Crock Pot Spaghetti is such an easy slow cooker dinner. With its easy meat sauce, this is a meal that your whole family will fall in love with.
I think there are days for all of us where getting any meal on the table feels like a stretch. If you add in things like well rounded and something my kids will actually eat, it feels almost impossible.
This Crock Pot Spaghetti is the answer. It is made in the slow cooker, which automatically makes it a winner. This dinner recipe comes together with simple ingredients, scoring even more points. Finally, it is a total win with kids and it is absolute comfort, making it the Grand Poohbah of great dinner ideas.
How to Make Spaghetti in the Crock Pot
Here is a brief overview of how to make crockpot spaghetti. Your home will smell amazing and your family will love coming home to a warm and hearty meal. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full recipe and measurements.
- Brown the beef. Cook the ground beef over medium heat until it is broken up and browned. Drain off the grease.
- Make the sauce. Spray the base of your crockpot with cooking spray. Pour in the chicken stock, spaghetti sauce, and seasonings and stir to combine.
- Add the pasta. Add the uncooked spaghetti (you may need to break the noodles in half to fit) to the slow cooker. Gently stir and press down so that it is completely covered by the liquid.
- Cook the spaghetti. Cover and cook until pasta is done, 2-4 hours depending on the heat setting.
- Add cheese. Give the spaghetti a good stir and stir in cream cheese and parmesan if desired.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
One of the things that can make this meal really quick to throw together is using jarred spaghetti sauce. That being said, I know a lot of people prefer to cook completely from scratch. If that is you, I suggest you make my homemade spaghetti sauce the night before you want to make this delicious spaghetti dinner. It comes together in only 25 minutes and is delicious. The sauce recipe also makes the amount of sauce you need for this dinner recipe.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Tips and Tricks for Crock Pot Spaghetti
- Switch up the pasta. Any pasta will work for this recipe. If spaghetti is difficult for your little ones to eat or your family prefers another kind, use that in this recipe.
- Use ground turkey. If you prefer ground turkey to ground beef, you can swap that for this recipe. Brown the turkey in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Make it vegetarian. Leave out meat altogether and swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock to make this dish vegetarian. You could also add some meat substitute crumbles to the recipe. They are fully cooked and easy to find in the freezer section of the grocery store.
- Shred your own cheese. Shred your cheese from a block rather than buying pre-shredded Parmesan cheese. I say this often, but it truly does make a big difference in recipes. Pre-shredded cheese is covered in preservatives that help it keep its shredded form, but also keeps it from melting well. Grating your own will melt well and make this crock pot spaghetti extra good.
- Skip the dairy. Cream cheese and grated Parmesan make this dish rich and creamy. These options are listed on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. They were not added in the pictures you see here, because we enjoy this meal so much without them.
- Make it in the instant pot. This recipe can easily be tweaked and made in the instant pot. This Creamy Instant Pot Spaghetti is a dish my kids request often.
Cooking on Low or High
As you know that I prefer slow cooked recipes to be done on low. Most of them just cook better that way, especially when it is a meat dish, like my Pork Carnitas. That being said, with this recipe, both cooking methods (low and high) work equally well.
Storing and Reheating
Store your leftover spaghetti in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. When you are ready to eat the leftovers, reheat them by microwaving at half power until warmed through. Please use your best discretion when it comes to leftovers. Since this recipe is cooked, it doesn’t freeze as well as other pasta dishes. For a spaghetti dish you can make ahead of time AND freeze, try this Baked Spaghetti.
FAQ
Yes! Simply use gluten-free pasta.
This recipe needs to be made in a 6 quart crock pot or larger as it fills the crock pot completely. If you have a smaller one, you can cut the recipe in half for a smaller batch.
Yes! While you can’t beat the flavor of homemade spaghetti sauce, your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce will work in this recipe.
Since this crock pot recipe is cooked, it does not freeze well. A baked spaghetti freezes well, as it can be prepped up until the cooking step and then baked when desired.
Whole wheat pasta doesn’t hold up well in this recipe. If you feel strongly about using it, I would suggest cutting at least an hour off the cooking time.
