Old Fashioned Crock Pot Spaghetti
This old-fashioned Crock Pot spaghetti is a set-it-and-forget-it supper featuring a simple meat sauce that simmers low and slow in the crock pot, delivering rich, classic spaghetti flavor with hardly any effort. Just spoon it over some hot noodles when it’s time to eat!
A Quick, Delicious Way to Feed the Whole Family!
If you grew up eating spaghetti on busy nights, chances are it was hearty, heavy on the meat sauce, and meant to feed the whole family. This slow cooker version keeps all that comfort but makes it even easier. Once everything goes into the crock pot, it pretty much handles itself, which is a blessing on days when life’s moving fast, and dinner still needs to happen.
What makes this recipe work is letting the sauce do the heavy lifting. Instead of using jarred spaghetti sauce, you’re building a rich meat sauce from tomato paste, water, and dried herbs that have time to mellow and deepen as they cook. You can find the recipe for this easy spaghetti sauce here!
Now let’s get to cookin’!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Lean ground beef or ground chuck
- Tomato paste
- Warm water
- Basil
- Rosemary
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Red cayenne pepper
- Sliced mushrooms
- Bay leaves
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Brown the meat first. Even though this is a slow cooker spaghetti recipe, browning the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat first adds a whole lotta flavor and keeps the sauce from getting greasy. Drain it good before you add it to the Crock Pot.
- Stir well, except the bay leaves. Once all your sauce ingredients are in there, give ’em a real good stir so that tomato paste dissolves right in. Add the bay leaves last and just spoon a little sauce over top so they stay whole.
- Low and slow is best. Cooking on low for 7–9 hours gives you the richest flavor, but high for 3–4 hours works when you’re short on time. Either way, don’t rush it; that sauce just gets better the longer it simmers!
- Cook pasta separately. This is the best way to keep your spaghetti noodles perfectly al dente and avoid leftover pasta soaking up all that good sauce.
How to Make Old-Fashioned Crock Pot Spaghetti
Step 1: Brown the Ground Beef
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until fully browned. Drain the grease and transfer the meat to a 5–6-quart slow cooker.
Step 2: Build the Sauce
Add basil, rosemary, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, cayenne, tomato paste, and warm water to the slow cooker. Stir everything together until well combined.
Step 3: Add Mushrooms and Bay Leaves
Drain the mushrooms and gently stir them into the sauce. Lay the bay leaves on top and spoon a little sauce over them without stirring.
Step 4: Slow Cook
Cover and cook on low for 7–9 hours or high for 3–4 hours. Before serving, remove the bay leaves.
Step 5: Serve
Serve the meat sauce over freshly cooked spaghetti noodles. Top with parmesan cheese and serve with garlic bread if you’ve got it. You can also go for some Parmesan crisps!
Storage & Leftovers
Let leftover spaghetti sauce cool, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave. If the sauce thickens, just stir in a splash of water. Leftover spaghetti sauce also freezes well, making it a great option for meal prep or future quick dinners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Ground turkey works well and still makes a flavorful meat sauce.
A small splash of red wine can deepen the flavor, but it’s completely optional.
Absolutely. Italian seasoning is a great shortcut and works just fine here. You can also make your own garlic bread seasoning!
Ingredients
- 2 -3 pounds lean ground beef or ground chuck
- 1 large can of tomato paste 12 oz.
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 ½ Tbs. Basil
- 1 ½ Tbs. Rosemary
- heaping teaspoon garlic powder
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- Pinch red cayenne pepper
- 1 jar of sliced mushrooms 6 oz.
- 3 Bay leaves remove after cooking
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook ground beef until browned and fully cooked, drain, and place in a slow cooker.
- Brown your meat and drain the grease. Place in a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Add in Basil, Rosemary, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Cayenne, tomato paste, and water. Stir that up real good.
- Drain mushrooms and gently stir those in.
- Add Bay leaves and don’t stir (because they will break up), just spoon some sauce over them.
- Cover and cook on low, 7-9 hours, or high, 3-4 hours. Before serving, remove bay leaves. Serve over fresh cooked noodles.
Christy – this is off subject but I want to know where you found your apron that you have on in the video of you your mom and the girls. I can only find the ones that go around your neck and they bother me since I have had a disc fusion in my neck.
Thanks- Cheryl Brown — look forward to seeing you at Becoming in 58 days! (can you tell I’m looking forward to the conference?)
This looks and sounds yummy! I will do everything exact except for the rosemary. No matter how many times I try it, rosemary tastes like a pine tree smells. I guess I’m by it like some people are by cilantro tasting like soap. I will replace it with a little oregano I guess.
i am the same way about rosemary! let me know how the oregano works for you. knowing me i would just bump up the garlic or use store bought italian seasoning.
My mother says the EXACT same thing! 😀 Oregano would be a wonderful substitute, or even just a little Italian Seasoning if you want a milder Oregano flavoring. Even though there is Basil in the Italian seasoning, it would still be great to add in.
Me too! I feel like I;m eating a Christmas tree! I’m all for using the Italian seasoning. Sounds great.
This recipe will be a good way to use up some of my spices. I’m more of a stove top kind of girl – any real difference in ingredients for stove top method?
On the stove you want to use a great deal more water, triple it, and then let it simmer until it cooks down to this consistency.
Ok thanks!
Yay! Thank you for this recipe! I love a good spaghetti sauce that has simmered for a good long while but I work out of the home so I don’t get to make it very often. I will definitely be adding this to my next menu plan. Coming home to slow-cooked spaghetti sauce sounds wonderful. My family may wonder if I even went to work on that day 😉
can you give me a hint: When I place meat sauce on my spaghetti on the plate it start to run a liquid off. Tried everything! any hints to stop this from happening
When this happens to me it means I haven’t drained my pasta very well. That sauce actually kinda presses it out of the pasta and then it is a very watery light orange color. I do this all the time! The trick is to let your pasta drain in the colander for a few more minutes, then give it a few good shakes before removing it. That should help! 🙂
I have found that a bit of cornstarch slurry works to tighten the sauce so it doesn’t run.
Wow! That sounds so good. Gonna try that soon. Spaghetti is one of our definite go-to meals. Thanks for sharing.
Looks really good can we leave out the mushrooms? I was thinking of adding chopped onion when browning the beef. Do you think that will work?
Absolutely, that sounds like a great substitution!
Yes to both — you can leave out the mushrooma and onion & or onion powder will work great in this as well. I use 1 can tomato sauce in mine to make it a little saucier and leave out one of the paste.
Oh, my side, Sally!!! (No real person, just something I say when excited!) This sounds JUST like the spaghetti we had in high school!! I know lots of folks never cared for school food but we had the BEST dietician!!! Lena Grace Broome!! Later in life I had the opportunity to be her hairdresser!! I asked if she would make me some of her “high school spaghetti” and she DID!! I just forgot to ask for the recipe!! I plan to make this ASAP!! Thank you SO much for this recipe!! YAY!! Early Christmas present to me!!!