Homemade Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce
Make rich homemade crockpot spaghetti sauce with this family recipe featuring fresh herbs, slow cooking, and a simple trick for thicker, flavorful sauce.
RECIPESFOODFOOD FAITH AND FORTUNES
Food, Faith, and Fortunes
7/29/20263 min read
Homemade Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce
A Family Recipe Worth Waiting For
There are recipes that feed people, and there are recipes that bring people together. This is one of those recipes.
If you've ever spent an entire Sunday afternoon with the smell of homemade spaghetti sauce filling the house, you know there's something special about it. The aroma slowly works its way through every room, letting everyone know that dinner is going to be worth the wait.
This homemade crockpot spaghetti sauce has become one of those recipes in our family that everyone looks forward to. It's rich, hearty, loaded with vegetables, packed with flavor, and made with patience.
The best part? It isn't complicated.
It's simply made with quality ingredients, cooked low and slow, and given the time it needs to become something amazing.
Why This Recipe Is Different
There are thousands of spaghetti sauce recipes online.
Most are good.
Some are great.
This one is different because of a few small techniques that make a huge difference. Instead of dumping everything into a pot and hoping for the best, every ingredient has a purpose. We brown the meat with fresh vegetables and herbs. We save the flavorful broth. We separate the tomato liquid from the diced tomatoes. We build layers of flavor instead of cooking everything all at once.
These little steps create a sauce that's richer, thicker, and tastes like it simmered all day—because it did.
The Secret Most Recipes Miss
One of the biggest complaints about homemade spaghetti sauce is that it turns out watery.
Tomatoes naturally release a tremendous amount of liquid while cooking.
Rather than trying to cook all that liquid away, we use it to our advantage.
Throughout the cooking process, skim the tomato water from the top of the sauce before stirring.
Save every bit of it.
Then, about one hour before serving, whisk that reserved liquid together with the second can of tomato paste and stir it back into the sauce.
Instead of losing flavor through evaporation, you're concentrating it.
The result is a thick, rich sauce without sacrificing freshness.
Don't Throw Away the Tomato Water
Here's another family favorite.
After the sauce is finished, skim off any remaining tomato liquid before serving.
Freeze it.
Later, use it as the base for homemade tomato soup.
You'll have an incredibly flavorful soup starter that's too good to waste.
It's one of those little kitchen traditions that turns leftovers into something everyone looks forward to.
Ingredients
Meat
3 pounds ground beef
2 pounds ground sausage
Vegetables
1 large red onion, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 large green peppers, diced
16 ounces mushrooms, diced
Fresh Herbs
½ cup fresh Italian herbs
½ cup jarlic (mixed jarred garlic)
½ cup fresh basil
¼ cup fresh parsley
Tomatoes
Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
Two 29-ounce cans tomato sauce
One 14.5-ounce can Italian diced tomatoes
One 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
Two 12-ounce cans tomato paste
Seasonings
2 tablespoons Kinder's "The Blend"
2 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons garlic salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fennel seed
Instructions
Step 1 – Brown the Meat
Sauté together the ground beef, sausage, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, fresh Italian herbs, Kinder's "The Blend," and jarlic until the meat is browned and the vegetables are tender.
Drain the mixture, but don't throw anything away.
Separate the broth from the grease.
Save the broth to use later.
The grease can also be saved for cooking if desired—it is packed with flavor.
Step 2 – Build the Sauce
In a 10-quart crockpot, combine:
Crushed tomatoes
Tomato sauce
The browned meat mixture
Pour both cans of diced tomatoes into a cheesecloth-lined colander placed over a bowl.
Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the tomatoes.
Add only the tomato pieces to the crockpot.
Step 3 – Build the Flavor Base
In the bowl with the liquid from the tomatoes, whisk together:
One can tomato paste
Reserved meat broth
Fresh basil
Fresh parsley
Oregano
Garlic salt
Garlic powder
Sugar
Fennel seeds
Pour this mixture into the crockpot.
Reserve the second can of tomato paste for later.
Step 4 – Slow Cook
Cook on HIGH for one hour.
Stir every ten minutes.
Reduce to LOW.
Continue cooking for six hours.
Stir once every hour.
Step 5 – Finish the Sauce
Throughout the cooking process, skim tomato water from the surface before stirring.
Collect it in a bowl.
One hour before serving, whisk the reserved tomato liquid with the second can of tomato paste and stir it back into the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
Serve over your favorite pasta.
Top with:
Fresh Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil
Garlic bread
Side salad
This recipe also freezes exceptionally well, making it perfect for meal prep or sharing with family and friends.
From Our Table
Some recipes become favorites because they're quick.
Others become traditions because they're worth the time.
This spaghetti sauce reminds us that some of life's best things can't be rushed. Good food is often made slowly, shared generously, and remembered long after the plates have been cleared.
We hope this recipe brings as much warmth to your table as it has to ours.