Ground Beef: Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
This savory and satisfying slow cooker spaghetti sauce with ground beef comes together easily with a handful of pantry ingredients. It cooks in a crockpot all day for rich deep flavor and makes for the just right weeknight or meal-prep recipe.
One of our all time favorite foods is meat sauce or bolognese. It is on our weekly rotation, which is why we have many a recipe for it on this blog like our spicy meat sauce, our bison bolognese, and our pumpkin meat sauce.
We particularly like this one for busy days because we can get it all ready, put it into our slow cooker and then dinner is ready and waiting for our family. Anything that makes dinner time easier, is a plus in our book.
Bonus points that it is high in protein, satisfying, and full of flavor. Oh and if you have leftovers, you can use it to make this no boil noodle lasagna.
What makes this recipe great
- It is made with pantry ingredients.
- All flavor of this sauce is rich thanks to cooking for hours in the slow cooker.
- It is naturally dairy-free and gluten-free.
- It is high in protein, which helps keep you feeling full.
- It’s a family favorite. Add it to your favorite pasta for a satisfying meal.
Recipe ingredients
- Olive oil– the veggies and ground beef sautee in this. A good quality olive oil always adds nice flavor.
- Garlic and carrots– these add flavor to the meat as it browns.
- Ground beef– we like using ground beef with a little fat in it but feel free to use a low fat ground beef if that is what you prefer.
- Tomato paste and marinara– these add tomato flavor to the sauce.
- Beef broth– this keeps the sauce from getting dry.
- Salt, pepper, onion powder, dried oregano, dried basil– these herbs and spices are added to the sauce to deepen the flavors of the sauce.
- Honey– this balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Dark chocolate– this is optional! We love adding a piece of dark chocolate to our sauces since it adds such a great flavor.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/ Substitutions
- Instead of honey, you can use maple syrup.
- Instead of marinara, you can use a mixture of crushed and strained tomatoes, and then add extra basil and oregano to the sauce.
Step by step instructions
Step 1
Step 1: Mince the carrots and garlic in a food processor.
Step 2
Step 2: Sautée the minced veggies.
Step 3
Step 3: Add the ground beef to the pan and break it up into small pieces, while mixing it into the veggies. We like using a meat masher to do this.
Step 4
Step 4: Add the tomato paste and brown the meat.
Step 5
Step 5: Pour the ground beef into the slow cooker. Top with the marinara, beef broth, salt, pepper, onion powder, dried oregano, and dried basil.
Step 6
Step 6: Mix everything together.
Step 7
Step 7: Cook the spaghetti sauce on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
Expert tips
- How to serve: serve this slow cooker spaghetti sauce on top of your favorite pasta of choice!
- How store: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- How turn into chili: If you have leftovers and want to turn it into chili, you can add 2 cans of beans, a can of corn, and some cumin and chili powder.
- Make sure to put the honey in only at the end. You don’t want to put it in sooner to avoid it burning.
Prep 15 minutesCook 6 hoursMakes 8 people
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 2 large carrots
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 4 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 25 ounce marinara jars
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- optional- a piece of dark chocolate
Method
- Mince the garlic and carrots. We like to put them into a food processor and mix.
- Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to a large pan and heat over medium heat. Add the minced veggies and cook in the pan for 3 minutes, while mixing.
- Add the beef to the pan and mix, breaking up the meat into small pieces. We like to use a meat masher to do this. Add the tomato paste to the meat, mix, and cook until the meat is browned 7-10 minutes.
- Put the ground beef into the slow cooker. Top with 2 jars of marinara, 3/4 cup beef broth, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1 teaspoon dried basil. Mix everything together.
- Optional- add a piece of dark chocolate to the slow cooker.
- Cook the spaghetti sauce on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Add 1 Tablespoon of honey to the slow cooker, and mix, at the very end, prior to serving.
Notes
- How to serve: serve this slow cooker spaghetti sauce on top of your favorite pasta of choice!
- How store: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Make sure to put the honey in only at the end. Y ou don’t want to put it in sooner to avoid it burning.
