The Simplest Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

This Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce is full of flavor and hearty, featuring ground beef and sausage. Just throw the ingredients in the crock pot and enjoy.

Slow cookers aren’t just for winter. This spaghetti sauce recipe is a quick and easy way to get dinner on the table in the summer.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Barbara found this recipe in her trusty Pot O’Gold Cookbook and the original recipe was made on the stove top. She adapted the recipe to be done in the crock pot.

For full disclosure, we are all about using store-bought spaghetti sauce. There are some great options out there.  However, making your own spaghetti sauce is really simple and this recipe is a great one!

This sauce is thick, meaty, and oh-so flavorful. It features both ground beef and pork sausage (you can use ground pork if you’d like). Just brown up both meats on the stove top and add the onions and garlic before all the ingredients go into your slow cooker.

If you don’t want to put it together in the morning to enjoy at dinnertime, just cook it on the stove top following the instructions in the notes section of the recipe below.

This recipe makes a ton. Barbara froze half of it and used it later to make another batch of spaghetti.

Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce Ingredients

• Ground Beef
• Pork Sausage
• Onions
• Garlic
• Tomato Sauce
• Tomato Paste
• Bay Leaves
• Dried Basil
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Celery
• Water
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

The full recipe and ingredients are in the recipe card below.

How to Make Spaghetti Sauce from scratch in the crock pot

Step By Step Instructions

1. Brown ground beef and pork sausage; drain excess grease if needed.
2. Add diced onions and minced garlic; cook until tender.
3. To the crock pot insert, add all ingredients and stir.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 – 10 hour or high for 4 – 5 hours. Remove bay leaves before eating.
5. Serve over your favorite pasta noodles.

Storage Instructions

Let cool completely. Store in the fridge for up to a week. To freeze, place in airtight freezer bag or container. Store for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.

For the full instructions and ingredient list for homemade spaghetti sauce in the crock pot, scroll to the bottom of this post. 

Recipe FAQs

• This is a hearty sauce with lots of meat including ground beef and pork sausage. If you want a thinner sauce, add additional water to the recipe.
• Serving a large crowd? This spaghetti sauce from scratch recipe makes a huge portion, making it great for parties and get-togethers.
• Try freezing half of a batch for later if you don’t need it all at once.
• Fresh garlic is best but refrigerated minced garlic works in a pinch too.
• Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.
• Want to make this on the stove top? Follow instructions above, but use a large saucepan. You may need 2 tomato sauce cans of water, depending on how thick you like your sauce. Bring sauce to a slow boil, then turn down to a simmer. Simmer until ready to serve.

Recipe Variations for Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

• Substitute ground turkey for ground beef.
• Italian sausage is a great option for the pork sausage.
• Add dried oregano for more flavor.
• Serve over zucchini noodles, if desired.

Can you put raw ground beef in slow cooker spaghetti sauce?

Technically, any time a crock pot recipe calls for ground beef, you can put it in raw. The meat will get cooked in the slow cooker when cooked on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6 hours.  There are some pros and cons to putting ground meat in raw as opposed to cooking it on the stovetop first.

Pros: Putting ground meat in raw saves time, and the meat will be very fine in texture (no chunks).

Cons: Ground meat usually has fat blended into it which has nowhere to go if you cook it in the crock pot except in your dish.  Cooking the ground meat on the stovetop first allows you the opportunity to drain off the excess grease.  Secondly, browning ground beef adds caramelization to the which is more flavorful.

Neither option is right or wrong; however, it’s just personal preference.

Kid-Friendly Pasta Recipes

Spaghetti Pie

Lemon Chicken Pasta

Aunt Shannon’s Extra Cheesy Beef Lasagna

Taco Pasta Salad