Set It and Forget It: Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce

With just a few simple ingredients and your trusty slow cooker, you can whip up a batch of this rich and flavorful Crock Pot Marinara Sauce that’s perfect for pasta, pizza, or as a dip for all your favorite appetizers. Plus, the aroma as it simmers is simply divine!

Photo byThriving Home

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Easy – Making marinara sauce in the crock pot is incredibly simple. The only cooking required is sautéing onions. After that, it’s a dump-and-go recipe.
2. Bang for your buck – This recipe makes a huge batch. Similar to our Homemade Chicken Broth or Strawberry Freezer Jam, this makes it an ideal recipe to stock the freezer with.
3. Flavor – Low and slow yields more depth of flavor. This is why we almost always recommend cooking on the low setting in our Crock Pot Recipes. You also can adjust seasonings in the recipe to your liking.
4. Freshness – As a rule of thumb, condiments, and sauces like pizza sauce, pesto, and salad dressings are just better when made from scratch.

Ingredients Needed

You likely have most of these ingredients in your pantry. Here is what you’ll need:

Photo byThriving Home

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 4 (28-ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Ingredient Notes:

• Garlic – I like to use pre-minced garlic to save time.
• Crushed tomatoes – Crushed tomatoes are easy, but you can also use canned whole peeled tomatoes. Since they’re typically the least processed, these tomatoes maintain a fresher tomato flavor and yield a smoother sauce when cooked. Opting for whole tomatoes also provides greater flexibility in achieving your desired sauce texture, whether you prefer a smooth blend or a chunkier, rustic consistency,
• Herbs (basil, parsley, and oregano) – Fresh herbs are preferable. However, since they aren’t always available we’ve provided options for dried.

How to Make Marinara Sauce in the Slow Cooker

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic for about 30-60 seconds, until fragrant. (Or, you can microwave the onions and oil in a covered microwave-safe, bowl for about the same amount of time.)

2. Add cooked onions and the remaining ingredients to a slow cooker.

3. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. That’s it! (Note: If you used whole tomatoes instead of crushed, you may want to use an immersion blender to make the sauce smoother.)

Photo byThriving Home

More Ways to Cook Marinara Sauce

1. Slow Cooker: High Setting – Cook it on high for 5-7 hours.
2. Stove Top: Simmer ingredients in a covered stock pot on the stove for 1 hour, stirring regularly so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. I add 1 cup of water to the ingredients since it will lose more moisture this way.
3. Instant Pot: Depending on the size of your Instant Pot, you’ll likely need to cut this recipe in half. In the Instant Pot use the Saute setting to cook the onions and garlic. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, then quickly release the pressure.

How to Freeze Marinara Sauce

1. Let the cooked sauce cool completely.
2. Place the sauce in BPA-free freezer bags, freezer containers, or wide-mouth mason jars, being sure to leave at least 1-inch of headspace.
3. Seal and freeze for up to 6 months.
4. To prepare, just thaw using one of our safe thawing methods.

Photo byThriving Home

Recipes That Use Marinara Sauce

Here are some recipe ideas that you can use your homemade marinara sauce for:

• Baked Beef Ravioli
• Baked Italian Meatball Subs
• Chicken Parmesan
• Hearty Baked Penne Pasta
• Instant Pot Whole Wheat Spaghetti

More Homemade Sauces You’ll Love

• Cheese Sauce Recipe
• Homemade Pizza Sauce
• 5-Ingredient Pesto
• Homemade BBQ Sauce