Looking for an easy and delicious dinner recipe that the whole family will love? This crock pot spaghetti recipe is not only kid-friendly, but it’s also a time-saving solution for busy parents who want to serve a hearty and nutritious meal without spending hours in the kitchen!

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When I was growing up you knew exactly what it meant when Mom said “we’re having spaghetti for dinner” or as I pronounced it “Pa-sketti”. It wasn’t anything fancy, but that didn’t matter to us! It was a classic rich red sauce coating every bite of a spaghetti noodle. My mom would take a simple jarred sauce and jazz it up with a myriad of ingredients like cooked ground turkey or beef and some extra garlic. It was simple, but it was perfect.

With winter upon us, I’m moving back to using my slow cooker more and more. Slow cookers save you time, energy and are just overall super convenient. Everything cooks on its own while you go about your busy day. Crock Pot Spaghetti is the total jam if you’re crunched for time and wanting an easy dish that you can put together in minutes!

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Ingredients for Crock Pot Spaghetti

  • ground beef, turkey, or chicken
  • onion
  • olive oil
  • garlic powder
  • kosher salt
  • jarred pasta sauce
  • water
  • spaghetti noodles
  • grated parmesan cheese
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How to Make Spaghetti in the Slow Cooker

  • Brown the meat: In a skillet over medium heat, cook the oil, meat, onion, garlic powder and salt for about 5-7 minutes, until cooked through. Drain excess fat.
  • Add Ingredients to Slow Cooker: Pour one jar of pasta sauce and a cup of water in the bottom of the slow cooker. Break the spaghetti noodles in half and place them on top of the sauce. Add the cooked meat to the crock pot, sprinkle with the cheese, and cover with the second jar of pasta sauce.
  • Cook: Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or low for 6 hours. Remove the lid, stir to combine and mix everything together.

Keep in mind that each slow cooker operates at various temperatures and cooking times. To avoid overcooked spaghetti, test it regularly to ensure it’s cooked to your liking. Overcooked pasta can become sticky and mushy, which nobody likes!

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FAQs

  1. What is the texture of this spaghetti like? Keep in mind that crock pot spaghetti produces a bit softer noodle texture than traditional spaghetti that is boiled to al dente. But it shouldn’t be mushy! Be careful to not overcook the noodles.
  2. Can I used jarred pasta sauce for this recipe? Absolutely! The recipe calls for jarred sauce in fact, but feel free to make your own! I’ve used my Roast Vegetable Pasta Sauce for this recipe before and it was fantastic and got in some extra veggies too!
  3. Can this recipe be made vegetarian? Sure! Just leave out the meat and you’ll be just fine.
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More Crock Pot Pasta Recipes

If you liked this recipe let me know in the comments and tag me on social media if you make it!

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Crock Pot Spaghetti

Make dinner a breeze with this kid-friendly crock pot spaghetti recipe! It's perfect for busy families who want a hearty meal fast and easy!
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Servings: 6
Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients  

Instructions 

  • In a skillet over medium heat, cook the oil, meat, onion, garlic powder and salt for about 5-7 minutes, until cooked through. Drain excess fat.
  • Pour one jar of pasta sauce and 1 cup of water in the bottom of the slow cooker.
  • Break the spaghetti noodles in half and place them on top of the sauce.
  • Add the cooked meat on top of the noodles, sprinkle with the cheese, and cover with the second jar of pasta sauce.
  • Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or low for 6 hours. (See notes)
  • Remove the lid, stir to combine and mix everything together.

Video

Notes

Keep in mind that each slow cooker operates at various temperatures and cooking times. To avoid overcooked spaghetti, test it regularly to ensure it’s cooked to your liking. Overcooked pasta can become sticky and mushy, which nobody likes!

Nutrition

Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

Comments

  1. Awe man I just came
    Home to this and all the noodles are stuck together like they formed one big noodle. What did I do wrong? On high 2.5 hours. 1 cup water. Boo

  2. The texture of the spaghetti ends up more like Spaghetti O’s. It was edible, but only the children were ok with the texture.

