You know what I love about this Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce? It's loaded with ground beef, Italian sausage, tomatoes, and plenty of Italian flavor, without spending all afternoon babysitting a pot on the stove!
A little prep, a few simple ingredients, and your slow cooker takes it from there. And that smell coming from the kitchen? Oh my goodness, it'll have everyone asking when dinner's ready!
Why this spaghetti sauce is a must make
Ground beef and Italian sausage give this sauce big, hearty flavor, while frozen onions and peppers save you time in the kitchen. It's budget-friendly, makes plenty to feed the family, and is delicious over spaghetti or layered into my Lazy Lasagna Casserole. Talk about getting two dinners out of one recipe!
Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage mild or hot
- 2 ½ cups frozen onion and pepper blend
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 28 ounces Italian-style diced tomatoes
- 28 ounces Italian-style stewed tomatoes
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoons pepper
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh basil sliced into ribbons
Instructions
- Spray the inside of a crockpot with cooking spray (or insert a crockpot liner).
- In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the beef and sausage with the frozen onions and peppers until the meat is fully cooked and most of the moisture has evaporated.
- Add the minced garlic, and continue to cook for about a minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Drain excess grease, and transfer the mixture to a prepared crockpot.
- Stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, beef broth, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
- Just before serving, add the grated Parmesan and fresh basil. Stir well. Serve over your favorite pasta and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Ingredients
Please refer to the printable recipe card for the exact measurements for this recipe.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ's)
Yes, I recommend it! Browning the ground beef and Italian sausage adds flavor and lets you drain off the excess grease before everything goes into the slow cooker. It's one extra step, but it's worth it for a rich, hearty spaghetti sauce.
I don't recommend it. The long cooking time will leave you with mushy noodles, and nobody wants that. Cook your pasta separately just before serving, then spoon that delicious homemade sauce right over the top.
If your sauce is too thin, remove the lid and cook on high for the last 30 minutes to help some of the liquid evaporate. You can also stir in a tablespoon or two of tomato paste. If it's too thick, add beef broth or water, a little at a time, until it's just right.
Yes, and I think it tastes even better the next day! The flavors have more time to mingle. Store the cooled sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat until hot throughout and serve over freshly cooked pasta.
And when you've got extra sauce, put it to work in my One Pot Lasagna Soup. It's an easy way to turn leftovers into a completely different dinner!
Deb's top tip
Don't rush browning the meat! Cook the ground beef and Italian sausage until nicely browned and most of the moisture has evaporated.
Those browned bits add so much flavor to the sauce, giving it that rich, slow-simmered taste that makes homemade spaghetti sauce so good!
More homemade sauces to try
If you love a good homemade pasta sauce, I've got a couple more you'll want to try! My Marinara Sauce is a classic that's great for pasta, pizza, or dipping warm breadsticks. And don't miss the Roasted Tomato Garlic Sauce! Roasting the tomatoes and garlic brings out their natural sweetness and gives the sauce a wonderful depth of flavor.
Dinner's in the bag!
There's nothing better than having a big batch of homemade spaghetti sauce simmering away while you go about your day! This is the kind of recipe I love making because it's hearty, packed with flavor, and makes enough for dinner tonight with leftovers for another meal.
Grab some garlic bread, toss together a simple salad, and dinner is done! When you make this Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce, be sure to leave a comment and let me know how your family enjoyed it!
Sue Turcsany says
There's nothing better than a rich, flavorful slow cooked spaghetti meat sauce. I love that you used both ground beef and sausage. My husband won our crockpot 20+ years ago as a raffle prize and it still works so well it deserves its own permanent spot on the counter. Thanks for sharing this new recipe.
Linda Youngs says
This crockpot spaghetti sauce sounds wonderful! Now that we are down to two at dinner, I can easily make one meal and freeze the rest of the sauce for another day when life is full of doctor appointments!!
Carol says
Love that there is sausage in your sauce recipe. Another must try crockpot recipe.
Julie Escarcega says
This recipe sounds delicious and easy to make in my crockpot. I like the idea of using the frozen onion and pepper blend- no chopping up veggies! Will be trying out this recipe the next spaghetti night. And I especially like the fact that it's easy to freeze as I live alone. Will freeze in individual portions.