Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce with Ground Beef

What do you need for Crockpot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce?

To prepare this Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce with Ground Beef, you need the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:

• Tomatoes: are used as a paste, peeled (or diced) tomatoes, and sieved tomatoes. Because tomatoes are, of course, the main ingredient. And while you can use fresh tomatoes, they are only tasty in season (i.e., in summer). But the tomatoes you buy in a can are always picked in season. And therefore have the best flavor. And it makes this recipe easier and just as healthy.
• Onions, garlic, celery, and carrots: vegetables and fresh seasoning. Clean them, peel them, and cut them into small cubes. To make it even easier, buy everything pre-cut in the supermarket.
• Bacon, sugar, and Italian seasoning: sugar is added to taste the sweetness of the tomatoes. The bacon and spices, including Italian herbs, provide a little more depth. Place the bay leaf on top after mixing all the ingredients, so you can remove it easily when your stew is ready to eat (you can't eat a bay leaf). If you don't want to use sugar, add one teaspoon of baking soda (it will reduce the acidity)
• Red wine: This recipe becomes even better with a dash of red wine. And a great tip is to use the same red wine you plan to serve with your dinner. Wine contains alcohol, but this will evaporate during heating it in the slow cooker. If you prefer not to use wine, you can leave it out.
• Ground beef: For this meat sauce, I use ground beef. But you can also replace this with half-and-half meat, the meat of Italian sausage, or Vega minced meat.

How to prepare this crockpot pasta sauce

You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.

1. Heat oil in a large skillet and bake the onion, bacon, and tomato paste for three minutes. Frying the tomato paste in the pan for two minutes will sweeten it (otherwise, it could be a bit sour). Then add the garlic and stir-fry for thirty seconds. TIP: if you're short on time, you can discard this step. It's not necessary (, but it will give more flavor to the result.
2. Cut the carrot and celery into small cubes.
3. Add the minced beef to the onion mixture and bake for four to five minutes until brown.
4. Put the ingredients of your frying pan and the remaining ingredients (except the bay leaf) into the slow cooker. Stir well. Then place your bay leaf on top (that way, you can quickly find it to take out of the sauce). Turn the crockpot on, low heat, for at least 5 hours. Before serving, taste the result. The acidity of the tomatoes can differ from time to time. Therefore, it might be necessary to add some extra sugar.