  3. I looooooobe this! I cooked it for 5.5 hour and it was perfect. I followed the recipe and had no issues’ definitely a perfect go to meal that I can freeze and have for lunch during the month! N

  4. I’m doing mine with the hidden veggies pasta, and I’m cooking it for 2 hours. I think that is all I need. One hour cooked the noodles and melted the cheese. I’m just heating it all up now.

  5. I want to try this spaghetti .but my family love pepperoni on top can I still do that . I make a spaghetti bake that bakes in the oven with pepperoni all over it .so was just checking to see if the pepperoni would be ok on top of the sauce in the crockpot

  6. I want to try this spaghetti .but my family love pepperoni on top can I still do that . I make a spaghetti bake that bakes in the oven with pepperoni all over it .so was just checking to see if the pepperoni would be ok on top of the sauce in the crockpot

  7. Wow – Let the woman Blog! No Haters! go to foodnetwork or epicurious or just SCROLL DOWN TO THE RECIPE!

    I like the stories, they make me think of when my kids were younger <3

  8. Flavor was good but six hours on low is too long. Came out very dry with little sauce left. Will make again but with added extra sauce and cook time cut in half.

  9. I made this tonight and was very skeptical. I added a few ingredients to make it the way I like it and instead of just letting the spaghetti sit there and clump together. I actually stirred it in the beginning stage. It was delicious. I removed it from the base and it stopped cooking. It wasn’t mushy at all. Thank you for this recipe!!

  10. I used thick spaghetti added meatballs and extra sauce and cooked on low in an oval crockpot. It turned out wonderful. So good today will be my 2nd time cooking it.

  11. This recipe is a disaster. I have a crockpot full of spaghetti paste. It’s a bland pile of mush. Don’t do it!

  12. The pasta cooks in the sauce so you need to leave that in there. You can omit the meat and add your favorite meatballs instead!

  13. What if I want to make this with meatballs instead of meat sauce? How do I modify the recipe?

  14. With all the reviews about 6 hours on low. I went w High and it all cooked to perfection in 1 1/2 hours. So good. Thank you.

  15. Yum! Totally worked for me!! Did a few tweaks and one “oops”.
    -Used my long shallow slow cooker instead of my circular one that looks like a bucket so there would be a thinner layer of pasta.
    -Closer to 1.25-1.5 lbs ground turkey because that’s what I had and wasn’t going to put a couple of spoonfuls of raw turkey back in the fridge, so there.
    -Threw a handful of coarsely chopped mushrooms into the turkey/onion mixture because YES I AM THAT PERSON WHO ADDS MUSHROOMS TO EVERYTHING.
    -Only had 22-oz cans of pasta sauce so added 1.25 cups water as one of the other folks here suggested.
    -Somebody else suggested cross-layering the pasta, so I alternated a layer of long-ways and a layer of cross-ways.
    -Used whole wheat spaghetti.
    -Followed someone else’s suggestion of putting a drizzle of EVOO over the dry pasta.
    -Got into the habit of repeating myself and accidentally added another 1.25 cups of water after I added the final jar of pasta sauce.

    Set it on high and at 2 hours it was mostly cooked, but a little too al dente for my taste. Another 15 minutes and it was good enough to serve – if I hadn’t been so hungry I would have given it another 15. I’d also try this again with regular pasta as the whole wheat does keep its shape very well but doesn’t slurp up the sauce in the way that regular does that I love soooo much.

  16. I made this followed the recipe step by step and it didn’t turn out right. The noodles were mush! How do I prvent that from happening?

  17. I’m wondering if the type/shape of crockpot is to blame for the wildly-differing reviews. Was this originally made in a long shallow crockpot or a more cylindrical/vertical one?

  18. Never been before I usally use ALLRICEPE.COM but saw this spaghetti in crock pot and had to try it as it is way to hot in house to cook on stove .I have used this method of cooking pasta quite often and one thing I can say is when using regular spaghetti noodles it will turn mushy if cooked six hours even on low mine are done way before that about an hour if I use high or two on low .I learned this from the macroni and cheese I make in my crock pot hope this helps.

