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My mom made us homemade spaghetti sauce for us when we were growing up -- I've never attempted canning it like her, but I have been looking for a good homemade spaghetti sauce. I've collected a few recipes over time, including my mom's, and combined them to make one I think will be our family favorite. I like it because it's so versatile... meat, no meat, over pasta, as a sauce for our other baked pasta dishes ... delicious.
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Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce - Finding Joy in My Kitchen
{Print Recipe}
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, no salt added, undrained
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (8 oz) tomato paste
1 medium onion, chopped (we used 2 T dried minced onion)
8oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium pepper, diced (green, red, yellow, orange... they all work)
2 T brown sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. ground beef/turkey, optional
Vegetarian Sauce:
Slice mushrooms and carrots, and dice pepper and onion to taste.
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Turn the crockpot to low and allow sauce to cook for 6-8 hours or until veggies are tender and flavors are well combined.
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To make a meat sauce:
In a skillet, combine bell pepper, onion and garlic. Brown beef/turkey in a skillet until meat is no longer pink. Season while browning with salt, and pepper.
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This sauce will freeze well, so I made a full batch and froze the rest in meal-sized portions for easy use later. I also cooked the ground turkey seperately and combined it with a small portion of the sauce before serving. This way, we can use our sauce for more things, like chicken parmesan :) I froze the remaining already cooked turkey for an easy add-in to any dish later on.
For more slow cook ideas, stop by Slow Cooking Thursday, Iron Chef Challenge
