Making crockpot spaghetti sauce with ground beef is a fun and easy recipe. Because the tomatoes stew for a long time, they fall apart completely and become nice and sweet. And the best part of this Italian recipe? You put all the ingredients into the slow cooker and you don't have to look after it for a few hours (until it's time for dinner).
This Italian spaghetti and meat sauce is so easy to make that I never buy it ready-made. And certainly not once you've tasted this crockpot spaghetti sauce. Because you can't buy a sauce this good in the supermarket.
And since you only need a few minutes to put everything into the slow cooker, it takes less time than drive to your supermarket and get back. And it's much healthier too. I would say try it yourself!
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🥘 You'll need these ingredients
A full list with ingredients can be found at the bottom of this post in the recipe card.
- Tomatoes: are used in the form of a paste, peeled tomatoes, and sieved tomatoes. Because tomatoes are, of course, the main ingredient in a spaghetti meat sauce. And while you can use fresh tomatoes, they are only tasty when in season (ie in summertime). 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. If you want to make it even easier, buy everything pre-cut in the supermarket.
- Bacon, sugar, and spices: sugar is added to taste the sweetness of the tomatoes in this crockpot spaghetti sauce. The bacon and spices, including Italian herbs, provide just a little more depth in the sauce. Place the bay leaf on top after mixing all the ingredients, so you can remove it easily when your sauce is ready to eat (you can't eat a bay leaf).
- Red wine: with a dash of red wine the sauce becomes even better. And a great tip is to use the same red wine, that you're planning to serve with your dinner.
- Minced meat: For this spaghetti meat sauce I use ground beef. But you can also replace this with half-and-half meat or Vega minced meat.
🔪How to prepare crockpot spaghetti sauce with meat
The full recipe in easy steps can be found down below in the recipe card.
Step 1: slice all your vegetables. Slice the onion and squeeze your garlic. Cut the carrot and celery into small cubes.
Step 2: Bake the onion, bacon, and tomato paste. Heat some oil in a frying pan and bake the onion, bacon, and tomato paste for three minutes. 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 your slow cooker spaghetti sauce.
Step 3: bake the meat until brown. Add the minced beef to the onion mixture and bake for four to five minutes until brown. This mixture will be the perfect base for your Italian pasta sauce with meat.
Step 4: Put everything into the crockpot. 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 find it back easily to take it out of the sauce). Turn the crockpot on, low heat, for at least 5 hours.
💭 Top tips
- Before serving, taste the spaghetti and meat sauce. The acidity of the tomatoes can differ from time to time. Therefore it might be necessary to add some extra sugar.
- Frying the tomato paste in the pan for two minutes, will sweet it (otherwise it could be a bit sour).
- In the frying pan, we bake the onion, bacon, tomato paste, garlic, and minced meat before we add it to make a crockpot spaghetti sauce. This will take you about terminates. If you have just a little bit of time, you can omit this step. It's not really necessary (although it does add extra flavor).
- Wine contains alcohol, but this will evaporate during heating this sauce. If you prefer not to use wine, you can leave it out.
- You can replace the peeled tomatoes with fresh, tomatoes. Only do it when they're in season. Then their flavor is optimal. In other seasons it's not recommended because canned tomatoes almost always taste better.
- You can also replace the ground beef with half-and-half meat (which is budget-friendly) or with ground chicken. If you prefer a vegetarian/vegan dish use Vega minced meat and substitute the bacon with slices of mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes.
- This spaghetti meat sauce is delicious to serve with spaghetti or any other pasta. But you can also use it as a meat sauce for your lasagna.
⏲️ Preparation and storage
- This crockpot spaghetti sauce with meat can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can also freeze this sauce. Use an airtight container to store it. That way this sauce will keep up to 2 months in the freezer. Let it defrost in the refrigerator. TIP when you double the ingredients you can store a second portion in the freezer. That way you got a healthy and easy meal during a busy night.
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📖 Recipe
How to make it
Crockpot spaghetti sauce with meat
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef
- 100 grams bacon strips
- 30 grams tomato paste
- 400 grams peeled tomatoes
- 800 grams sieved tomatoes
- 200 ml red wine like Merlot
- 2 onions
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 teaspoons Italian herbs dried
- 2 carrots
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne ground
- 1 bay leaf
Notes
- Before serving, taste the spaghetti and meat sauce. The acidity of the tomatoes can differ from time to time. Therefore it might be necessary to add some extra sugar.
- Frying the tomato paste in the pan for two minutes, will sweet it (otherwise it could be a bit sour).
- In the frying pan, we bake the onion, bacon, tomato paste, garlic, and minced meat before we add it to make a crockpot spaghetti sauce. This will take you about terminates. If you have just a little bit of time, you can omit this step. It's not really necessary (although it does add extra flavor).
- Wine contains alcohol, but this will evaporate during heating this sauce. If you prefer not to use wine, you can leave it out.
- You can replace the peeled tomatoes with fresh, tomatoes. Only do it when they're in season. Then their flavor is optimal. In other seasons it's not recommended because canned tomatoes almost always taste better.
- You can also replace the ground beef with half-and-half meat (which is budget-friendly) or with ground chicken. If you prefer a vegetarian/vegan dish use Vega minced meat and substitute the bacon with slices of mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes.
- This spaghetti meat sauce is delicious to serve with spaghetti or any other pasta. But you can also use it as a meat sauce for your lasagna.
Instructions
Preparation
- Slice the onion finely.
- Squeeze the garlic cloves.
- Peel the carrots and cut into cubes of ¼ x ¼ inch (½ x ½ cm).
- Cut the celery into cubes of ¼ x ¼ inch (½ x ½ cm).
- Bake the onion, bacon, and tomato paste for three minutes in a frying pan.
- Add the garlic and stir-fry for thirty seconds.
- Then add the minced beef and bake for four to five minutes until brown.
Into the crockpot
- Put everything from the frying pan into the crockpot.
- Add the remaining ingredients, except the bay leaf, to the slow cooker.
- Stir well.
- Put the bay leaf on top and place the lid on the crockpot.
- Turn the slow cooker on low heat for at least 5 hours.
- Turn the crockpot off and remove the bay leaf.
- Serve immediately.
I love that I can throw this in before work and have dinner almost ready by the time I get home! Thanks for sharing!