Meaty Spaghetti Sauce Recipe | Best Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

This thick, hearty spaghetti sauce recipe uses two types of meat and plenty of vegetables for a delicious, Italian-style sauce that’s mostly hands-off. This large-batch recipe makes 5 quarts – perfect for freezing extra for a future easy meal!

To say that SOME weekdays are busy is an understatement.

By the time dinner time arrives, I’ve already made lunches and smoothies early in the morning, served breakfast, sent the kids off to school, had some combination of work, chores, exercise…

Then between the kid’s after-school and church activities, and more computer time for me …

Do I really need to cook dinner? Yeah right!

BUT…it is time to serve an easy, ready-to-go REAL FOOD meal made for me by my trusty slow cooker!

Enter this slow cooker meaty spaghetti sauce recipe.

SPAGHETTI RECIPES

Just like many of you, we choose spaghetti recipes for an easy meal when life is busy… or when we’re simultaneously out of bread and leftovers!

Recipes for spaghetti sauce are kept close to the heart, like a well-hidden family secret. You’ll find different types of spaghetti sauce recipes too:

Marinara (using mostly tomatoes and some basic spices)
Garden-style (fresh chunky vegetables in a tomato sauce)
Italian-style (hearty, meaty, and sometimes chunky)

Our favorite family spaghetti sauce recipe is definitely Italian style. It is a very hearty sauce, filled with two types of meat and as many vegetables as my crockpot will hold. The kids love it, Mr. Crumbs adores it and it makes me look forward to spaghetti night.

The best part about this spaghetti meat sauce is that one batch makes 5 quarts and besides a (very) little chopping, the crockpot does all the work. Can it get any better than this?! I promise that you will want to start sharing this easy spaghetti sauce recipe with friends and family!

MEATY SLOW COOKER SPAGHETTI SAUCE RECIPE

Besides the wonderful convenience of this great spaghetti sauce recipe, it’s also:

Delicious with a rich, hearty, and satisfying sauce that is perfect for any pasta recipe. It’s even amazing ladled over Baked Potatoes or Spaghetti Squash for a gluten-free option.
Healthy. It’s chock-full of vegetable goodness and lean protein.
Freezer-friendly. Since one batch makes a whole 5 quarts of sauce, you can make it once and freeze it for future meal plans.

Even though this sauce is meaty, we also use it in recipes calling for pasta sauce or marinara sauce. The flavor makes dishes like Lasagna and stuffed shells amazing!

Some of the ingredients for the spaghetti sauce recipe in the crockpot: Beans, carrots, celery, bell peppers, onions, sausage, and dry seasoning in a crock pot.

SLOW COOKER SPAGHETTI RECIPE FOR SAUCE

With yummy ground meat, lots of nutritious vegetables, and savory herbs, this slow-cooker spaghetti recipe comes together to create one great sauce!

Ground Pork Sausage. Choose spicy or mild ground Italian sausage depending on what your family likes.
Ground Beef. Mixing pork and beef gives you a more complex flavor, and it helps stretch both types of meat.
Black Beans. Use approximately 1 ½ cups of beans cooked from dry beans or 1 can of drained and rinsed beans.
Bell Peppers. Red, green, yellow, or orange peppers all work. Choose whatever is the best deal at the grocery store.
Onions and Garlic. Classic veggies for building the base flavors of the sauce.
Carrots and Celery. Extra veggies that blend right into the sauce after it simmers all day.
Salt and Ground Black Pepper. Add these to taste.
Seasonings. Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, parsley, sage, and thyme give you that classic spaghetti sauce flavor. I use dried spices, but you can use fresh herbs if that what you have on hand.
Tomato Sauce. I buy a large #10 can of tomato sauce from Costco (106 oz) and usually end up with about 16 oz left over.

Note: Some people also like to add other ingredients like diced tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, red wine, sugar, and more seasonings to their hearty spaghetti sauce recipes…But trust me…this recipe is perfect as is! Especially without the sugar that is common in store-bought sauces!

I WILL let you in on one little secret…You may want to try this salt from Ava Jane’s Kitchen. I love Ava Jane’s Kitchen because it doesn’t have microplastics (gross, right?) and it’s SO GOOD! Use it in your seasoning and add an extra pinch once you add it to your pasta for an extra, guilt-free notch of flavor. You can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt right now (just pay shipping and handling!).

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE RECIPE

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is literally dump and go!

Step 1. Place everything except the tomato sauce in a slow cooker.

Step 2. Fill the slow cooker with tomato sauce until it is almost full. Shake gently side to side to move the tomato sauce down into the air pockets between the chopped vegetables. Top with additional tomato sauce if there is room.

Homemade meaty spaghetti sauce in a crockpot.

Step 3. Cook on the lowest setting for 8 hours. Using an immersion blender, puree the homemade spaghetti sauce until smooth.

Step 4. Taste and add additional seasonings as necessary. Continue cooking on low for another 2-4 hours.

Step 5. Serve with your favorite pasta (did you know that you can freeze pasta?)

That’s it!

Homemade meaty spaghetti sauce in a slow cooker, with a ladle scooping some out.

HEARTY SPAGHETTI SAUCE RECIPE TIPS

Use the correct size slow cooker. This recipe is designed for a 6-quart slow cooker. Adjust the measurements as needed if your slow cooker is a different size.

Choose how to add the meat. You can add the meat in cooked or raw – it works both ways! Cooking first reduces some of the fat, making the sauce less greasy. Throwing it in frozen (yes, frozen!) makes it even faster to make. If your people like to SEE the meat, you can also cook it up separately and stir it into the sauce after pureeing.

Substitute different types of canned tomatoes as needed in the spaghetti sauce recipe. Tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and even whole peeled tomatoes will work fine. If you’re looking for a sauce using fresh tomatoes, try my 15-Minute Marinara Sauce Recipe.

Refrigerate or freeze extra. Unless you’re feeding an army, you’ll certainly have more than one night’s worth of spaghetti sauce at the end of the day. You can freeze spaghetti sauce or it can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week.

Homemade spaghetti sauce served over pasta on a plate, topped with parmesan cheese.

SERVE WITH SPAGHETTI SAUCE

A crisp and crunchy salad like my Kale Caesar Salad would be absolutely perfect with this recipe.

And of course, you’ll want some delicious bread like Rosemary Olive Oil Bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread to sop up that extra sauce.

Serve a lightly sweet and satisfying Avocado Chocolate Mousse for dessert, and you have a perfect weekday or weekend family meal!

SPAGHETTI SAUCE RECIPE FAQS

How do you make spaghetti sauce thicker?

This sauce becomes so thick and hearty by using an immersion blender to blend it to your desired thickness. Then it cooks a little longer to deepen all those wonderful flavors!

How to deepen the flavor of easy homemade spaghetti sauce?

This sauce is so rich and flavorful because it has slow-cooked meats, a ton of earthy vegetables, and savory herbs, and cooking it all day in the slow cooker helps those flavors to really meld together.

Can you put balsamic vinegar in spaghetti sauce?

Some spaghetti sauce recipes might call for this, but I prefer not to put it in the sauce recipe. Of course, it could always be used as a condiment when serving for an extra kick.

What is the difference between a spaghetti sauce recipe and Bolognese?

Spaghetti sauce is usually a simpler tomato-based sauce with minimal or no meat, while Bolognese sauce spaghetti usually includes meat and extra vegetables, as well as often a bit of milk or cream. This spaghetti sauce recipe is the best of both worlds!

MORE EASY RECIPES FOR PASTA NIGHT

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