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.
Some things I was taught by my great grandparents: sauté onions and garlic in butter or oil, helps pull lots of flavor to enjoy! I only buy tomato paste from store we grow most other produce, I will pull the top core out of tomato and throw the whole piece into blender. Less waste and it’s a bit thicker and more flavorful! We prefer Roma’s from our garden, and with those we dont have to add sugar, same spices! Always get asked for the recipe, can 20+ quarts a year!
I doubled up the recipe to freeze for easy meals when I go off maternity leave in two weeks. I cooked it for 8 hours but when it was done, it was not pleasant. I am adding more sugar and cooking for another few hours in the hope of salvaging the batch. Otherwise I will be going back to my old, low and slow stovetop recipe.
Ruth – I think you can just add them in raw (in the beginning). Usually mushrooms are sauteed to remove some of their moisture, but that won’t be an issue in the sauce :) Or, if you like that caramelized flavor that they get sometimes when sauteed, you can saute them in a skillet after the sauce is done and then add them at the end.
Hi Beth – I have some fresh mushrooms that I would like to add… do i need to saute them first? can i put them in fresh at the beginning? Thanks!
I have fresh mushrooms. When should I add them? Do I need to saute them up first? Thanks so much!
Anon – I have to admit, I’ve never done it in the oven. I think the key is to cook it at a low temperature (maybe 250?) for a long time.
I’m going to try making this in my cast iron Dutch oven to replicate a slow cooker. Any tips for me.
*see my previous post* 1:50 pm we had it for dinner – it was really good – my slow cooker is one of the newer ones and the low setting is hot so it was done in about 6 hours. Next time I will add more tomato paste and some oil.- will definitely try this again.
Jen – I have to be honest, I’ve never tried it with fresh tomatoes, so I’m not sure how it would turn out. You’d probably still need the tomato paste, though. If you try it, please let us all know how it works out!
Our tomato plants are going crazy this year and I’ve never in my life made homemade sauce…today I took the plunge…EASY! put tomatoes (whole) in boiling water for 15-30 sec. then plunge them for the same amount of time in ice water…peel them(really easy) and seed them then throw it all in the crockpot…haven’t tasted it yet but the smell is making me crazy! can’t wait to eat it
I have a bunch of fresh tomoatoes from the garden. Do you think I could use them instead of canned tomatoes?
Vasty – Yes, that is correct, 56 oz. total :) It makes a big batch, but it freezes really well! …I just made some last night because I like to have it on hand in my freezer :)
Thanks for the recipe. Question: so 2 cans of crushed tomatoes 28oz EACH can? So 56oz total for this recipe?? Thanks.
Hi, thanks for the recipe. Question: you mean 2cans of crushed tomatoes 28oz EACH can? So a total of 56oz of crushed tomatoes for this recipe??? Help! :)
I couldn’t believe how AWFUL this came out…I followed the recipe to a t, but the end product made me convinced I must have done something wrong until I read the other comment about how theirs turned out way too acidic too. So I added even more sugar as Beth told them to do and cooked it for 2 more hours, hoping the heat would somehow mellow the acid out. This made it slightly more bearable but no where near a delightful sauce. So for people who enjoy sweet and heavenly tomato sauce, this really should only be made with fresh tomatoes to taste as such–canned ones are clearly too acidic to start with. As I dont have a garden doing that would just turn out to be either equal or more expensive than store bought sauce. However if any of you do have a bountiful amount of tomatoes in your backyard here’s a flexible recipe I would use if I did..
http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/08/fresh-tomato-sauce/
She doesn’t list any herbs for some reason so I would just use the ones Beth has here, plus thyme.