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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Equipment
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.
I’ve got lots of fresh tomatoes, but no canned or paste. Can I still make this work? If so, what changes would you make?
Unfortunately, that would require a lot of changes to the recipe, so I wouldn’t be able to offer advice without doing a lot of testing and basically developing a separate recipe for use with fresh tomatoes.
I usually make my tomato sauce on the stove, sautéing onions with herbs and stirring the pot frequently over a period of hours. I was skeptical that a slow cooker recipe could get the right flavors without the Maillard reaction from cooking the onions in hot oil first. While the onion taste was a little diminished, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this recipe has good bones: It’s very easy, and the flavors both blend and mature nicely in the slow cooker.
To my palate, the recipe as presented was a little harsh. I attribute this to generous quantity of oregano and the lack of oil. I adjusted things at the end by adding a little olive oil and a little more sugar. (I generally view adding sugar as a sign of failure, but I’ll do it to smooth out a rough sauce if I have to.) Since the basic approach seems pretty good, I’m happy to give it another shot with some minor tweaks to align it more with my preferences. I think there’s a lot of potential here.
I made this sauce following the recipe and it’s the best home made sauce ever! I blitzed it with a stick blender so my son wouldn’t know there’s onion in it and he eats it with no complaints. It’s thick and not watery like other recipes I’ve tried and freezes really well It also defrosts fast so easy to use if I need it last minute.. I now have a stockpile in my freezer.
Why does your “Homemade Marinara” recipe make half as much sauce with the same amount of tomatoes and less cooking time?
They’re two different style sauces. :) You’ll get different texture and different flavors when you change ingredients and cooking techniques. The Homemade marinara is a bit thicker with a brighter flavor. This one has a deeper, sweeter flavor due to the long cook time.
Love this sauce so much! Made it five times now, exactly as written. Only difference is I make it in a Dutch oven instead of a slow cooker. So easy and delicious, I’m saving this recipe forever!
Hello, can I can/jar this and store in the cellar? Will lemon juice help it last longer? Thanks.
Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with canning, so I can’t advise. :)
This sauce is delicious… I kept going back for little spoonfuls while it was cooling 😅
I’ve just sautéed the onion and a carrot & celery until soft. I’ve put it in a tub with all the rest of the ingredients all ready to put in the slow cooker in the morning. It’s tasting lovely already, can’t wait to taste it when it’s cooked all day!
OMG! this looks delicious!! I can think of about a million ways to enjoy this!
Thanks Rahul!
I’ve made this recipe many times over the years, to rave reviews! Thank you, thank you! Here are my “tweaks”: First, I use fresh herbs from my kitchen garden when I can – basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, & garlic chives. I put in whole sprigs of the first three & add chopped parsley & chives at the end for “brightness.” We’ve had a long, hot summer, so as my basil is just getting ready to go to seed, I’m making multiple batches of sauce for the freezer now! Secondly, instead of sugar, I use an old Italian cook’s tip for sweetness: boil down a carrot (or tonight baby carrots, as they were handy!) until squishy-soft & only a couple tablespoons of boiling water remains, then crush the carrots with a fork & add with remaining water to the sauce – perfect sweetness without refined sugar!
Thanks for sharing Angela!
Simple and delicious. Needed a marinara recipe because covid wiped out all the jars of sauce. This cost much less than the expensive sauce ethic was my go to, and it tasted better. Thanks!
I’ve made this before with canned tomatoes and it’s delicious! I was wondering if you have any idea how to substitute fresh in this recipe? As in how many fresh tomatoes = crushed, or any tips like should I chop them or use a food processor to crush them myself, and any extra seasonings?
Unfortunately I haven’t tested this with fresh and I think it would take quite a bit of tweaking to make that substitution.
Hi Beth. Thank you for this recipe! I was fortunate to learn to creatively cook & bake on my Memèré’s apron strings. I am, as I type, making a version of this recipe that started with a bag of “Canning Tomatoes-FREE” from a co worker. I took those Roma tomatoes, dipped them in boiling water, removed the skins and my husband (a Chef Ramsay fan who can never be left out of anything…) ran a knife through them to course chop. Added fresh chopped onion & garlic; balsamic vinegar, br. sugar, tomato paste, & whatever dried sprigs from the herb garden that smelled right (at the moment). Our intention was to purée the lot, but it is approaching divinity-I believe we’ll leave it as is🤤
This made a really good sauce. I’m used to making sauce on the stove top, with many more steps and ingredients- an all day affair. I was looking for a replacement for the delicious but super expensive Rao’s jarred sauce I buy when I don’t feel up to making my own. I wanted something simpler and the crock pot method is perfect for the summer heat. This came out so good and my picky family all liked it- I’ll probably opt for this recipe more frequently than my standby method in the future. I added homemade meatballs at the four hour mark, and everything was cooked to perfection at the end of eight hours. Five stars for ease, cost, and taste.
OK. THIS is a good sauce. My crockpot runs a little hot, even on low, so I turned it down to warm after 4 hours and it still simmered down to a fabulous sauce in 8. I DID do it a “little” differently because I had time – I cooked the onions and garlic in olive oil until the onions were just clear and deglazed the pan with about 1/4 c of red wine (my hub has to have red wine in his sauce) and then poured it in the pot to make sure i got all the onion flavor. A REALLY good, old school sauce reminiscent of an Italian restaurant…WILL make again at 2x the recipe. Made enough for at least 2 dinners for a family of 4.
This recipe is just what I’ve been searching for to make a no-sodium marinara sauce. What kind of balsamic vinegar is best? I have red Modena.
I love your recipes – many of them are the best things I cook !!
I actually haven’t tested this with multiple types of balsamic vinegar, but I’m quite sure that whatever I used (I made this recipe probably 8 or 9 years ago), it was inexpensive and probably not very high quality. LOL The better the quality balsamic vinegar, the better the marinara will taste!
Would you rec ommend substituting red cooking wine for. The sugar?