Birthday dinner
Do you have a special birthday dinner that you request every year? Did your Mom or does your family ask you what you want for dinner on your special day? When I was growing up, Mom always made us whatever we requested for our birthdays. Cake, of course, was always included (I wanted some Duncan Hines lemon cake with some lemon frosting…Mmmmm) and then we had a birthday dinner.
Jarred sauce is alright by me
Sometimes that birthday dinner was McDonald’s because that was a rare treat for us back then. But I always asked for spaghetti. Always. Out of all the stuff my Mom could make, I wanted spaghetti. My Mom never made homemade sauce and she didn’t fuss with making homemade pasta. I mean, really, she ain’t Italian and even if she was, she worked a hard, physical job as a school custodian, she didn’t have time to be messing with all that. So even if we couldn’t have it on my exact birthday, she always made sure to include it somewhere in my birthday week. Did I care that it was a jarred sauce and a cake made from a boxed cake mix? Heck no. My Mom made it and it was good.
Cake mixes too
And do y’all know what I still ask for on my birthday? Duncan Hines Lemon Cake and spaghetti for dinner. It’s my thing. And I love it. And it’s all still made the same way. Because no matter how grown or fancy pants we think we are, inside all of us, there’s just that kid who wants their Moms’ spaghetti and meatballs. And Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. And maybe also Kool Aid.
Crock Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs for the win
And because I am all about you busy Mommas and Dads out there, I wanted to share with you how I love to make this recipe for Crock Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs. Because it only uses ONE POT! Mmm Hmm, that’s right. One pot and 4 ingredients. I’m serious! Less dishes, less mess – count me in!
Ingredients:
1 (24 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
4 cups water (vegetable or beef broth)
1 lb. (16 oz.) box spaghetti
26 oz. (24 count) frozen meatballs
olive oil
olive oil
Optional sauce ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil (or 2-3 leaves, fresh basil, torn)
Directions:
In a 6 quart slow cooker, pour in jarred spaghetti sauce.
Then add 4 cups of water. I just use the spaghetti jar and fill it up about one and half times to get 4 cups. You need enough water to cook the noodles. Instead of water, try using vegetable broth or beef broth for a kick of flavor.
Now, this next part is completely optional. If you have the ingredients, go for it, if not – no big deal!
Add in minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and basil.
Updated to add: Break the spaghetti noodles in half and put in a large ziploc bag. Coat the spaghetti noodles with a drizzle of olive oil. Close the bag and gently move the noodles around until they are all coated. Then remove noodles from bag and put noodles on top of sauce mixture and gently push them down so they are slightly in the sauce. Then top with frozen meatballs. No need to stir these in. Just put them right on top.
Cover and cook on low for about 2-5 hours (until noodles are soft and meatballs are heated through). Then give it all a gentle stir to combine and serve!
Cook’s Notes: What I like about the digital slow cookers these days is after it’s done cooking, it will automatically go to a warm setting. If you are gone from home all day, I really recommend a digital slow cooker with a warm (buffet) setting. That way you don’t have to be home as soon as it’s done. Also, I would recommend if you are going to be letting this stay warm after it is cooked, add about 1/2 cup more liquid to the sauce to the above recipe to keep it moist. Also, if you need to “revive” it a bit, just sprinkle a bit of water or broth to the mix and stir before serving.Updated to add: This recipe seems to have caused quite a lot of differing comments about the time it took to cook. After consulting with a number of recipe reviewers, we decided that the time was affected by the type of crock pot. Some crock pots heat up very quickly while others are very slow to heat. This can greatly affect the cooking time for this. So, unfortunately, I can only provide a range of cooking times for this particular recipe. It should take anywhere from 2-5 hours, depending on your slow cooker. You’ll have to use your best judgement on the time based on your particular slow cooker.
Enjoy!
Crock Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs (All-In-One)
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 633kcal
Ingredients
- 1 24 oz jar spaghetti sauce
- 4 cups water vegetable or beef broth
- 1 16 oz (1 lb) box spaghetti
- 1 26 oz bag frozen meatballs (24 count)
- olive oil
- Optional sauce ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil or 2-3 leaves, fresh basil, torn
Instructions
- In a 6 quart slow cooker, pour in jarred spaghetti sauce.