What to Serve with Slowcooker Spaghetti
- These Italian Green Beans are an easy and delicious side dish that even picky eaters love.
- Garlic Bread always compliments pasta so well.
- A classic Caesar Salad is always a hit.
Other Crock Pot Pasta Recipes
Looking for other make ahead crockpot pasta recipes? Try one of these hearty dishes!
If you make this Crock Pot Spaghetti recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Crock Pot Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 6 cups spaghetti sauce (homemade or store bought)
- 3 cups chicken stock (or beef stock)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 pound dry spaghetti (do not use whole wheat)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (optional)
- 4 ounces cream cheese (optional)
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until it is broken up and browned. Drain off the grease.
- Spray the base of a 6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Then add in the chicken stock, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. stirring to combine. Add the drained beef.
- Add the dry spaghetti. Gently stir and press down so the spaghetti is completely covered by liquid.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for four hours or on high for two hours.
- Give the spaghetti a good stir. Then stir in the cream cheese and parmesan until melted if using.
Notes
Mike says
What do you do with the ground beef after you cook it?
Apologies, Mike! It is meant to go in the crockpot with the liquids. I updated the recipe.
Tom says
You mention cooking ground beef, but never mention putting it in the crock pot. Is it part of the Spaghetti Sauce?
Well that is definitely a mistake! Thanks for catching that, Tom!
Jodi Seabolt says
If I use spaghetti sauce and no other herbs. Does it still need to cook on low for 4 hours?
This recipe already calls for spaghetti sauce, so I’m not quite sure what change you would be making outside of leaving out the herbs (which I don’t recommend, I think you’ll miss some flavor). But yes, still low for four hours.
Steph says
Pasta is completely mush. Any suggestions? Followed the recipe.
Can you tell me what type (white or wheat) and brand of spaghetti you used? It can make a huge difference. Also, if you doubled the recipe or cut it in half that will change the cooking time.
Adam says
Will chicken broth work or does it have to be chicken stock?
Either will work here.
Ruth says
Hi Lisa: my name is Ruth I am looking forward to making your spaghetti in crockpot. I would like to know if you have a cookbook on crockpot cooking. I am 75 yours old and know very little about computers and don’t have a printer. Because of this that is why I love cookbooks. Thank You.
Hi Ruth! I’m so sorry, I don’t have a cookbook out.
Carrie says
Followed recipe to the letter and my pasta was also mushy. Used regular Barilla pasta, not whole wheat. Cooked for 2 hrs on high.
I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you. Slow cookers do vary, so it’s likely yours cooks at a slightly higher temperature and was good to go after an hour and a half.
Terri says
Can I put this together, and leave my slowcooker on a timer (to switch on at the relevant time) or will this make the spaghetti mushy?
I’m worried it will make the spaghetti too mushy.
Laura says
I made this for a church potluck today. My daughter said it tasted sweet and pasta was mushy. I probably will not make again. I used bone broth made from chicken and used ground chicken instead of beef. I will say that it cooked an hour at home some on low and decided to turn to high later (my bone broth was cold from fridge so not sure how much cooking actually happened), traveled 40 min. to church, plugged back in for an hour on high during service. Used San Giorgio white thin spaghetti, maybe mention not to use thin? Some of my pasta stuck together. Spent time separating when stirring in cream cheese, which was a first for me. I guess it wasn’t too bad as I came home with an empty pot. :)
Hi Laura! The fact that you came home with no left overs makes it a winner to me :) That being said, any time you unplug a crockpot and plug it back in somewhere else, you are going to impact the cooking time – especially if there is a 40 minute car ride involved. And I agree that the thin spaghetti would definitely play a role here. I hope you do try it again cooking it only at home. The cold bone broth won’t impact the cooking time, so I would stick to the times listed.
Jason says
I’m wondering is it mushy also because of the starch due to not cooking the pasta and draining it as normal spaghetti would?
Pasta can cook great in the crockpot regardless of it’s starch, it’s just a matter of crockpots cooking differently and different brands of pasta absorbing liquid differently.