My Mom was sometimes over-trusting of my memory. One of the most evident was when she trusted me with her spaghetti sauce. She didn’t make it often since spaghetti night was my job growing up and I used jar sauce, but when she did she was very proud of it. That’s where I come in.
Inevitably, she would have to leave the house to do one thing or another, and she would leave me to watch the sauce. BAD IDEA! I would always forget to stir, and with no Alexa to remind me, I would always let it burn. The burning smell would remind me to stir… but by the time that smell hit my nose, it was too late. See… too trusting. Totally her fault.
That is why this spaghetti sauce recipe was born. I wanted to make homemade sauce, but I didn’t want to risk burning it. That’s where my crock pot (I use one like this) comes in. Do you know how hard it is to burn stuff, especially liquidy stuff, in the crock pot? Pretty darn hard. That is a good thing, my friends. Since coming up with this recipe, I have made it many, many times over the past umpteen years.
This recipe makes a lot. Like a big lasagna and plenty of leftovers for a big pot of spaghetti a lot. You can also freeze it (flat in a ziplock is best for storing it in the freezer.) I also sometimes use Mason Jars to keep it in the fridge for a bit. The flavors develop further in the fridge. SOO GOOD!
When I re-met my husband (a million years after the seventh grade English class we shared), I wanted to make a special dinner to prove that I was good girlfriend material. It was a success, naturally (lol), and it wasn’t long after that I became his bride-to-be. He says otherwise, but I always credit the spaghetti sauce.
I use my biggest crock pot for this recipe, 6 quarts, and it fills it up. Now… on to the recipe.
Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground meat (beef or beef/pork mixture is great)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion diced
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 14-oz cans of Italian Stewed Tomatoes, rough chopped (I use kitchen shears inside the can to cut them.)
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 2 TBSP dried parsley
- 2 TBSP sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp basil
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1/2 tsp ground thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms or 2 small cans
Directions
Add the olive oil in a skillet and saute garlic and onion for about 3 minutes on medium heat. They will get soft (if it’s burning, it’s too hot!). Add the meat, and brown it until done. Drain.- While the meat is browning, I start opening cans. Add the contents of the cans, a 28 ounce crushed tomatoes can of water. I also use a little hot water to get all of the tomato paste out. Works like a charm!
- Cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3.
- I add some fresh mushrooms about halfway through the cooking process, but you can also add canned at the beginning, if you prefer.
- As it’s cooking, you can add some water if it is too thick.
- Serve over pasta or freeze flat.
See… easy peasy, and so good. Good enough to get me a husband!
Drop a comment if you get a chance to make this spaghetti sauce. Let me know how you did! Also, be sure to check out my other posts, such as this one!
We love this sauce, and I have never once burned it. Too bad my mom didn’t know about this recipe when I was growing up!
