Homemade Spaghetti Sauce in the Slow Cooker

by Alli

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce simmers for hours in the slow cooker. Crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings meld together to make a delicious sauce. 

My mama’s spaghetti is the best in the world. Period.

When I was growing up, my dad didn’t care much for spaghetti. He liked good southern cooking like fried chicken, rice and gravy, peas, biscuits, cornbread, sliced tomatoes, and banana pudding for dessert.

Spaghetti night was just tolerated by him, but my siblings and I always looked forward to mom’s homemade spaghetti and buttery BBQ bread. Later, dad learned to love mom’s spaghetti too!

Mom's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

These days, I don’t take the time to simmer and stir homemade spaghetti sauce for half a day. I always have Ragu on hand because I really do like it. But, sometimes, I just want mama’s homemade spaghetti.

I created a version of mom’s homemade spaghetti, but I put it in the slow cooker and forget about it. It’s not exactly mom’s, but it’s mighty close.

When it’s time for dinner, I cook the pasta until it’s al dente and top it with Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce. I toss together a simple salad and it’s done. I can rarely find that BBQ bread that mom used to make. 🙁

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce in the Slow Cooker

In a skillet, brown the ground beef and diced onions. Drain.

In a slow cooker, add ground beef, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, olive oil, and seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over spaghetti. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce in the Slow Cooker

Helpful Hint: I add a tablespoon of grape jelly to my spaghetti sauce to amp up the flavor. I’ve never liked sugar in spaghetti sauce, but the grape jelly is perfect!

You May Also Like These Recipes

Yield: 6 servings

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce in the Slow Cooker

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce in the Slow Cooker

This homemade spaghetti sauce simmers in the slow cooker all day.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground chuck, cooked and drained
  • 1 large onion, diced and cooked with ground chuck
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon grape jelly
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 large package of spaghetti, cooked
  • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Brown ground beef and diced onions in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain.
  2. Stir together the ground beef mixture and all ingredients (except spaghetti and cheese) in the slow cooker.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  4. Serve sauce over spaghetti and top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 364Total Fat 17gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 85mgSodium 899mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 4gSugar 10gProtein 30g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook

Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce smells so good while it simmers away in the slow cooker. What’s your favorite pasta dish?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19 comments

Jeanette July 12, 2017 - 7:09 am

I love homemade spaghetti sauce it taste so much better than store-bought stuff. I have never tried doing it in the crockpot but I definitely need to do this.

Reply
robin rue July 12, 2017 - 7:10 am

I come from a big Italian family, so homemade sauce is a MUST. My recipe is my great grandmother’s 🙂

Reply
Sarah Honey July 12, 2017 - 8:24 am

What a great idea to make a sauce in the slow cooker! I never thought about that. I usually just make it on the stove and cook it all day.

Reply
Doria July 12, 2017 - 10:11 am

Mmmmm this sound so tasty! I’ve never heard of using grape jelly to sweeten, but I can imagine it works well between the sweetness and the tang of the grape 🙂

Reply
Gwendolyn M Mulholland July 12, 2017 - 12:41 pm

I love making my sauce in the slow cooker and letting the seasonings and flavors meld together all day.I would never have thought to put grape jelly in my sauce and find it to be an interesting choice.

Reply
Debra Hawkins July 12, 2017 - 2:00 pm

That is such an amazing idea to make it in the slow cooker! I am all about anything that doesn’t heat up my house in the summer.

Reply
lisa July 12, 2017 - 2:33 pm

We are big pasta eaters in our house, but I never thought to make my own pasta sauce before! This sounds like a great recipe for me to try soon!

Reply
Jenn July 12, 2017 - 9:09 pm

It’s been years since I made my own sauce. This sounds delicious, and pretty easy. I’ll have to give it a try.

Reply
Liz Mays July 12, 2017 - 9:13 pm

I bet those flavors really sink in when you use the slow cooker. Yum! I need to make sauce this way!

Reply
Pam July 12, 2017 - 10:11 pm

There isn’t anything quite like homemade spaghetti sauce. I love making sauces in my trusty slow-cooker.

Reply
Christy Maurer July 12, 2017 - 10:13 pm

I’ve been wanting a homemade spaghetti sauce recipe forever! This sounds so good. We do have a really good jarred brand that is made locally that tastes homemade, but nothing beats slow simmered sauce!

Reply
Cacinda July 13, 2017 - 8:03 am

This sounds like exactly how I make my homemade sauce! I love using the slow cooker because I can set it and forget it! I love that you included chop meat in your sauce.

Reply
Amanda July 13, 2017 - 11:26 am

I never thought to make spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker! I bet it is such a great way to give it a slow cooked flavor…can’t wait to try it out this Fall!

Reply
Carin Kilby Clark July 13, 2017 - 11:35 am

Spaghetti has always been a favorite around my house. I’ve never made it in the slow cooker, though. I have to give this a try the next time.

Reply
Jenn @ EngineerMommy July 13, 2017 - 1:40 pm

Making my own sauces from scratch is one of my favorite things to do. Salsas, guacamoles, BBQ sauces and more can all be made from scratch. I’m totally trying your spaghetti sauce this weekend.

Reply
Jenny July 13, 2017 - 11:36 pm

Yum, I love home made sauces and cooking with my crock pot. Makes dinner easy for us busy moms!

Reply
Our Family World July 14, 2017 - 5:54 am

I have never tried adding grape jelly to my spaghetti sauce. I usually make my own spaghetti sauce especially now that there are so many tomatoes available to purchase at a low price. I would love to try your version too!

Reply
Kimberly @ Berly's Kitchen July 16, 2017 - 7:36 am

Your meat sauce looks amazing! It’s breakfast time right now, but I would love to have a big plate of it. 🙂 Thanks for the tip about the grape jelly. I’ve never heard of that, but it makes total sense.

Reply
Natalie Smith September 13, 2017 - 1:15 pm

Hey,
Everything looks great and very easy to make, thanks for sharing your original Italian pasta with meat sauce.
Cheers

Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe