I’ve made a few variations of pasta sauce over the years, but this Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce is definitely one of my favorites. The long slow simmer caramelizes the sugars in the tomatoes and creates a depth of flavor that can’t be matched. Plus, what more could you ask for than to just throw some ingredients in a pot, forget about it for 8 hours, and then come back to a rich, delicious homemade sauce? Then you can divide the sauce into portions, freeze, and you’ll have delicious homemade pasta sauce on hand for quick busy weeknight dinners.
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Why make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce?
Pasta sauce can be bought premade really cheaply, so I think in a lot of cases it does make sense to just buy a jar and go with it. But if you want to have a little more control over the quality and ingredients of your pasta sauce while still keeping costs low, this Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce is a great option.
What Size Slow Cooker to Use
This recipe makes about 2 quarts of sauce, so I would suggest using a 3 quart or larger slow cooker. You don’t need anything fancy, just a very basic slow cooker with basic functions like warm, low, and high. I do find that slow cookers made with a thick ceramic insert (or “crock”) cook much more evenly than metal inserts, like you’d have when using the slow cooker function on an Instant Pot.
Why Add Balsamic Vinegar?
The balsamic vinegar in this recipe adds a subtle depth and brightness to the sauce. It can seem strong at first, but it mellows out as the sauce is cooked. If you’re not a fan of balsamic vinegar or just don’t have any on hand, this recipe will still make a really amazing sauce even if you leave it out.
Can I Add Meat?
I’ve tried this sauce before with ground beef and I found the cook time to be far too long for the ground beef, so if you do want to add meat I suggest browning it separately and then just stirring it into the sauce after cooking. You can also check out my quick Weeknight Pasta Sauce for an easy and flavorful meat sauce option.
How to Freeze Pasta Sauce
This recipe makes about 7 cups. I suggest dividing the sauce into two or three cup portions before freezing so you can take out just enough for one recipe at a time to thaw. Let the spaghetti sauce cool completely in the fridge, then transfer to freezer-safe containers to freeze. The sauce will stay good in the freezer for about three months, but this can vary depending on the conditions in your freezer. If you use quart-sized freezer bags and freeze them laying flat they stack nicely in the freezer without taking up much space.
You can thaw the sauce in the refrigerator overnight or just cut the bag away from the frozen sauce, place it in a saucepot, and heat over medium-low until it’s heated through (stir occasionally).
This sauce goes great with Homemade Meatballs (also freezer-friendly)!
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Servings 7 cupsIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 2 28oz. cans crushed tomatoes ($2.00)
- 1 6oz. can tomato paste ($0.69)
- 1 Tbsp dried basil ($0.30)
- 1.5 tsp dried oregano ($0.15)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.03)
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ($0.14)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.40)
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste) ($0.05)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Place both in a 3 quart or larger slow cooker.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, and butter to the slow cooker. Stir everything together well.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours.
- After cooking, give it a good stir, then add salt to taste. Start with just ½ tsp of salt and add more if needed (I added 1 tsp). Use the sauce immediately, refrigerate, or freeze for later.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Looking for a stove top pasta sauce recipe? Check out our Easy Marinara Sauce.
How to Make Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce – Step By Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion and mince four cloves of garlic. Add both to a 3 quart or larger slow cooker.
Add 2 28oz. cans of crushed tomatoes and one 6oz. can of tomato paste to the slow cooker.
Also add 1 Tbsp dried basil, 1.5 tsp dried oregano, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, and 4 Tbsp butter to the slow cooker.
Give the ingredients a good stir until they’re evenly incorporated.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours. After cooking, it will look a little like the photo above (the white is just the milk fats from the butter). Give it a good stir.
Add salt to the sauce to taste. Start with ½ teaspoon and add more until the flavors pop. I ended up using one teaspoon total.
Use the slow cooker spaghetti sauce immediately or refrigerate then freeze for long-term storage.
What’s the best way to freeze pasta sauce? (i.e. baggies, jars, tupperware)
Nevermind!! I see that someone else had this same question and you already answered!
Thanks! I’m going to try this tomorrow :)
I love this recipe, I’ve made it many a time. Today I’m trying it in my instant pot 😊
Love this recipe, I always make recipe and a half. I think tomatoes have gone back down since this was calculated. I took the price I paid for the tomatoes & onion, which are the only things I had to buy. Used your prices for the pantry items, plus $.12 for a couple ounces of box wine that I used to rinse the tomato cans. For a recipe and a half I spent $5.10. It made 10 cups so $.255 a serving. I’ll freeze a couple bags of it and will easily get three meals if not four out of it depending on what I make. Five bucks well spent!
I have two picky toddlers that arent huge veggie lovers but they can eat their weight in spaghetti lol Has anyone tried adding peppers or other veggies to this recipe ?
I’m sure peppers would cook down and be almost invisible in there! :) You can also check out my Vegetable and Meat Sauce. It’s SO good and the vegetables are totally hidden.
I haven’t to this recipe buy I have others and they mushave right down 😊
I have been using this as my “go-to” marinara recipe for the longest. The only change I make is that I sometimes mince up a carrot or two and add that to the recipe.
Thank you.
What do you freeze your marinara in? Glass jars? Tupperware? Thanks!
I like to use either those blue top reusable Ziploc containers or a heavy duty quart-sized freezer bag.
I don’t have a crockpot. Can I make this on the stove on low?
Thanks!
Yes, you can let it simmer on the lowest setting. I’m not sure how long, though, because even on the lowest setting it’s often a bit hotter than a slow cooker.
Ok so I have a challenge for you. I am with out a oven right now and all I have to cook on is a little plug up burner and a crockpot. I would love some recipes for my situation. I am also into canning so if you have any other recipes for canning I would love them.
Thanks a bunch,
Stressful situation
How much crushed red pepper would you add to the portions of ingredients in this recipe? Maybe 1 TBS? Is that too much? I’m not good at this part.
1 Tbsp is probably too much. It really depends on how spicy you like things, but I’d start with about 1/2 tsp.
I can only imagine how amazing this will be when San Marzano crushed tomatoes are used. They are the best and should be used for all tomato dishes, however, the calculations will be quite different, lol.
It seems some people have had trouble when doubling this recipe (necessary due to the size of my slow cooker), so are there any tips you can give on doubling the quantities? Or leave it as is?
Hmm, I’m not sure what might be causing the issues with doubling it. Maybe it might need a stir half way through to expose more of the sauce to the heated edges?
I made a double batch of this sauce yesterday. It made the house smell amazing and tasted fabulous! Will be making on a regular basis!
I love this recipe, my husband is on a low sodium diet, so its easy to adjust the ingredients to be low sodium. He loves it and its way cheaper than the Trader Joe’s No Salt Spaghetti Sauce.
I made this the first time and I think I put in too much onion. But the second time I was much more reserved. I think, as a not so good cook, and despite decades of trying to get it right, my biggest problem comes from the vagueness of measures. In the US it’s bigger is better so a medium size is a relative thing since every onion I see is (I think) large but then I don’t have any point of reference. Please give measures by cups. Thanks much. Oh by the way the second time I made it it was great. Will keep as a staple recipe.
Looks great! I think I’m going to make this tomorrow and add frozen meatballs for meatball subs. Should I add them in the last hour or go ahead and put them in at the beginning?