  19. I am kinda irritated that I didn’t read the reviews and wasted italian sausage and a pound of ground sirloin on this disaster of a dish. it hasnt even been three hours on low and my spaghetti noodles are mushy gooey nastiness and there is absolutely no flavor. I am one mad pregnant lady.

  20. Try using whole wheat pasta like rotini. The whole wheat pasta doesn’t break down as easy and rotini is a sturdier shape.

  21. This recipe worked beautiful only had 24 ounce cans of sauce so ended up putting a extra quarter cup of water. Slight clumps of noodles but broke apart well

  22. So totally tried this right now followed the directions even added beef broth and water and turns out I just wasted a meals worth of food and meat …

  23. Stories like this are a classic part of food blogs. It’s all good. Let her be. You read what you want to. Geez.

  24. Yes! I loved the story and that’s what got me to try it!!!! I’m all about making memories for my children!!!

  25. I added a tablespoon of olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking. Note, not all crock pots are the same you can set it and mostly forget it but the first time watch your pot a little bit. It only took 45 min for my noodles to cook through. Then I just kept it on “warm”. Fed 8 adults and two childRen and was a total hit! One pot cleanup was awesome. Don’t be afraid to stir at the 45 minute mark then rust your instincts to avoid mush, the key I think was in her layers spot on to cook everything together. Loved this recipe will definately do it again. Oh and veggie peeps yes you can do it with meat substitutes but I would say season that in a pan before adding to the crock pot jist as you would meat so the flavour isn’t one dimensional. If you have anyone that doesn’t like the acidity of spaghetti sauce add a cup of cream of mushroom soup and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter to mellow out the sauce and add some creasy richness. This is a good one folks, enjoy!

  26. How about remembering your password? Picking one you will remember? Don’t blame your terrible memory on this excellent site.

  27. I put this in an older, rectangular West Bend slow cooker before we left for church this morning. I followed the instructions exactly and added a few extra spices, using the highest setting. Total cook time was @ 2 hours. It turned out pretty tasty, although I, also had some sticking issues. Next time, I’ll try adding more sauce and drizzling some EVOO over the noodle layer and see if that does the trick. Thanks so much for the recipe!

  28. I was not sure I was going to like this recipe, but it seemed easy enough, so thought I would give it a try. I followed the recipe, and set it on low for 6 hours. I could not believe the amount of spaghetti that this made from one package! Wow! I’m sure it is because the noodles continue to absorb the liquid. I decided to add a 3rd bottle of sauce. We like things a little saucy in our house! My boys and husband scarfed it down and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I’m not a huge spaghetti lover and I finished my bowl too!

  29. We had the same problem with mushy, clumpy spaghetti noodles, which is what I was afraid of cooking pasta for so long. So if you’re an “al denta” pasta lover like us, it might be worth a few minutes of steamy kitchen.

    It was also pretty bland (we like lots of sauce) so I like the idea of using a 3rd bottle of sauce.

  30. Made this last night and this is what I found…
    I cooked it on high for one hour and the spaghetti was mushy and some in inedible clumps. Couldn’t imagine what would have happened if I left it on for 2 hours.
    The sauce was delicious though.
    My advice would be to cook the spaghetti separately. Then you won’t risk it being mushy.

  31. I haven’t tested it with whole wheat spaghetti, but I think that would work just fine with no adjustments necessary!

  32. Great recipe. Can this be made using whole wheat spaghetti? If so, what, if any, adjustments need to be made?

  33. If I don’t make my own, then I like Newman’s Own or anything organic from Trader Joe’s!

  34. Looks simple and delicious! What pasta sauce do you recommend? There are so many, and they differ greatly in taste and nutrition. I’m curios what you like to use. Thank you!!

  35. I’ve tried making pasta in the slow cooker and the pasta becomes mushy. I cooked it well less than the 6 hours on low that your recipe calls for. How did you prevent this from happening?

  36. Does this work better in a crock pot with a ceramic insert, or in a simple one-piece metal slow cooker? I have both… Thank you!

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