Spaghetti Sauce is cooking the sausages or meatballs in the sauce for several hours. It really does make a difference to the flavor. If you want a cheaper hack, stir in beef broth or beef bouillon instead.
Variations
There are so many great ways to jazz up this crock pot spaghetti sauce.
- Mushroom: saute 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms along with the onions and garlic.
- Fresh Basil: instead of dry basil, add ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil to the sauce.
- Vegetarian/Vegan: omit the sausage.
- Meat Sauce: instead of sausage links or meatballs, saute 1 pound ground beef with the onions and add to the sauce.
- Very Veggie: to up the veggies in this crock pot spaghetti sauce, add shredded or diced carrot, chopped spinach or kale, sautéed mushrooms, or cubed zucchini when assembling the sauce.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce:
- In a large skillet heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onions and garlic, and cook 5 to 7 minutes until the onion has gone translucent.
- Add the tomato puree, the tomatoes, the salt, parsley, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes to the crock of a 6-qt slow cooker. Add the onions and the sausage links.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
- Remove the sausage from the pot with a slotted spoon. Slice and return to the sauce. Serve hot over cooked pasta.
Stovetop Instructions
You can make this sauce in a large pot on the stovetop as well. Simply saute the aromatics and assemble the sauce in the pot. Cover and simmer for several hours, covered.
Freezing Instructions
Unless you’re feeding a very large crowd, you’ll likely have extra sauce. Divide it into meal-size portions and chill it in the fridge overnight. Once thoroughly cold, transfer your labeled containers to the freezer.
Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce is good frozen for up to 6 months.
FAQs
You can certainly warm jarred spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker, but it’s just as easy — and cheaper, too! — to make your own slow cooker spaghetti sauce.
If you need to thicken your crockpot spaghetti sauce, you can either stir in a bit of tomato paste or simply simmer the sauce, uncovered, until some of the liquid has evaporated.
Stir in a bit of beef broth or beef bouillon to add richness to your homemade spaghetti sauce. Red wine is also a nice addition.
Once you’ve served dinner, leftover spaghetti sauce should be refrigerated promptly. Food should not sit out at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
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Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
- 6-qt oval slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 4 clove garlic chopped
- 3 28-ounce cans tomato puree
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon dry parsley flakes
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ½ tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 lb Italian sausage links or meatballs
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onions and garlic, and cook 5 to 7 minutes until the onion has gone translucent.2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 onion, 4 clove garlic
- Add the tomato puree, the tomatoes, the salt, parsley, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes to the crock of a 6-qt slow cooker. Add the onions and the sausage links.3 28-ounce cans tomato puree, 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, 1 tablespoon coarse salt, 1 tablespoon dry parsley flakes, 1 tablespoon dried basil, ½ tablespoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 2 lb Italian sausage links
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
- Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon. Slice and return to the sauce. Serve hot over cooked pasta.
Notes
- Mushroom: saute 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms along with the onions and garlic.
- Fresh Basil: instead of dry basil, add ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil to the sauce.
- Vegetarian/Vegan: omit the sausage.
- Meat sauce: instead of sausage links or meatballs, saute 1 pound ground beef with the onions and add to the sauce.
- Very Veggie: to up the veggies in this crock pot spaghetti sauce, add shredded or diced carrot, chopped spinach or kale, sautéed mushrooms, or cubed zucchini when assembling the sauce.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on March 5, 2009. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Ann
Wow! This was so easy and it really tasted like how I usually make it on the stove – simmering all day. I come from an Italian family and this sauce is legit! I added a little red wine and sugar. I love how it makes a lot! We had leftovers and I’ll freeze for another dinner!!
Xara
I’m about to make this and am wondering why the meat needs to be removed at the end. I want to leave my meatballs as part of this sauce. 🙂
Jessica Fisher
You aboslutely can. However it makes A LOT of sauce, so if you remove the meat, you can portion out the sauce for future meals and then just serve as much meat as you need for the first meal. Then freeze the rest of the meat in meal size portions.
Tracy
I’m wondering if we could adapt this to do in an instant pot? I might have to play with that!
Jessica Fisher
8 to 10 minutes on manual should do it. Let me know once you try it?
Elisabeth
How long to cook in the crock pot? I live for crock pots! Lol
Jessica Fisher
4 to 6 hours should be good.
Heather
Is the oregano in your recipe dried or fresh? I assume dried since it’s a long cook time, but I do have oregano fresh growing in my garden so I wanted to double check. Going to try freezing in the jars since I try to avoid plastics. Love the sausage/meatball tip. That was new to me 🙂 Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Yes, I use dried, but you can use fresh. A general rule of thumb is 3 times as much fresh as you would dried. So for 1 teaspoon of dried, you can substitute 1 tablespoon fresh.
Carla
I freeze mine in food saver bags. I leave them open at the top and stand them up next to each other in the freezer. After they have frozen I go ahead and seal them to get the air out. I have found that they last a lot longer this way and they are easy to share spur of the moment with friends and neighbors who need a quick meal. It also saves them from having to return a container.
Thanks for the beef broth tip.
Jessica Fisher
Great strategy for the bags. Do yours leak when they thaw? That’s why I moved away from bags.
Katie
I’m concerned that by showing the sauce in those jars, then mentioning freezing it (even though you say you freeze it in plastic containers), someone will try freezing it in canning jars. Unless you freeze in no-shoulder jars, they will likely break from the expansion of the sauce. Even leaving the lids off until frozen will not stop the breakage.
One of the commenters asked about canning this delicious sauce and if you use a pressure cooker (only!) it would preserve it perfectly.
Jessica Fisher
I actually do freeze it in jars just as pictured. Thanks for mentioning that. I updated the post with the method I use to freeze in jars. Leaving off the lids does work for me.
Brandette W.
Thank you so much for sharing this again! I have made this in the past, but sorta forgot about it. I have cans sitting in the pantry to make this very soon. The only thing I do differently is I let it simmer all day in my huge crockpot, that way if I am not going to be home (ie: school pickup), it’s doing it’s thing simultaneously. I also don’t usually add the diced tomatoes and only add a small amount of water/beef broth since we like our sauce a thicker consistency. But, that’s what I love about this recipe. You can very easily customize it to what you have on hand or what your family prefers that particular time.
One of our favorite pasta dishes that I have made so many times actually comes from Lynn @ Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures. It is another pantry staple recipe and is so tasty! http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2011/08/creamy-bacon-and-tomato-pasta.html
Jessica Fisher
So glad you love both of our recipes. Lynn is one of my best friends. 😉
Lori Hurley
Just curious, have you ever pressure canned this one. I have made this sauce before and I’m making it again today. I think I’m going to can the leftovers. it’s acidic enough, but I was wondering about the wine. Maybe I should leave that out. Anyone can this???
Lori Hurley
Oh shoot… I mean to write “OIL” and typed “wine.” Lol… clearly you can tell what’s on my mind this evening. Hahahaha…..
Jessica Fisher
I’m sorry I didn’t get to replying sooner. I’ve never pressure canned, so I’m no help. What did you end up doing?