Crock pot Spaghetti Sauce

We eat spaghetti at least once a week. It is a easy and cheap meal that you can make a lot of. Plus it is really easy to sneak in some good nutrition to this meal! I recently started making mine in the crockpot. Why you ask? Well becasue I made it one time in the crockpot when I was doing some freezer cooking and was amazed at the deepness of the flavor that came out when the sauce was allowed to slow cook like this. After that I was a fan! It is super easy. All you have to do is dump it all in the crockpot and stir it up! This make a a good amount so the rest of the week I am going to show you what to do with your leftovers and how to get more meals out of this one!

These are some ways to make your crock pot sauce healthier and help it become a Secret Agent Spaghetti Recipe! Secret Agent Recipes are recipes where you can easily add in what I like to call Secret Agent Ingredients! Sounds cool doesn’t it? A Secret Agent Ingredient is an ingredient that adds nutritional power to a recipe but does not add overpowering flavor. It is a creative way to add in foods that your child (or yourself) may not normally go for. The Secret Agent Ingredient is usually in small amounts, but the way I look at it all those small amounts add up! For more Secret Agent Ingredient recipes check out the Secret Agent Recipes section of my blog.

• I added 3 tbsp of pumpkin puree to the sauce while it was cooking. If any of you know me, you know I love adding in vegetables anytime I can to my kids food.
• If you have children with texture issues  you can put the mushroom,onions, and diced tomatoes is a blender and blend them  for a little bit. It will make the sauce smoother but still get in all the good vitamins and minerals  ( just without the fuss). This is a great idea if you have picky kids, because sometimes changing textures around a little bit can make all the difference. After you do that just put them in the crockpot and stir in the other ingredients.
• Puree up some canned (or cooked) white navy beans or other kind of white bean. Add small amounts (start with a tablespoon and gradually add more each time) for some added protein and fiber

Crock pot Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 (8oz) package of mushrooms sliced thinly
• 1 medium sized onion diced
• 2 cloves of garlic minced (or 2 tsp dried garlic powder)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 3 (28 oz) cans of crushed tomatoes in puree
• 1 ( 8 oz) can of  tomato sauce
• 1 (4 oz) can of tomato paste
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 2 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 tsp of dried oregano
• 2 tsp of dried basil
• 1 (10oz) bag of frozen spinach or bag of  fresh spinach rough chopped

Put all the ingredients in the crockpot and stir really well. Now just let them cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for at least 4. If you can stir every once in awhile, but if you can’t ,don’t sweat it. Serve over any kind of noodles your family likes. My little kids were getting picky when it came to spaghetti so I switched over to a different noodle and suddenly it was fun again!

Now once you have served everyone cut off you crockpot and let this sauce completly cool down. You have a couple of options. Depending on the size of your family you can either have leftovers for lunch the next day, freeze the remaining so you have a freezer meal ready whenever you need it or just check back this week and see what I do with my leftovers!

Have a great week everyone! Go ahead and pin this recipe so you don’t forget it or share it!!