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.
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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.
This is my go to “red” sauce recipe. I usually add Italian sausage to the sause and let it go. The sausages end up soft and yummy & give you so many more uses for this sauce. Over pasta, sausages on rolls, lasagna sauce……… Endless possibilities. I love this recipe and this site! Thanks you Beth, your a culinary genius!!
Instead of adding water if you need moisture, I would recommend using V8 juice original flavor. It adds such a wonderful depth to my tomato-based recipes, that I always use some.
Love it! Thanks! I always add v8 to my chili, but never thought to add it to my marinara. :)
Thank you for the great recipe. It’s great as is, but I always add a healthy squirt of sriracha to the sauce to give it a bit of a kick.
I think this recipe looks amazing, and can’t wait to try it; however, I wanted to let you know that the recipe calculator widget does not appear to be functioning correctly for the first ingredient (the crushed tomatoes) For example, the recipe for six cups calls for two 28-oz. cans of crushed tomatoes, and the recipe for 12 cups, which should simply double that and call for four 28-oz. cans, calls instead for four 56-oz cans! It’s doubling both the number of cans, and the ounces. Everything else appears correct.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks! I’ll fix that. :)
Has anybody tried waterbath canning this recipe? I’m guessing the small amount of vinegar added wouldn’t be enough to up the acidity for safe canning. I have my own recipe but it just wasn’t hitting the spot the last batch I made, so I think I might give this a try. Maybe try canning it by adding lemon juice to the jars to be safe.
Made this tonight! Delicious! I am also storing in freezer. There are only two of us so there are PLENTY of leftovers!
What type of container do you freeze this in? How long does it keep in the freezer?
I like to use either freezer bags (quart size is a good size for me based on how much of the sauce I like to thaw and use at a time) or those reusable Ziploc or Gladware containers. It will last at least three months in the freezer. It doesn’t “go bad” the quality just slowly degrades over time.
You can also freeze in old glass jars, recycled. I keep many sizes of jars and use for freezing sauce. Just remember to leave a little bit of room for expansion when it freezes.
I’d like to try this, but have a ton of fresh tomatoes to use from my garden. Could I substitute for the canned crushed tomatoes?
This marinara is delicioso! I put it in the slow cooker at 6 AM and by 4 PM I finally had time to taste it. I was busy cleaning up from making Italian bread and ricotta gnocchis (resting in the fridge until my husband gets home). I will make a double batch of this next time and can it. I got BOGOs on the crushed tomatoes and paste for the marinara, super-sale on eggs and flour after Hurricane Irma, and everything else was on hand, so it was a very inexpensive day of cooking.
Have you tried this in the Instant Pot yet? This is my go-to marinara recipe, just wondering if it would work in the IP! :)
I haven’t yet! :)
The IP doesn’t work so well for this recipe – the “More” heat setting barely gets the top over 175. I would love to see a pressure cook version.
yes it works perfectly in the IP, just don’t add the water. I’m just about to make another batch
How long did you cook this in the IP?
I just made this and it turned out delicious! I’ve tried 2 different “easy” marinara sauces that were too acidic for me/not my preference. This is by far easier…and tastes very close to my italian mother in law’s sauce! I got a late start so i cooked on high for 6 hours stirring every so often. I had a couple diced tomatoes cans sitting in the cupboard so i just blended everything up at the end for a smooth sauce. I will definitely make this again! I’m thinking I’ll use the leftovers tomorrow for a chili base and further clean out my pantry! Thank you for the recipe beth!
I added a whole green pepper and boy was that was a mistake! I added 1 more TBL spoon of vinegar and still WAY too sweet. I eventually added another can of tomato paste and let it cook another 2 hours. Now it tastes wonderful! Yes, I had to add some extra spices but it turned out great! Will never buy pasta sauce again.
I had one question, is it shelf stable in a mason jar or do I have to freeze it? I’m freezing it for now because I don’t want it to go bad. Thanks for the great recipe!
You definitely have to freeze it. :)
This the second time I’ve made this sauce and it is a family favorite! Thanks for indicating that the sauce lasts 4 months in the freezer. How long would you say it lasts in the fridge?
Probably only 4-5 days in the fridge.
I made this today almost exactly as written, with the addition of a can of whole, peeled tomatoes. It is really incredible and I’m sure I’ll make it again often. I’ve been making it on the stovetop for years. I’ve had scorching issues, and splattering all over the stove. This really was foolproof! Thank you!
OK-I didn’t follow exactly. I sautéed the holy trinity of Italian cooking – carrots, celery and onion after finely chopping in my food processor and added one link of Italian sausage. BUT otherwise I followed exactly and came out with the best sauce I have made in years. At this point, I’ve made this several times and went through my balsamic vinegar so had to substitute white wine vinegar and that worked fine. Will not even try another marinara recipe. This is delicious.