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.
Somebody commented about a watery substance on the plate of pasta after the sauce has been added. Christy suggested letting the pasta drain a little longer in the colander. Good idea. Also, you might try putting the well drained pasta back in the pot it was cooked in and stir it around for a couple of minutes over medium heat to dry it a little more. I will sometimes add just a small amount of the sauce to coat the pasta really well while it’s drying.
Great ideas Glen!!
Christy,
Thank you for this recipe! My family loves to come home from church to the great taste and smell of a home cooked meal. Your crock pot recipes are wonderful and have blessed my family.
Thank you Kate, I am so glad you and your family are enjoying some of the recipes!!
Hi Linda, Love you! Gonna try this and I know it will be great!
Loved the Pizza Rolls. Will make them again and try freezing them!
After reading Kathy K. comment I realize that I missed something o.0 Anyways just wanted to add that for us mushroom lovers, don’t bother to drain the mushrooms. Just add the water to the pot and reduce the water by 1/3 cup.
I think this sounds good, and I also thought that the “Pizza Rolls” sounded really good, too. I even waded back through the comments to find the infamous “Anonymous” post, and I’ve been waiting for my opportunity to say something since, although the people that really need to see this, like “Anonymous” never will, since they are hit-and-run trolls.
And before anyone even mentions cholesterol, etc., for this recipe, I’d like to point out that the Food Police are not going to arrive at your house and haul you off in their Black Mariah if you try to substitute ground turkey, TVP, tofu, or whatever, in this, or any other recipe on the planet. You all know what you can and can’t eat, what you should and shouldn’t eat, and how to eat in moderation or save a recipe for a special occasion.
If you want to make substitutions to make something healthier, do it and don’t bust Christy’s chops, or ours, about it. Just do it quietly. Christy has always made it very clear that you can use Splenda instead of sugar, etc. You will be happier and the recipe will turn out more to your satisfaction. The rest of us will be happier as well. You can always report that the recipe turned out well with these changes, or that it didn’t.
If you can, just leave that offending item out of the recipe. This will not always be possible, so there will be some recipes that you will not be able to make. I have saved Christy’s recipe for “Featherlight Chocolate Biscuits” because I can use butterscotch chips in place of the chocolate chips. I could also use raisins, or dried cherries, and lots of other things instead, or do them plain. I’m only limited by my imagination. I can’t do this for a chocolate meringue pie recipe, however, so I have to skip that recipe because I can’t have chocolate.
Most all of you have the experience and creativity to do this, so do it and don’t hassle Christy. She’s an exceptionally nice person and shouldn’t have to deal with that. Now, off my soapbox. 8)
Where is the like button here???
Wow! That was great! You did a wonderful job expressing what many of us feel. This makes me smile! Thanks Kathy!
Excellent comment! I wish more people had your common sense. There is no excuse to be rude or nasty over a recipe. Either tweak it to your taste or don’t make it. Easy solution! I just appreciate that Christy shares her recipes!
Kathy, can I just tell you that I love you? 😀 And thank you, sincerely. Your kindness and “soapbox” of support truly could not have come at a better time.
All of you, thank you so much 🙂 This felt like a big old group hug!
Gratefully,
C J
Christy: Yes, you certainly may tell me that you love me! I’m so very glad that I kept my powder dry and waited overnight to say something, if it came at a better time for you. I guess it is pretty much a group hug. 8) I was happy to do it, and consider you a blessing in my life. I love reading your blog, and I forgot to mention, while I was up on my soapbox, that I loved the Bible verse, and especially the picture. Keep well.
I have fresh basil and rosemary what are the measurements for that?
Personally, I would double the quantities given for dried herbs if I were using fresh.
I love reading all of Christy’s post and like you don’t understand why people have to try to “hassle” her about things. If each person would use common sense, adapt the recipes to fit their needs, or better yet get their own webpage if they want things done or said a certain way!
This is our family recipie for spaghetti sauce. It makes enough for a family, leftovers (yum) and for the freezer.
2 lbs bob Evans Italian sausage, browned with onion/drained
3 jars spaghetti sauce (I use aldis)
1-2 cup parmasean cheese
1/4 cup sugar
Onion and about 5 cloves of fresh garlic minced. The flavor me.lows deliciously as it cooks in sauce.
You can add fresh mushrooms if you would like, I usually do. Mix well.. Add sauce if a thinner sauce is what you would like.
Place In crockpot on low for 8 hours or so.
Serve with salad and garlic bread