Thursday, August 19, 2010

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

We have a beautiful {and productive} garden that the previous homeowners blessed us with!


This week, we had a chance to use a bucket full of ripe tomatoes to make our first batch of crockpot spaghetti sauce for the season!!


This sauce is runny; when you serve it, add in a can of tomato paste and or sauce to create the consistency of sauce you enjoy.


I like making it and freezing it without the paste because it helps conserve freezer space.


Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce - Finding Joy in My Kitchen
{Print Recipe}

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
~12 large tomatoes, peeled, sliced and chopped
2 T dried onion flakes
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium bell pepper (green or purple is our favorite), diced
4 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon {trust me on this one!!}
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Begin by harvesting your tomatoes.  Alternatively, if you don't have garden tomatoes, you can use two cans (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes, undrained, in their place.

Wash up your tomatoes, and then place them in a large bowl.


Pour boiling hot water over the tomatoes until they are covered.  Allow them to sit in the hot water for 3ish minutes.


Then, decant the hot water, carefully, so as not to burn yourself.

Cover the tomatoes with cold water and allow them to sit in the cool water for 2-3 minutes.


Begin with a tomato of your choosing and remove the skin -- it should pretty much fall right off.  If needed, slice the skin with a knife to start the peeling.

Continue, until all tomatoes are peeled.  Then, slice and dice them.


Next, prepare the other vegetables, along with 1 can tomato sauce and combine them in a large crockpot.


Add in the tomatoes and stir to combine.  Add the spices, including the cinnamon.  Don't skip this -- the richness this spice adds to the spaghetti sauce is incredible!



Season well with salt and pepper, and then cover.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours, or until veggies are tender to your liking.

Cool, and then place into glass jars or freezer containers.

Cool completely in the fridge before placing your containers into the freezer {saves on your energy consumption}.


Serve as is {just add tomato paste and/or sauce to thicken}, use in dishes that call for spaghetti sauce, or add ground beef/turkey to make a meal.

We serve ours with Barilla's Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles.


If you'd rather make the sauce using canned tomatoes -- click here for those directions.


Join GoodLife Eats for the Surprisingly Nutritious Spaghetti Link-Up sponsored by Barilla pasta!

This post is linked to:
Delicious Dishes
Tasty Tuesdays
Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays
Ingredient Spotlight

14 comments:

  1. Can't wait to make this - can you tell me how many jars it makes?

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  2. @ Tracee --

    I have a smaller crockpot, so from this batch I got 8-10 C. I filled 1 quart jar, and two 3 C ziplock containers with the batch that I made. Hope that helps.

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  3. I really want to try this! I don't have canning jars-does it last long in the freezer if I just bought plastic containers? I was thinking of those Glad type reusable containers with a snap lid?

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  4. How lucky for you guys to have a garden at your new home - perfect people to leave it to!

    Your sauce looks fabulous! I too have an abundance of tomatoes....I may just take your advice and make the sauce. :-)

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  5. I can smell it cooking now.....
    Nothing like walking in the house to a great sauce in crockpot!!!

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  6. Oh, the pictures are just so vibrant I can almost taste and smell them...

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  7. lucky you all those garden tomatoes! Enjoy them and definitely plant some more next year.

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  8. How I wish my garden can grow that kind of produce. I haven't tried peeling my own tomatoes, or making batches of spaghetti sauce with it. I recently went to a weekend market, and I just loved the fresh tomatoes there. I will definitely follow your recipe. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. @ Martha A --

    I haven't canned it, I just freeze it. My mom used to can it when we were little kids, though.

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  10. I just used fresh tomatoes for my spaghetti sauce last week. I did add some Hunts sauce to make it thicker, but it was delicious. Now I am hooked on that "fresh" taste.

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  11. Looks fantastic!
    Thanks for linking up!
    Liz!

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  12. Just put this in the crockpot! Thank you!! can't wait to eat it! Love your blog!

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Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you; especially how you're finding JOY in your kitchen.

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