This fresh, homemade Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce is a delicious meatless sauce made from scratch. This sugar-free spaghetti sauce creates magic from fresh tomatoes and herbs.
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Have you ever thought “can I make spaghetti sauce in a crockpot” to yourself? Well, the good news is that yes, you sure can!
The slow cooker heats evenly and gently and does its thing without burning the sauce. Pure magic my friends. Pure magic.
Prefer to use canned tomatoes to make marinara sauce? If so, check out this Freezer Spaghetti Sauce that uses canned goods and pantry staples.
What Kind of Tomatoes Work Best in Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce?
Heartier paste-style tomatoes are the easiest to work with for this recipe. They are easy to peel and have fewer seeds. They also have a lower moisture content which means they take less time to cook down.
But sometimes you (ok, it’s me) have 18 different tomato plants that are all ripening at the same time and you need to do something with them. This slow cooker marinara is the perfect home for those random tomatoes.
If you are using tomatoes that are more suitable for sandwiches (AKA “slicers”), you’ll want to mix them with some paste-style tomatoes for the sauce to reduce/thicken.
If you’re a canner, check out these posts on Canning Tomatoes {Whole tomatoes} and Canning Stewed Tomatoes because both can help you make amazing homemade spaghetti sauce on the fly.
Do I Have to Peel Tomatoes To Make Sauce?
You don’t have to, but it will impact the overall texture of your finished sauce if you don’t. You can read more about it in this in-depth tutorial on How to Blanch and Peel Tomatoes.
Don’t want to take that extra step? I got you covered. Cut the tomatoes in half, push the seeds out with your thumb and then grate the tomato using a box grater, discarding the skins. It’s not foolproof as some skin will still get mixed in, but that’s ok.
You can also use frozen tomatoes (related: Freezing Tomatoes). The amazing part about using frozen tomatoes is that you can allow them to thaw in a bowl overnight and the skins will slip right off!
How to Freeze Spaghetti Sauce
You can freeze this sauce in a wide-mouth canning jar. Make sure to leave 1 inch of space between the top of the sauce and the top of the jar to allow for expansion during freezing.
Check out this post on Canning Supplies for my favorite sources for cheap or free canning jars.
If you don’t have canning jars, I love to use these 2-cup Souper Cubes for freezing my sauce. Remove the frozen sauce and transfer it to freezer-safe storage.
You can also use freezer bags to freeze the marinara sauce. Allow sauce to fully cool and transfer to a quart or gallon-size bag. Don’t overfill and gently remove additional air. Freeze flat and then you can store it upright.
Spaghetti sauce will keep in the freezer for 6-9 months.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- I used my Instant Pot on the slow cooker function with the slow cooker lid for this recipe.
- If you want a less chunky sauce, pulse it a few times with an immersion blender or mash it a bit with a potato masher or large spoon. Add the baking soda, salt and pepper, and additional herbs to taste.
- The (optional) baking soda is a great way to neutralize the natural acidity of tomatoes without adding additional sugar.
- Making this all day and then refrigerating it overnight gives it an extra kick of awesome in the flavor department.
- Try it for a dipping sauce for Air Fryer Ravioli, or use it in this Ravioli Bake. I also use 2 tbsp of it as the secret ingredient in my Whole30 Pot Roast.
- Want to up the veggie factor? Sneak in some frozen pumpkin. No one will know!
- Feel free to add meat if you’d like. Just make sure you fully cook it before incorporating it into the sauce.
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
One serving has 0 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce {Sugar-Free Spaghetti Sauce}
Ingredients
Instructions
- Rinse tomatoes and core them. Drop tomatoes in a pot of boiling water for one minute.10 cups tomatoes
- Scoop tomatoes out with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water. Now the skins will slip off easily.
- Cut in half (quarters for larger tomatoes) and push out the seeds out with your thumb.
- Add the tomatoes and all the ingredients (except baking soda) to slowcooker.2 tbsp fresh basil, 1 tbsp fresh oregano, 1 tbsp fresh parsley, 6 cloves garlic, 1 cup onion, 6 oz canned tomato paste
- Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 7 hours. Stir occasionally if possible. The sauce should be reduced by about half.
- If you want a less chunky sauce, pulse it a few times with an immersion blender or mash it a bit with a potato masher or large spoon. Add the canned tomato paste at this point if you’d like a thicker sauce.
- Add the baking soda (it will foam a bit), salt and pepper, and additional herbs to taste.1/8 tsp baking soda, salt and pepper to taste
Notes
- Making this all day and then refrigerating it overnight gives it an extra kick of awesome in the flavor department.
- The (optional) baking soda is a great way to neutralize the natural acidity of tomatoes without adding additional sugar.
- You can freeze this sauce in a wide-mouth canning jar. Make sure to leave 1 inch of space between the top of the sauce and the top of the jar to allow for expansion during freezing.
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Can you freez in freezer bags
Absolutely!
We have a plethora of Italian herbs growing on the ledge- this recipe was perfect for our embarrassment of riches. I kept it sans canned paste and used organic tomatoes. It was delightful, except I’m impatient so it was a little torturous for ten hours.
Really good- I like that there is no added sugar. I added a cup of finely grated carrots for a little natural sweetness.
Judy, such a great addition! I use grated carrot in my other spaghetti sauce (recipe here) and I should start using it in this one too!
My hubby and I thought this was just delicious, and even though it is a few steps, I like using the crockpot where I can! Froze some and can’t wait to use it =)
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
Just made these on a whim because I decided to buy some big tomatoes at the farmer’s market. It was easy and tasty. Do you think it could be done in the Instant Pot?
So glad you liked it!
My friend Katie has an Instant Pot Pasta Sauce recipe. It uses canned tomatoes but I bet you’d be able to adapt my recipe to her instructions. The one thing to keep in mind is that the Instant Pot likely won’t reduce the liquid in the fresh tomatoes, so you might need to add canned tomato paste.
What is the purpose of the baking soda?
The (optional) baking soda is a great way to neutralize the natural acidity of tomatoes without adding additional sugar. It mellows everything out without changing the flavor.