- Then add 4 cups of water. I just use the spaghetti jar and fill it up about one and half times to get 4 cups. Instead of water, try using vegetable broth or beef broth for a kick of flavor.
- Add in minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and basil.
- Break the spaghetti noodles in half and put in a large ziploc bag. Coat the spaghetti noodles with a drizzle of olive oil. Close the bag and gently move the noodles around until they are all coated. Then remove noodles from bag and put noodles on top of sauce mixture and gently push them down so they are slightly in the sauce. Then top with frozen meatballs. No need to stir these in. Just put them right on top.
- Cover and cook on low for about 2-5 hours (until noodles are soft and meatballs are heated through). Then give it all a gentle stir to combine and serve!
Notes
What I like about the digital slow cookers these days is after it's done cooking, it will automatically go to a warm setting. If you are gone from home all day, I really recommend a digital slow cooker with a warm (buffet) setting. That way you don't have to be home as soon as it's done. Also, I would recommend if you are going to be letting this stay warm after it is cooked, add about 1/2 cup more liquid to the sauce to the above recipe to keep it moist. Also, if you need to "revive" it a bit, just sprinkle a bit of water or broth to the mix and stir before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 633kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 676mg | Potassium: 896mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 10% | Vitamin C: 10.9% | Calcium: 6.4% | Iron: 19.7%
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Phyllis Abramson says
July 21, 2017 at 2:56 pmI have fresh meat for meat balls, may I use that?
Josie Gavieres says
August 28, 2017 at 3:43 pmHi Brandi,
I don’t own a slow cooker. Can I use a dutch oven instead? I believe the equivalent oven temperature would be 275 with a low temperature for crock pot. How long do you think I should keep it in the oven?
Monica says
September 20, 2017 at 12:03 pmTo make sure the noodles were well coated, I broke the dried noodles and half, put them in a Ziploc bag and poured oil in it. Mash the bag up until noodles are well coated.
Super easy, nice time saving recipe!
Monica says
September 20, 2017 at 12:07 pmSilly auto correct. It should say “broke the uncooked noodles in half”, and “zip the bag shut, mix the noodles around until well coated”.
Sara says
September 21, 2017 at 7:36 pmI made this for tonights dinner and my picky eater loved it. Thank you!
Jeremy says
October 3, 2017 at 5:58 pmImportant tidbit don’t use angelhair pasta it will turn into mush. I did all of the instructions and cooked for two hours on low to the minute. And the angel hair turned into a mush on top… still edible but not nice to look at
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
October 8, 2017 at 6:14 pmThanks for letting us know Jeremy! I’ve had some folks telling me their are buying that quick-cook spaghetti. I think it’s called “Pronto” and are adding it about 45 minutes or so before serving.
FamilyChef says
October 21, 2017 at 3:21 pmWould this cook on low for 2 hours in a regular crockpot as well?
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
October 25, 2017 at 6:49 pmYes! 🙂
Dave says
October 23, 2017 at 4:53 pmI’m not quite sure of the time. Is it 2 hrs or 4hrs I’m confused. Trying this tonight, please reply.?
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
October 25, 2017 at 6:39 pmHi Dave it’s 2 hours! 🙂
Karissa says
October 25, 2017 at 6:44 pmYea I just put mine in and was reading the comments saying 5 hrs but the recipe says 2… also very confused…
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
October 25, 2017 at 6:53 pmIt’s 2 hours. The post was updated after a few folks felt it was too long. I think that is mainly because some slow cookers can run very hot while others don’t. Start with 2 hours and go from there. Hope that helps!
Melissa says
December 15, 2018 at 1:19 pm2 hours on high or low?
Tori says
October 29, 2017 at 6:47 pmI did 2 hours and it was definitely not long enough and the sauce is pretty much water…going to let it cook a little longer and turned it up to high….disappointed so far as this sounded really good but keeping my hopes up
Amanda says
December 5, 2017 at 4:51 pmI was a dumbdumb and used angel hair pasta. Maybe you should make a note for those of us that prefer that type of noodle that it is NOT suitable for this recipe. Tasted okay, but I have a crock pot full of mush that neither of us will eat, lol.
Jennifer says
January 26, 2018 at 11:41 pmThis may be a dumb question but do you mix the sauce and water? Sorry if you said it and I missed it.
