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
Tell us what you think!
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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.
DeLane
This sounds yummy, and I love the idea of freezing in jars for gifts. How much beef broth is the right amount to make this taste as wonderful as it does using the sausage. Thank you! Can’t wait to make some.
Jessica Fisher
It won’t be as wonderful, but it will have more depth of flavor. Instead of thinning the sauce with water, I’d thin it with beef broth. I don’t think you can overdo it, but I’d taste as you go. Let us know how it works for you!
Anna
I made this for the first time this week. I usually just wing it when making spaghetti sauce, but I’m teaching my kids to cook and needed a recipe for them to be able to reference. We had to change a bit for what we had on hand, but it turned out great. We made 2 crockpots of it- one with meatballs for eating with spaghetti this week, and the other to freeze for later recipes.
David
Hi there
Would it be safe to cut this recipe in half?
Jessica Fisher
Oh yeah. That shouldn’t be a problem.
Lorie
Can this be made in a crock pot?
Jessica Fisher
Yes.
Stephanie
Another question about the sausage – What do you do with it when you are done simmering the sauce? Do you just discard them? Are they just to flavor the sauce? I wanted to try this for my pizza sauce. Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
@Stephanie, no, don’t discard them. They’re delicious. You can package them separately with a little sauce. Reheat on the stove, in the oven, or on the grill and serve with pasta and more sauce.
Sahara
How many cups of red sauce with sausage do you use for your Best Lasagna Ever recipe? Thanks! I can’t wait to get cooking!
Jessica Fisher
I follow the recipe from Wondertime. I think it says three cups sauce. Then I add one pound of beef, like the recipe suggests.
bethany cantrell
Really? The raw sausages fully cook in a simmering pot?
Jessica Fisher
They simmer for over two hours, so yes.
Julia
Do you crumble, brown and drain the Italian sausage before adding it to the sauce?
Jessica Fisher
No, I leave the sausage whole in the links that they come in. Just drop them in the sauce and let it cook for several hours. It makes the sauce taste amazing.
Ashley
Hi! I just found your blog recently and have been enjoying reading it. Thanks for all the tips! I made your red sauce with meat, and was wondering how you freeze it or store it? Obviously, it makes ALOT, so I want a good way to preserve it. Thanks for your help!
Jessica Fisher
I just put it in plastic containers with lids.
Peggy
I just would like to verify that you add 6 – 28oz cans of water
Jessica Fisher
Yes, this is a huge pot of sauce, of a thinner consistency. You may want to divide it into two pots.
Jen E
FishMama ~ How do you store 5 dinners worth of pasta sauce when this is done? Freezer?
Thanks, Jen
Jessica Fisher
I divide the sauce into 2-cup portions in plastic containers, cool, and freeze.
Cindy
Your pasta recipe sounds delicious, I was just looking for a pasta sauce recipe.
One of my family favorite recipes is Vegetable Casserole and it is so versatile. You can easily adjust the amounts according to your pan size or how much you want to make. This is just a basic idea
Brown 1 lb hamburger with 1/2 onion and a pinch of salt and pepper
Peel and cut 6 large potatoes
3 Family Size cans of Campbells Vegetable Soup
1/2 pound American Cheese – Shredded (or the cheese of your choice)
Spray 13×9 inch pan with cooking spray
Put the potatoes on the bottom, add hamburger, add 1/3 cheese and enough soup to cover that layer
Make additional 1 or 2 layers and cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours until the potatoes are tender. If you want you can sprinkle some additional cheese on the top right before taking this out of the oven
This recipe was passed on to me from a friend of my mom’s. She was a wife of farmer and made all kinds of wonderful recipes but never had exact measurements.
She also said if you want more vegetables you can add what you have. In the summer she would make this and add fresh veges from her garden – like green beans or zuchini
She said you can also omit the hamburger if you don’t eat it
FishMama
Thanks for all your great recipes!
Honey
OK. I’m going to try to do this from memory (scary). And I’m one of those cooks who rarely measures. Just put however much you like! This is Lemon Tuna Pasta. YUM!!!!! Cook angel hair pasta. While it cooks make your “salsa cruda”: olive oil, tuna, capers, fresh parsley, kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts,lemon zest and lemon juice (1 lemon).For extra lemony flavor, use the lemon flavored tuna pouches. This is perfect for summer, because you can make it in the morning and not have to heat up the kitchen in the afternoon.
Heather
Got in this late this week — I think my recipe is a lot like yours. Received my coupons in the mail today — thank you! Have a great weekend — it is 60 degrees and sunny here — yeah — we can play outside!
Hoosier Homemade
Thanks for offering the Ultimate Recipe Swap!
Kristen
I don’t know if it’s my computer or what, but I can’t find Mr. Linky on your post. Here is a link to one of the best pasta dishes I have made in a long time:
http://wiseanticsoflife.blogspot.com/2009/01/meals-from-freezer-week-smoked-sausage.html
Snow White
your chicken and bowties looks excellent!
Katie @ goodLife {eats}
I love this recipe for Alfredo Sauce because it is so silky smooth. I use half and half for lower fat, but still fabuslous taste.
http://good-life-eats.blogspot.com/2009/02/perfect-alfredo.html
CountryMama@The Cozy Country Home
Hee..hee…I use the same Rachel Ray tip…the beef broth. Works every time…tastes like it’s been simmering all day!! (I of course say, Oh, sure it has!!)
Ashley
How much beef broth do you use?
Jessica Fisher
Use as much broth as you need to thin the sauce to your liking.