Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Best slow cooker spaghetti sauce with leftover beef is here. Ragu beef style hearty recipe that is great on top of noodles and freezes well too. Want to add frozen meatballs inside too? You can do that and make it spicy too if you want.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce for Meat Lovers

You can use fresh, leftover roast, or chopped up and cooked Frozen Meatballs in Crockpot to make this. Simmered in the sauce makes this protein come out super tender and creates a really hearty meal. Hate wasting leftovers and want to make another meal with leftover beef? We have been there too, time and time again. This has been our favorite option for that.

You could make Crockpot spaghetti and meatballs if you had those left over too, but make your own sauce. Any meat really works, just set aside a good 6 hours to get it perfect. You’d want to start with this in the morning so it can get a deeper flavor throughout the day. Then add the noodles when you get home.

6 Hour Meat Sauce

As with any other recipe with beef or ground beef starting our raw and then cooked in a Crock, you’ll want to brown the outsides first. Ok, so you could skip this step but it is a good idea to keep it tender and add a bit of texture. Using pre-cooked meat? This isn’t necessary at all, just dice and throw right in there. Either way you want 6 hours to simmer, 8 is better.

Can you put raw ground beef in spaghetti sauce?

No. You need to brown it first before adding. No matter how you cook it you’d be safer to cook it until it’s no longer pink beforehand. You could use our Crockpot ground beef recipe first off and incorporate the rest mid day, or with leftovers.

If you have smaller kids I might opt for penne pasta instead of regular longer versions. It’s easier to eat and leads to less of a mess.

Can you put already cooked meat in a slow cooker?

Yes, we have done this time and time again to make this and our 5 ingredient Crockpot chili. Whether you have steaks or a roast to use up I recommend cubing it into bite-sized pieces so they really break down well and is easier to eat too when done and served.

Ingredients

1. Beef roast and large skillet to brown, browned ground turkey, Italian sausage, or leftover beef should be diced into bite size pieces
2. Onions diced or sliced work well for flavor
3. Carrots peeled and diced
4. Celery are optional but a great add in for more veggies
5. Diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
6. Beef broth or stock works too
7. Red wine vinegar for richness
8. Tomato paste to make thicker
9. Oregan and Basil for seasonings
10. Salt and pepper to taste
11. Garlic powder we like too
12. A bit of sugar is optional for a bit of sweetness
13. Bay leaves

Slow coking makes for the most tender fall apart protein inside. If you follow the below recipe exactly and when it’s done you think it is too thick, just add some broth. Easy peasy. This is what you’ll want to take out.

Can You Make Spaghetti Sauce with Leftover Meatballs?

I think you get the drift that any cooked meat works in this baby right? You can throw your bag left right in or quarter them to make the bites smaller if you want to make it more like ground beef. It saves well too. If you make too much just let it cool to room temperature. Then store in freezer bags, flatten them and stack in the freezer. They will stay well for several months.

My family loves it so much I sometimes make double when I batch cook. When you’re ready to enjoy again just put the frozen bags in the fridge. Let meat sauce defrost on it’s own.

Reheat in a sauce pan, again in the Crock pot just to reheat on low. Thin out with a bit of tomato sauce if needed. Could dice green pepper and add for some texture and serve pasta sauce over egg or spaghetti noodles.

Can you use jar sauce in slow cooker?

I mean I guess so but why?? Make from scratch like this, there is an array of variations and add ins for this. Only have crushed tomatoes on hand, use that. Love Italian seasoning well then add some too. A bit of brown sugar adds a bit of sweetness too. It’s a great recipe where you can substitute away.

How to Make Spaghetti Sauce with Leftover Beef

1. Heat a skillet on the stovetop. Add a bit of olive oil with your cut up pieces of roast.
2. Sear on all sides and then transfer beef into slow cooker.
3. Add diced onions into the same skillet with drippings, add garlic powder
   • could add diced garlic too if you’re a lover and cook down until caramelized.
4. Add meat and onions into the crockpot.
5. Then add all other ingredients with the bay leaves on top so they’re easier to remove at the end.
6. Cover and cook for 8 hours or high for 6 hours. Remove bay leaves. Shred beef with two forks.

Serve over zucchini noodles or regular pasta. Printable recipe shared below so you can keep it on hand. Nutritional information included as well such as saturated fat (which will vary depending on meat selected), calories, etc…

How long to keep leftover spaghetti sauce?

The general rule is 4-5 days in the fridge or 4 months in the freezer. Of course you need to store it properly in air tight containers first once it is room temperature or it will grow unwanted bacteria inside. You can use next day to make Instant Pot spaghetti which we love.

Other easy recipes with spaghetti sauce you’ll love

Love this and want to try more easy slow cooker recipes on The Typical Mom blog? Here are a few others that are always a hit around here:

1. Our Crockpot lasagna casserole is the easiest way to make this classic dish. NO boiling required at all.
2. If you insist on those long noodles, then you should follow the instructions for our Crockpot lasagna recipe.

Want to make this quicker? Well we do have an homemade Instant Pot spaghetti sauce recipe as well. Of course we do. Homemade and easy to do, you can use ground beef or sausage in this one for a quick meal.