This Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese will make Italian Mamas proud. It’s rich, luscious, the sauce is silky and the meat is so tender it melts in your mouth. And the slow cooker does all the hard work!!
Long and slow is how real Italian Mamas make proper Spaghetti Bolognese. It’s when the magic happens, the sauce thickens and infuses with incredible flavour that you simply can’t achieve in 30 minutes on the stove. The meat becomes so tender and soft, it literally melts in your mouth. The sauce is silky and rich, and clings lovingly to the pasta, staining the long strands a deep red.
So basically, slow cookers were made for Bolognese sauce. Or maybe Spaghetti Bolognese was made for slow cookers. Doesn’t really matter. They’re a match made in heaven! :-)
Now I have to tell you, this is a real proper authentic Bolognese recipe. So it’s not a “chuck it all in the slow cooker” recipe. Softening the onion and browning the beef before transferring it to the slow cooker is a key step, it can’t be skipped!
It just so happens that my slow cooker has a sauté setting – very handy for browning before slow cooking. However, when I make Bolognese Sauce in the slow cooker, I always make a double batch using 2 lb of ground beef. So if I were to brown the beef in the slow cooker, I’d have to do it in batches anyway because otherwise it would be (very!) overcrowded and the beef would end up stewing instead.
So I just brown the beef in a large skillet then transfer to the slow cooker. Well actually, I brown the onion first then transfer that into the slow cooker, then I brown the beef. Simply because of sheer volume – I don’t have a skillet large enough!
I am very particular about recipes I make in a slow cooker. I strongly believe that things should only be made in a slow cooker if it either enhances the recipe or the sheer convenience far outweighs a small compromise in the food.
As for Spaghetti Bolognese? It absolutely enhances it. Slow cookers on low cook maintain an even temperature lower than most stoves can manage. I truly believe to my very core that Bolognese Sauce made in the slow cooker is better.
This recipe makes a double batch but you could even triple it if you want! Because not only is Bolognese made for making in a slow cooker, it’s also made for freezing!
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 onions diced
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 cup red wine or chicken or beef broth
- 56 ounces crushed tomatoes 2 x 28oz cans
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 beef bouillon cubes crushed
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Pasta
- 8 ounces spaghetti
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook until translucent and sweet - around 7 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in the same skillet and increase heat to high. Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until browned. Cook in 2 batches if your skillet is not large enough. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Return skillet to the stove, turn the stove down to medium and add red wine. Bring to simmer and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet into the wine, then pour the mixture into the slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients into the slow cooker. Cook on Low for 6 hours.
Spaghetti
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the spaghetti until just before al dente (still slightly firm). Remove 1 mug of the water from the pot, then drain the pasta.
- Return the pasta to the pot and add 2 ½ - 3 cups of Bolognese Sauce, plus ½ cup of reserved pasta water. Toss gently over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, or until the Sauce has thickened and coats the spaghetti. (Note 3)
- Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
Cuisine Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
If you like Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese…
You’ll love these recipes:
can I use better than bouillon vs cubes?
That should work well. I would love to hear how it turns out for you, Connie!
Hello! Is there a preference for using red wine, chicken or beef broth? Can you use a mixture of the two?
I love this recipe with red wine but beef broth is a great option too or in a pinch chicken broth works well.
I’d like to know if I should drain the cooked ground beef before adding it to the slow cooker.
Hi Marie, if you find you have a lot of fat in the bottom, you can drain the beef before continuing with the recipe.
LOVE this recipe and it gets rave reviews every time I make it. Only adjustment is I half the red pepper it calls for. It gives it a more subtle kick. We thought the 2 teaspoons was way too spicy but 1 was just right.
I made it with Bison meat 90%. It came out great! Thank you so much for this great recipe!
I’ve made this so many times but I don’t have a slow cooker anymore, can I use my Dutch oven? Any modifications to the recipe?
I use this Bolognese recipe for the stovetop. Enjoy!
what about adding vegetables? any recommendations on how to add a few veg to this? I’m thinking for kid friendly recipes
You can certainly add finely chopped vegetables. Vegetables contain a lot of water so they can make the sauce a little bit thinner.
Just made this and the sauce was lovely and rich. The family commented that it was especially tasty. I’ll definitely be making this regularly!
Wait… just ground beef? No ground veal and/or pork?
You can replace some of the beef with veal/pork if you’d like!
can I use 2 jars of pasta sauce instead of crushed tomatoes
The flavor will be slightly different but it should work well.
Hi! I just made this recipe and love it! Do you mind if I share it in SM?
So glad you enjoyed it! We would love to see your final pictures. Tag us on instagram @spendpennies
Hello! I’m looking to incorporate some veggies, but am a novice cook so I was wondering if you have ever added carrots or zucchini to your recipe? I am not sure if they would need to go in the slow cooker at a later time so that they don’t disappear into the sauce completely.
Hi Lisa, carrots would be a great addition, they can be added at the beginning. For the zucchini you will want to add it towards the end though, about 2 hours before it is done cooking.
Hi, I’m interested in doubling your recipe to make 16-20 servings but I’m not sure if my 6 QT slow cooker will be large enough. Your images show your slow cooker less than half full – is this an image of the 8-10 servings in your 6 QT slow cooker? Thanks!
Hi Lily, I am not sure a 6 QT slow cooker would be able to handle a double batch of this recipe you might need to split it into two slow cookers or use a larger size.
Hello! I was wondering if it’s possible to can this sauce? I’m looking for a good spaghetti sauce recipe and this sounds like a winner.
While this recipe is delicious, I don’t have enough canning experience to know for sure.
Hello, are we able to slow cook this for 10hrs? Or would it become dry? Heading to work & love to put this on before I go
We recommend cooking it on low for 6 hours. I am not sure how it would turn out but I would add more liquid to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
I made this & froze the rest. BEST sauce ever! We just finished it off & I am going to make more.