Slow Cooked Spaghetti Sauce

Slow Cooked Spaghetti Sauce is Rich and Flavorful 

Helpful Tips for Making Spaghetti Sauce in a Slow Cooker

• While I know it may seem unusual, don't shy away from the brown sugar.  It neutralizes the acidic taste of the tomatoes and lends a richness to the sauce that makes it so delicious.
•  If you'd like to change up the flavorful a little, toss in ¾ cup of pepperoni minis 2 hours before the sauce is finished cooking. Kids always love a surprise ingredient.
• This recipe can be easily  doubled, and it freezes beautifully making it a time saver for future meals. Divide into desired size portions depending on your family size, and it's ready for a meal in a snap.
• Add a wedge salad and garlic bread to round out your Italian night at home.

Other Slow Cooker Recipes to Try

Slow cooking is forever a go-to technique in my kitchen. A few other recipes you may enjoy trying from the MSSk recipe index:

• Slow Cooker Three Meat Lasagna 
• Slow Cooked Italian Beef Hoagies
• Slow Cooked smothered Swiss Steak
• Crockpot Meatloaf recipe from The Chunky Chef

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Slow Cooked Spaghetti Sauce

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time6 hrs

Total Time6 hrs 20 mins

Course: Main Course, Sauce

Cuisine: American, Italian Inspired

Keyword: slow-cooked-spaghetti-sauce, spaghetti-sauce-recipes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 343kcal

Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

• 2 ½ lb extra lean ground beef
• 8 oz sweet or spicy Italian sausage
• 1 large sweet onion finely diced
• olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 ½ Tbsp dry Italian seasoning
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ½-1 Tbsp coarse sea salt [more or less to your taste]
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 24 oz jar marinara sauce [i.e.Bertolli Five Cheese]
• 2 8 oz cans basil garlic & oregano tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 oz can basil garlic & oregano diced tomatoes
• 1 6 oz can basil garlic & oregano tomato paste
• 3-4 Tbsp brown sugar adjust to taste
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• 1-2 16 oz packages thin spaghetti cooked to al dente (adjust amount based on servings needed)

Instructions

• On the stove top in a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown ground beef, Italian sausage and diced onion in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cook until no pink remains..
• Drain any excess fat from the pan, then add minced garlic, dried Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, sea salt and black pepper.
• Meanwhile, pour all of the remaining ingredients: marinara sauce, tomato sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, and brown sugar into a 6 quart slow cooker.
• Add cooked ground beef, Italian sausage, onion and seasonings to the slow cooker and give it a good stir to blend the ingredients together.
• Place the lid firmly on top, and set the slow cooker on low. Cook for 6-8 hours.
• Just before serving mix in ¼ cup of chopped fresh basil. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
• Serve over hot spaghetti.

Notes

Don't shy away from the brown sugar. It neutralizes the acidic taste of the tomatoes and lends a richness to the sauce that makes it so delicious! If you'd like to change it up a little, toss in ¾ cup of pepperoni minis 2 hours before the sauce is finished cooking. Kids always love a surprise ingredient!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 914mg | Potassium: 845mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 403IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 5mg

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