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
January 27, 2018 at 12:10 pmHi Jennifer! Not a dumb question at all. You are correct – mix them. 🙂
Lorraine says
January 31, 2018 at 3:08 pmWill be making this soon and sharing with my neighbors.
Judith wood says
February 3, 2018 at 10:02 amI’m cooking now
So fingers crossed added tin tomato s with less water will check after 2/3 hours on high ..sounds good and my favourite!!
Carolyn says
February 27, 2018 at 3:53 pmMade it! It was pretty good, a little too starchy for me, only bcs you don’t get to drain the noodle water.
Hubby & 🐕 loved it though! 😋
Mandy @ South Your Mouth says
March 29, 2018 at 1:32 pmI had ZERO clues you could pasta in a crock pot like this! I am SO making this!
D. Harris says
April 29, 2018 at 7:43 pmThank you for posting the Spaghetti recipe. And the folks who replied with results and suggestions. Added two cans of beef broth-no water, and the extra seasoning on rhe recipe to the pasta sauce. Set the Slow cooker on low for two hours. Needed about 40 min. on high setting additionally for the pasta to absorb the liquid. Gently mix and let sit for 10 min. Very tasty with Garlc Bread.
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
April 30, 2018 at 1:29 pmI appreciate your tips and tricks!!
Gwen says
July 3, 2018 at 6:48 pmYour ingredients are like mine. I use hamburger meat, cook it in the crockpot first with some water, then when it’s almost done, I separate it with a spoon or fork then add sauce and water then spaghetti broken in half then water to cover, spices, stir. I use high from start to finish, takes about 1& 1/2 hrs total. I have a fast/hot crock pot. Thanks!!
Connie says
July 26, 2018 at 5:11 amI want to cook this for dinner tonight but not sure it will turn out right after reading all the comments. I can’t afford to waste food.
Terry says
September 19, 2018 at 2:23 pmMaking this now. I have the timer set for 2 hours to check it. I added the extra ingredients and the sauce smelled fantastic even before cooking. I hope it turns out well or my sarcastic wife will give me heck If it is a bit watery at 2 hours I will heat more sauce on the stove to add..
Pamela says
October 30, 2018 at 10:14 pmMade this tonight and my family loved it. I added the extra seasoning and used beef broth + the extra 1/2 cup of liquid because it would be in for 5 hours. Turned out fine. I also used thick spaghetti (it said that on box). We will be making it again. It was so easy!
ELIZABETH RANDALL says
November 4, 2018 at 12:09 pmThis recipe turned out absolutely perfect, I set it to high for about two hours, then just warm until almost dinner. Super fast to put together!!
El says
November 5, 2018 at 9:09 amWhere has this recipe been all my life?! Sooo easy! I’m never making spaghetti & meatballs the traditional way ever again! What could be easier? All in one pot & go about your day and come back a few hours later to a nice big batch of comforting spaghetti & meatballs! I made mine with fresh turkey meatballs and also added a small can of tomato paste. I doctored up the sauce with all the spices me and my family like. And I also made sure to stir the spaghetti in the sauce to further prevent clumping before putting the meatballs on top. 3.25 hours later, Voila!!! The easiest spaghetti & meatballs I ever made in my life! Thank you for posting this recipe. Any recipe that makes life a little less time consuming is more time for the family!
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
November 5, 2018 at 5:05 pmLove, love, love your tips. So helpful!! Thank you!
Loretta says
December 8, 2018 at 1:18 pmHI ,i would like to add a 8 oz pkg of sliced mushrooms and some sweet onion ,would I need to add more sauce ,water or broth ??
Tabitha Kirk says
February 6, 2019 at 8:05 amDoes anyone know if u absolutley have to put oil with noodles. Im living in hotel and wanting spaghetti however decided to use penne noodle but dont have the oil. How could i cook this so noodles get cooked n not nasty?
Yvette says
April 13, 2019 at 3:51 pmI was wondering could I cook at night and then warm it up for lunch tomorrow by turning on the crock pot on warm
Brandie @ The Country Cook says
April 14, 2019 at 11:07 amHi Yvette, that’s a good question. Spaghetti can get really goopy on you if it sits too long. You may want to use a different kind of pasta – like penne or elbow macaroni. Those tend to hold up a lot better than the spaghetti noodle. Hope that helps. 🙂