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!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 yellow onions diced
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 cup red wine or chicken or beef broth
- 2 (28 ounce each) can crushed tomatoes
- 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.
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Once all the items are in the slow cooker do you stir it?
Yes, you can give it a quick stir before you put the lid on.
My husband is allergic to onions. Do you think it will greatly affect the taste if I leave them out? I love onions, it’s so hard to cook without them..
You could certainly leave the onions out if he is allergic.
Is half a pound of spaghetti enough?? Looks like it makes a lot of sauce. And my family loves pasta. Should I double the recipe?? Want to make this ASAP, I love Bolognese..
Thanks for your help
The sauce makes enough for 8-10 servings. 8oz spaghetti should give you 4 cups of cooked pasta. If you prefer a bigger portion of pasta, you can certainly increase the pasta.
Do you drain the grease from the browned hamburger before transferring to the crock pot? Thanks so much!
If you have a lot of grease it is a good idea to drain it.
I am always looking for great recipes using my crockpot for the winter. Awesome!
I made this a week or so ago, it was so good and the kidlets loved it too. We froze the leftover sauce and thawed it for dinner last night, and it was just as good if not better. New hit in our rotation and a new slow cooker recipe, win-win for us. Thank you for sharing.
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe April!
I cooked it today in our slow cooker exactly as you make it and it turned out to be fabulous !
My son loved it and had 3 helpings . Thank you for a great recipe
I’m so glad your family loved this Robin!
I had a taste after mixing everything together. Mmmm. Good!
Is it ok to use a crock pot if you do not have a slow cooker? Anyone try that??
Crock Pot is a brand of slow cooker so it should work just perfectly!
Looks like a great recipe but what happened to the cream (or milk)?
I was wondering the same thing! To be a traditional bolognese sauce, milk is usually added! Otherwise, it is just a meat sauce for spaghetti. But it still sound delicious, so I’m going to try it!
My instincts say to leave the crock pot uncovered so the sauce reduces, but is that what I actually should be doing?
A lid is required with slow cooker recipes to reach to correct temperature.
I never had a slow cooker, but with all these great recipe’s i guess i have to buy one.
I love mine, makes inexpensive meats so tender and most recipes are pretty quick to prep. :)
Spend the extra $$ and get a programmable Crock Pot that allows you to punch in the hours.
Hi! Making this now…do I need to mix the items in the crockpot? My meat and onions are on the bottoms and all the seasonings are on top of the tomato sauce.
Thanks!
Yes, you can certainly give it a stir.
Thank you for this recipe! It was excellent!
I’m not a fan of chunky tomatoes. Will this recipe work if i blended up the run tomatoes till smooth? Also how would fresh basil work? I only ask as I have some in my garden. Thanks a lot
Yes, that should work just fine. You can also substitute canned pureed tomatoes.
I just made this and it was wonderful! Once I had everything in the slow cooker we headed to the pool and boy did it smell amazing when we came home. My youngest daughter even loved it and she normally eats butter and parmesan only on her pasta. The wine that I used was a Lambrusco. I can’t thank you enough!
I’m so glad you and your family loved this recipe! :)
What if u don’t use the wine which one u think is will b better flavor the chicken or beef broth .
I would suggest beef in this recipe.
My husband said it’s the best sauce I’ve made! Rich and flavorful. Mix in cavatappi pasta and loved it!
I’m so glad your family loved this recipe!
I just cooked and assembled everything in my Crock Pot. Will update you with the results…my neighbor is waiting also!!
Could you use flank steak instead of ground beef?
I haven’t tried making this recipe with flank steak so I’m not sure how it would work.