Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

We had our 23rd annual Gingerbread House Day on Sunday. One of the group, a first timer!,  made her own house from scratch but the rest of us opted for the store-bought kits. I always cook something in the crockpot so that lunch is ready as we are winding down from the decorating. Most of us have nibbled on candy and are craving a good meal. I often make crockpot spaghetti sauce, sometimes I’ve made a vegetable soup to go along with that but this year I just made some garlic bread from a loaf of store-bought French bread and some homemade bread, a Cheddar and Parmesan loaf from Bread Toast Crumbs, a great cookbook with a variety of no-knead breads and then other recipes that use the bread. 

These days Gingerbread House Day is about the only time I use my crockpot, unless I’m making chicken or turkey broth overnight.  Or this crockpot macaroni and cheese, which is a favorite of my eldest. 

I’ve made this spaghetti sauce before with 2 pounds of ground beef but I really liked the flavor the sausage added. I’ve also left out the mushrooms before because I used to not be fond of them. But now I like them and I think they added a lot. 

Print Recipe

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound hot Italian sausage without casing
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 5-7 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 29 oz can diced tomatoes (not drained)
• 29 oz can tomato sauce
• 12 oz can tomato paste
• 2 Tbs dried basil
• 1 Tbs dried oregano
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• grated Parmesan
• 1.2 cup red wine (optional)
• 1 pound pasta

Instructions

• Brown the ground beef and sausage, breaking up the clumps of meat while you stir.
• Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Put the meat and vegetables into the crockpot and Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes.
• Turn the crockpot up to high and bring to a simmer, then turn it down to low for 3-4 hours. 
• If you’re adding the red wine, stir it in about half an hour before serving the sauce. 
• Serve over cooked pasta with grated Parmesan. 

Notes

This easily served 8 with 1 pound of pasta with plates that were heavy on the sauce and light on the pasta, with about 2 cups of sauce left over.