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
Hannah says
I just made this! It doesn’t have much flavor and its very watery/soupy and followed the recipe. What should I do differently?
I’m sorry that was your experience. We love this recipe as is, but everyone has different tastes. I would suggest adding a pinch more salt, doubling the herbs, and consider adding some red pepper flakes. If the pasta was well cooked, but it was still watery, next time you could try taking the lid off for the last 30 minutes of cooking. If the pasta was a little hard, then it just needs more time.
Mare says
Absolutely fabulous. I used link sausage.
I’m so glad you liked it!
Julie says
Hi! I need to serve a volleyball team and this recipe sounds perfect. Can I double it in a large crockpot? Anything I need to adjust if doubling? Thanks!
Hey Julie! I’ve only tried this recipe as written and because it is a noodle dish in the crockpot I would be nervous about doubling it without testing it. I would suggest instead borrowing a second crockpot and making it as written in two separate slow cookers.
Mary says
Why shouldn’t I use whole wheat pasta?
It won’t cook well in the crockpot.
Thom says
I opt for an organic version as much as I can. I use Tinkyada Brown Rice pasta [all types] but I put the pasta in about 1 hour before the end of cooking. My overall cooking time is about 3 hours. I use Low Sodium Organic Vegetable Bone Broth. I also substitute sauce using a combination of Organic Fire Roasted whole and/or sliced/peeled Tomatoes, Organic Tomato paste and a half cup of medium heat salsa [gives a little kick], a tablespoon of organic minced garlic. use 1 whole onion and a sliced / chopped green and red pepper or 2. I drain off as much liquid as possible since the broth adds a lot of liquid already OR I just back off on the broth depending on how watery it looks.
I sometimes go meatless or vegetable based [added onions and peppers, zucchini and squash]. For meat i will usually add ground pork, ground turkey or ground chicken. Rarely use ground beef but if I do its grass fed.
Max says
Can I double the recipe in a 7 quart slow cooker?
I think it might be too much for a 7 quart slow cooker. The slow cooker you see pictured is 6 quarts and as you can see it’s pretty full.
Whitney says
Does it help to stir during cooking to prevent the pasta from sticking together?
I don’t typically do that and don’t have a problem with it sticking together.
Rachel says
I made this and my pasta came out gummy. How can I resolve this?
Sounds like your slow cooker was a little too enthusiastic. Just cut the timing of it by about 30 minutes and you should be good to go.
Scott says
do you have to add chicken or beef broth?
You do have to add that amount of liquid. I like using broth because it deepens the flavor of the recipe.
Bobbie jo says
What other stuff can I cook in cock pot
Hi Bobbie! You can find all my crockpot dinners here: Slow Cooker Recipes