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–+ servings
Slow cooker spaghetti sauce with wooden spoon inside pot.
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5 from 1 vote

Crock Pot Classic Spaghetti Sauce

Just 10 minutes to prepare, this Slow Cooker Spaghetti sauce will be your go to recipe. It makes enough to enjoy plenty of leftovers.
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 172kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 pound Italian sausage
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 can tomato sauce (15 ounce)
  • 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)
  • 1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)
  • 1 can tomato paste (6 ounce)

Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning

  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • ¼ teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, Italian sausage and onion and cook until browned. Once done, drain any excess fat or liquid.
  • Carefully transfer the meat mixture to the crock pot. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the sugar to the pot and mix to combine.
  • Cook on low for 3-8 hours. Before serving, stir in the sugar, then serve over spaghetti or other pasta.

Notes

Substitutions: 
  • Ground Beef – You can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken if you want to lighten it up a bit.
  • Italian sausage – You can use ground Italian sausage or links and bust out the meat from the casing. For a little extra bite, use spicy sausage.
  • Onion – Yellow or white onions will both work.
  • Dried herbs – If you want to swap out any of the dry herbs for fresh herbs, multiply the amount of dry by 3. So ¼ teaspoon dried thyme would amount to ¾ teaspoon fresh chopped thyme.
  • Garlic powder – You could substitute 2 tablespoons fresh grated or minced garlic instead, but garlic powder is the quickest and easiest option.
How to Store: To save leftovers, separate into meal sized portions and then place in an airtight container and store:
  • in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
  • in the freezer up to a month
How to Freeze:  Making this easy weeknight spaghetti with meat sauce recipe into a freezer meal is simple! Follow the steps below, and you can store this recipe in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  1. Allow the sauce to cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container: gallon ziptop bags, mason jars, or containers with lids. Then, spoon the sauce into the container.
  2. If freezing in a zip-top bag, place the bag flat on a baking sheet and in the freezer. Once frozen, you can stack them more easily. Be sure to label the sauce with a name and date.
How to Reheat:
  • In the microwave on 30 second increments, stir and continue until heated through.
How to Scale: This recipe can be halved, but if you double it you would need another crockpot. 

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 829mg | Potassium: 565mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 692IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 2mg