Splendicious Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Description

This recipe comes from my Army days where dishes were often created by throwing in everything including the kitchen sink! I’ve refined it over the years, and this recipe yields a tangy yet sweet and rich sauce that is sure to make your soldiers happy. The sauce is excellent over any pasta.

Ingredients

  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 3 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 cup sliced green olives
  • 4 teaspoons sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon Hungarian paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped sweet onion, divided
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped
  • ⅔ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • ⅔ cup sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 (4 ounce) links Italian sausage links, casings removed
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 cup red wine, or more if needed

Instructions

  1. Mix together the crushed tomatoes
  2. tomato sauce
  3. stewed tomatoes
  4. 1 cup of red wine
  5. green olives
  6. 4 teaspoons of sea salt
  7. basil
  8. oregano
  9. paprika
  10. and cayenne pepper in a slow cooker. Set the cooker to Low.
  11. While the cooker is warming up
  12. place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
  13. and cook 3/4 cup of sweet onion until the onion just begins to soften
  14. about 2 minutes; stir in 1 clove of garlic. Cook the mixture for 3 more minutes before mixing in parsley and mushrooms. Reduce heat
  15. and simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar
  16. and mix to dissolve.
  17. While the parsley and mushrooms are simmering
  18. heat 3 more tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
  19. and stir in the remaining onion and the sausage. Brown the sausage
  20. breaking the meat up into crumbles as it cooks
  21. about 10 minutes; season the mixture with white pepper and cumin. Pour 1 cup of red into the skillet
  22. and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to dissolve any brown flavor bits into the wine. Simmer for about 10 minutes; pour the sausage mixture into the skillet with the parsley and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat just until all the ingredients have had time to introduce themselves to each other
  23. about 10 minutes. Pour the sausage mixture into the slow cooker.
  24. Cook on Low for 8 hours to overnight. Add more red wine or water if needed to prevent the sauce from getting too thick and burning on the bottom.

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 45 mins

Total Time: 9 hrs 15 mins

Servings: 16

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