Super Easy Spaghetti Sauce in the Crockpot

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All we need is 6 ingredients to jazz up store-bought spaghetti sauce and make this super easy spaghetti sauce recipe, full of tasty tomato flavor, ground beef, and seasonings.

Easy spaghetti sauce.

I love store-bought spaghetti sauce, even though my mother didn’t even know it existed until we were nearly teens. Once she tried it, she was hooked on the ease and the quality. Still, I like to dress mine up a bit. This both customizes the flavor but also serves to make your pasta sauce go further.

Making your meat sauce go further is important because I REALLY want you to have some leftover spaghetti sauce. It is VERY important you have some leftovers, so you can make my spaghetti lover’s soup. This is a supper recipe everyone in my family loves.

Now, it couldn’t be easier to make my super easy spaghetti sauce (hence the name!). All you need is store-bought spaghetti sauce, Italian seasoning, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, sugar, and ground beef. Then we do my favorite type of cooking: dump the ingredients in the slow cooker and walk away! After a long day at work, you’ll come home to a kitchen smelling absolutely delectable and dinner done. Just cook your favorite pasta and serve it to your hungry family. It’s that simple.

Alright, who’s ready to make my easy spaghetti sauce recipe now?

Ingredients for easy spaghetti sauce.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Spaghetti sauce
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Tomato sauce
  • Italian seasoning (you could also use our zesty seasoning recipe if you like)
  • Sugar
  • Cooked ground beef 

How to Make Super Easy Spaghetti Sauce

Place all ingredients in the slow cooker.

Dump everything in the slow cooker: sauce, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and beef. If you have fresh tomatoes, by all means, cut up a few of those and put them in there instead of the canned tomatoes.

You absolutely do not have to cook this in a slow cooker. I just like the convenience of having it cook all day and then all I have to do is boil my pasta to have supper!

Add water to jars to remove any remaining sauce.

Be sure you put a few tablespoons of water in the sauce jar and give it a good shake to get the last bits out, too!

Add Italian seasoning to the slow cooker.

Add some Italian seasoning. I am using about a tablespoon and a half.

Add sugar to slow cooker.

And I always add a tablespoon of sugar to help bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes.

Give it a stir, cover, and cook on low all day.

If you’d rather cook this on the stovetop, I recommend bringing it to a boil, reducing the heat to low, and simmering the homemade spaghetti sauce for about 30 minutes.

Easy spaghetti sauce.

Serve over your favorite cooked pasta (it doesn’t have to be spaghetti noodles) and dinner is complete!

I also recommend sprinkling some parmesan cheese and fresh herbs like fresh basil on top if you have some available.

Storage

  • Store leftover spaghetti meat sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can quickly reheat them in the microwave.
  • You can also freeze leftovers for up to 6 months. Thaw in the fridge before microwaving.

Recipe Notes

  • If you’d rather, you can substitute Italian sausage or shredded chicken for the beef.
  • To thicken this homemade spaghetti sauce recipe (and include some secret veggies), add 2 grated carrots. Other veggies you can include are finely diced onion, mushroom or bell pepper, and grated zucchini.
  • To make this vegetarian, simply remove the ground beef. The pasta sauce will still taste delicious without!
  • For heat, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.
  • Instead of serving with spaghetti, go low-carb and use zoodles (zucchini noodles).
  • When it comes to canned tomatoes, if you like, you can substitute the diced tomatoes for a crushed tomato can.
  • For more flavor, add minced garlic.

Recipe FAQs

What do you serve with spaghetti sauce and pasta?

This is a delicious main dish as is, but if you like, you can serve your pasta with a side dish, like Italian cucumber salad, Caesar salad, garlic bread, or zucchini and squash.

Check out these other Italian-inspired easy supper ideas:

Linda’s Old Fashioned Spaghetti (Crock Pot)

Crock Pot Lasagna

Cheese Stuffed Shells (3 Cheeses Included)

Baked Feta and Tomato Pasta

Super Easy Spaghetti Sauce

All we need is 6 simple ingredients to jazz up store-bought spaghetti sauce and make this super easy spaghetti sauce recipe, full of tasty tomato flavor and seasonings.
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: sauce, spaghetti
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 jars spaghetti sauce
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef browned and drained

Instructions

  • Dump all ingredients into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low all day. Serve homemade sauce over freshly cooked pasta.
    2 jars spaghetti sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

 

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86 Comments

  1. Made some spaghetti sauce yesterday, and I use a little brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Also, I cook half regular and half whole grain spaghetti and it’s very good!

  2. Well…you could have knocked me over with a feather!!! It’s like you snuck into my kichen and watched me make my short-cut ‘skebbie’ sauce!!! My Brother used to refer to spaghetti as that when he was little…anyway, I rinse out the jar and reuse it for storing beans, rice, etc. or keep a couple to surprise friends with home-made goodies. When I was a kid, I used empty and cleaned out coffee cans to collect the ‘rolly-polly’ bugs I found under rocks and such. Then let them go under our wooden porch thinking they’d enjoy their new ‘home’ better than some heavy ol’ rock!! LOL Can hardly wait for your next post using ‘skebbie’ sauce! Always love reading your posts and the memories they ‘stir up’!! Thanks, Christy!!

  3. This is EXACTLY what I made on Sunday. Well, except I added mushrooms and onions. I love that I have a big ol bag of frozen sauce in the freezer for a quick dinner later.

  4. To be honest the time used to make homemade sauce has never been a problem for me. No one in my house would ever eat sauce out of a jar, not even doctored up some. I am even looking into growing my own tomatoes too and to be honest it is cheaper, especially in the quantities I am making.

    The one thing I do if you are concerned about time is to make a double batch and freeze some.

  5. I grew up on homemade sauce, but just couldn’t see all that time in the kitchen when I got married. I tried many brands and decided that Prego w/ mushrooms taste the best. I add 1-1 1/2 lbs. hamburger or turkey, a jar of sliced mushrooms, 1-2 cans of tomato sauce (depending on how many are eating), italian seasoning, garlic salt, onion salt, and at least 1 bay leaf. My family loves it but my parents hate it (HA!, not Mom’s homemade, HA!)!!! My parents don’t like mushrooms either, that’s one of the things I didn’t discover until I was married.

    We have never been a drinkin’ house, so one thing that I have just recently discovered is adding white wine to dishes with any kind of cream sauce, like Alfredo. It really perks up the taste, I even add it to my Chicken Pot Pie! The alcohol cooks out and a yummy flavor stays. You should try it, it’s delicious! I had no idea what to buy until I discovered that Kroger has little bottles of white wine in 4pk. cartons! I just got the cheapest 4pk. It will stay forever in your fridge.

  6. Hi Christy, Instead of adding a little water to the empty jar of sauce to rinse it out, try adding a dollop of dry red wine instead (the cheaper the better). Oh my does that add flavor!

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