Does somebody have a tried and true recipe for crockpot spaghetti

[kestrel91316]

sauce, made with canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and the rest??

I have a crockpot cookbook that has about 25 recipes for it and none of them look quite right.........

[NashVegas]

1. Do You *Have* To Use a Crock?

Stainless steel at simmer is pretty much the same thing.

[Warpy]

2. Yes, a good spaghetti sauce can be made on the stovetop

within half an hour, at most. It'll just be better the next day.

Dunno why anyone would use a crockpot for it. You can make the sauce in the time it takes to heat the water and then cook the pasta.

[NashVegas]

6. Half Hour? Bite Your Spoon!

Mine cooks all day, soaking up various meat/herb flavors at various times.

[wryter2000]

13. We're really debating apples and oranges here

Quickly cooked sauce with all fresh veggies is a different animal than slow cooked with different flavorings. To me, the second type really needs some kind of pork and red wine to get the right flavor.

[kestrel91316]

8. My sauce in a pot always turns out watery, so I want the long simmer

in a crockpot, and want to be able to walk away from it or do it overnight.

[NashVegas]

12. That's What I Do

Well, not exactly. Start in the morning and walk away, then come back every now and then.

Adding meat (ribs, meatballs, sausage, or maybe a pork chop or two) will add some thickness - and flavor - to the sauce.

[wryter2000]

14. When my sauce is watery

It always means I didn't cook it down enough.

[wryter2000]

3. I like to simmer the sauce for a long time

A crockpot would assure it didn't burn. However, you'd have to cook the chopped onion and garlic in a skillet before you put it in the crockpot.

Here's how I make spaghetti sauce. Sorry, I don't measure.

1 onion, chopped
as many cloves of garlic as you like, peeled and crushed
2 or more Italian sausages cut into hunks

Cook the onion and garlic in olive oil in frying pan. Add sausages and cook.

At that point, you could dump it into the crockpot. Add one of the big cans of pureed tomatoes. Add some wine and your favorite herbs. Add some water. Cook until the right consistency. I think the extra cooking, esp. with the sausage, improves the flavor. Don't add extra salt until it's cooked and you've tasted it carefully. The can of tomatoes has lots of salt in it.

[kestrel91316]

9. Sounds good. I might throw a can of tomato paste in there, too.

[Karenca]

4. Tomato Sauce...4 Minutes

Tomato Sauce

1/4 c. olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh garlic, chopped
4 c. fresh tomatoes, blanched, skin removed, seeded and chopped
1/4 c. fresh basil leaves, rough chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil over high heat in a 2-quart saucepan. Add the garlic and sauté until it is just golden brown. Add the tomatoes and the basil and simmer for 4 minutes, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and adjust the seasoning.

Fresh..no canned stuff, jarred stuff or pastes.
Four minutes.

[NMDemDist2]

5. here's one i'll keep for when I have groaning tomato bushes n/t

[kestrel91316]

10. This fresh stuff is great, but it's a different animal altogether.

I need something easy to get simmered down, then easy to freeze if possible. For quantity production.

The fresh stuff in summer will happen, too. I have 9 tomato plants, and 6 basil.

[lakemonster11]

7. The recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

is awesome. It's really easy, makes quarts of the stuff, and tastes amazingly good. It also freezes well.


Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce for Pasta

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium-size carrot, finely shredded
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 to 2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar, to your taste
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and garlic, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a 4-quart slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, wine, brown sugar, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 hours.

[kestrel91316]

11. Thanks. This was exactly what I was looking for.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

15. Here's one for Pasta Sauce with Eggplant

Pasta with Eggplant Sauce Recipe


Ready in: > 5 hrs
* 1 medium eggplant
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 can (28 ounce) Italian-style tomatoes, cut up
* 1 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
* 1 can (4 ounce) sliced mushrooms, drained
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/4 cup dry red wine
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
* 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives OR pitted ripe olives, sliced
* 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
* Salt and pepper
* 4 cups hot cooked penne pasta
* 1/3 cup grated OR shredded Parmesan cheese
* 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)


If desired, peel eggplant. Cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes. In a 3 1/2- to 5 1/2-quart crockery cooker, combine eggplant, onion, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, mushrooms, garlic, wine, water and oregano.
Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or on high heat setting 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Stir in olives and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts.