Crock Pot Meaty Pasta Sauce

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Crock Pot Meaty Pasta Sauce

Crock Pot Meaty Pasta Sauce is super easy and basically makes itself! It's a great recipe to meal prep on the weekends so that you have less cooking to do during the week.

Prep Time10

Cook Time6

Total Time6 10

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 330kcal

Author: Catherine McCord

Equipment

slow cooker

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can tomato puree
1 cup carrots, grated
1 medium red bell pepper, diced (orange or yellow bell pepper would work too)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sauté pan and sauté onions for 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and 1 teaspoon of salt and sauté for 4 more minutes, breaking apart the meat as it cooks. Add the bell peppers and saute an additional 2-3 minutes.
Add the sautéed meat, onions and bell pepper to the crock pot along with the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
Serve over cooked pasta or use in any recipe that calls for meat sauce.

Notes

Double the Batch: This meaty pasta sauce freezes like a dream. I always stash a few single or family-size portions in the freezer for those nights when I just can’t deal with cooking. It’ll keep well for up to 3 months—just defrost in your microwave (or over stove top), reheat, and dinner’s done.

Don’t Skip the Sauté: Browning the beef before tossing it into the crock pot adds so much flavor. If your slow cooker has a sauté function, even better—just cook everything right in the pot, then add the rest of the ingredients.

Let It Simmer: The longer this sauce cooks, the more delicious it gets. Letting it go low and slow gives you that rich, slow-simmered flavor without standing over the stove all day. It turns into the kind of sauce that clings to any pasta you throw at it—in the best way.

Nutrition