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–+ servings
Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce to coat your pasta
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4.64 from 22 votes

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese

Easy to make rich and rustic Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce, packed with so much flavour to coat your pasta (or Zucchini noodles) of choice!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian, Mediterranean
Keyword: bolognese, comfort food, hearty, one pot, Slow cooker spaghetti bolognese, Spaghetti
Servings: 8 serves
Author: Karina Carrel

Ingredients

Bolognese Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 onions finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced, or 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup red wine or beef broth/stock - optional
  • 56 ounces crushed tomatoes 28-ounce cans
  • 1 cup beef stock
  • 6 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 large carrot chopped
  • 1 tablespoon stock powder or crushed beef bouillon
  • 2-3 teaspoons salt adjust to your taste
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano or 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil or 2 teaspoons fresh basil, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 pinch cracked pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped

To Serve:

  • 17 ounces spaghetti dry pasta
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pan over medium-high heat.
    Olive oil being added to a large skillet for spaghetti bolognese
  • Sauté onion until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). 
    Diced onion and garlic cooking in a skillet until softened
  • Brown beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until just beginning to brown (about 2-3 minutes). Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker bowl.
    Ground beef browning in skillet with onions
    • Let it sit briefly before stirring to develop a deeper brown colour.
  • Return the skillet to the stove; pour in the wine while scraping any bits of the fried meat from the pan.
    Deglazed wine mixture being poured into slow cooker with beef
  • Bring to a gentle simmer and transfer to the slow cooker bowl.
    Deglazed wine mixture being poured into slow cooker with beef
  • Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, carrot, stock powder, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, and pepper to the slow cooker.
    Ingredients including tomatoes, carrots, and seasoning added to slow cooker
    • Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.
  • In the last 15 minutes of cooking time, boil pasta in salted water following packet instructions.
    Spaghetti cooking in a pot of boiling water
  • Drain the water but reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
    Bolognese sauce and pasta water being added to cooked spaghetti
  • Pour the reserved water back into the pasta along with 2 cups of cooked bolognese sauce.
    Bolognese sauce and pasta water being added to cooked spaghetti
    • Add pasta water gradually until the sauce loosens and coats the pasta.
  • Stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the pasta. 
    Spaghetti being tossed with bolognese sauce until coated
  • Serve with parmesan cheese and (extra) chopped parsley, if desired.
    Finished spaghetti bolognese topped with parsley and parmesan

Notes

The secret to the best results is to use lean ground beef to avoid excess grease in the sauce. If your beef releases a lot of fat while cooking, you can drain it before transferring it to the slow cooker.
You can substitute the red wine with beef broth if preferred. The flavour will still be rich, just slightly less deep.
This sauce thickens as it cooks, but if it’s too thick at the end, add a splash of pasta water or broth to loosen it.
Leftovers taste even better the next day as the flavours continue to develop.
To freeze: cool completely before transferring any remaining sauce into air tight containers. I use disposable containers since the sauce tends to stain.
Nutrition information is based on one serve out of 9 serves. The recipe states serves 8, but you will have about 2 serves of leftovers!
 
Happy cooking! Xx
 
If you have time, let the sauce sit for a few minutes before serving. It thickens slightly and clings better to the pasta.

Nutrition

Calories: 551kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 1.248mg | Potassium: 1.377mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 2.283IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 131mg | Iron: 7mg