Classic Spaghetti with Homemade Veggie Sauce

My family is hooked on this chunky, full of flavor healthy spaghetti sauce. Whether it’s for my small family of 3 or for large family gatherings of 40, this sauce is loved by all and quickly devoured.

Lean ground beef or turkey simmers all day in the slow cooker with onion, bell peppers, celery, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes and herbs. Serve it over whole wheat spaghetti or spaghetti squash. Don’t be surprised if you’re tempted to eat it like a soup!

The Best Healthy Spaghetti Sauce (Slow Cooker and Veggie Packed)

This sauce is overloaded with lots of fresh vegetables, so it’s essential to take a couple of extra seconds and wash them. No, I don’t mean rinse with water. I mean scrub those babies! My most beloved wash is Fit: Fruit and Vegetable Wash. Skeptical of veggie washes? Check out this post where you can see the difference before and after washing. You’ll never look back.

You’ll need at least a 6 quart slow cooker to comfortably fit all these delicious ingredients. I also enjoy substituting pasta with spaghetti squash. I know it sounds a little bizarre if you’ve never tried it. However, it adds a pop of flavor that complements this pasta sauce, and it is also a healthy, gluten free option.

You can either roast or steam the spaghetti squash in the oven. It takes about an hour to prepare and bake, and you can time it perfectly to be done with your sauce.

If you’re preparing this for smaller numbers, don’t worry about having leftovers! It’s great for the next day’s lunch, or freeze it for a future dinner. You’ll be grateful there are seconds. If you prefer vegetarian, just omit the ground beef or turkey. It’s just as amazing without the meat.

Why You’ll Love This Healthy Spaghetti Sauce

• Loaded with veggies. Onion, two bell peppers, celery, mushrooms and carrots in every scoop.
• Slow cooker easy. Brown the meat, add everything to the pot and let it simmer for hours.
• Feeds a crowd. A serving is about 1 to 2 cups, and a batch serves about 8 to 10 people.
• Flexible. Serve it over whole wheat pasta or spaghetti squash, with or without meat.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here is what goes into this homemade spaghetti sauce and why. Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Lean ground beef or ground turkey: Browned and drained before it goes into the slow cooker. Lean meat keeps the sauce hearty without a layer of grease on top. Leave it out for a vegetarian sauce.
• Sweet onion: A large sweet onion, diced, melts into the sauce and adds natural sweetness.
• Green and red bell peppers: One of each, diced. Green adds a slightly savory bite, and red adds sweetness and color.
• Celery: Two stalks, diced, for a subtle savory base flavor. Along with the onion and carrots, it gives the sauce a classic, well rounded backbone.
• Mushrooms: Sliced mushrooms add a meaty, earthy flavor and soak up the sauce. Wipe or scrub them clean and slice them evenly.
• Carrots: Peeled and diced. They soften completely during slow cooking and balance the acidity of the tomatoes. When the carrots are soft, the sauce is done.
• Tomato sauce, tomato paste, stewed and diced tomatoes: Four kinds of tomatoes build a thick, rich sauce. The paste adds concentrated flavor, and the stewed and diced tomatoes keep it chunky. Drain the stewed and diced tomatoes so the sauce isn’t watery.
• Minced garlic: Two tablespoons give the sauce a bold, classic Italian flavor.
• Parsley and oregano: Two heaping tablespoons of each. Dried herbs hold up well during long, slow cooking.
• Salt and pepper: Season the sauce. Taste at the end and adjust, since canned tomato products vary in saltiness.
• Whole wheat spaghetti or spaghetti squash: One pound of dry whole wheat spaghetti, or one large spaghetti squash for a gluten free option.

How to Make Healthy Spaghetti Sauce

1. Wash the vegetables. Scrub the bell peppers, celery, mushrooms and carrots well before you chop them. Dice everything into similar small pieces so it all cooks evenly.
2. Brown the meat. Brown the ground beef or turkey in a large skillet, breaking it up as it cooks, until no pink remains. Ground beef should reach 160°F and ground turkey 165°F. Drain and discard any remaining fat.
3. Fill the slow cooker. Add the browned meat and all the remaining ingredients, except the spaghetti, to a large slow cooker. Stir so the vegetables are covered in sauce. It will look very full and chunky at first, but the vegetables cook down as the sauce simmers.
4. Slow cook. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, until the carrots are soft and the sauce is thick and fragrant.
5. Cook the pasta. Near the end of the cooking time, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions and drain it. Or roast or steam a spaghetti squash and scrape it into strands with a fork.
6. Serve. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper. Spoon it generously over the spaghetti or squash and serve hot.

Healthy Spaghetti Sauce FAQs

• How much does this make? A serving is between 1 and 2 cups of sauce, and a batch should serve about 8 to 10 people.
• What size slow cooker do I need? At least a 6 quart slow cooker to comfortably fit all the ingredients. A smaller cooker will overflow, so halve the recipe if yours is smaller.
• What if I forget an ingredient? This sauce is forgiving. One reader forgot a can of tomato paste and said it was still fabulous, though the paste does make it thicker.
• Can I make it vegetarian? Yes. Omit the ground beef or turkey. It’s just as amazing without the meat, and all the vegetables keep it hearty.
• Can I add other vegetables? Yes. One reader chopped up 2 zucchini and added them toward the end of cooking, and it was a hit.
• Can I serve it over spaghetti squash? Yes. Roast or steam a large spaghetti squash and use the strands in place of pasta for a gluten free meal. It adds a pop of flavor that complements the sauce.
• How long do leftovers last? Store leftover sauce in airtight containers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It makes a great next day lunch.
• Can I freeze it? Yes. Freeze the sauce in portions for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat until steaming hot.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

This slow cooker spaghetti sauce is loaded with lean ground beef or turkey, onion, bell peppers, celery, mushrooms, carrots and four kinds of tomatoes. Serve it over whole wheat spaghetti or spaghetti squash.

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Ingredients

  

• 3 lbs lean ground beef or ground turkey browned and excess liquid drained
• 1 large sweet onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 2 stalks celery diced
• 2 cups mushrooms sliced
• 4 carrots peeled and diced
• 3 cans 15 oz organic tomato sauce
• 2 cans 6 oz organic tomato paste
• 1 can 14.5 oz organic stewed tomatoes, drained
• 1 can 14.5 oz organic diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 Tbs minced garlic
• 2 heaping Tbs dried or minced parsley
• 2 heaping Tbs oregano
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 1 pound dry whole wheat spaghetti or 1 large spaghetti squash

Instructions

 

• Brown ground beef/ground turkey. Drain and discard any remaining fat.
• Add all ingredients, except spaghetti, into LARGE slow cooker. Cover; Cook on LOW 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH 5 to 6 hours, or until done (carrots will be soft).
• Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain OR bake spaghetti squash as substitute for pasta. Serve sauce over cooked spaghetti.

Made this sauce? Leave a star rating in the recipe card and tell me how it turned out in the comments below. I love hearing which veggies you add.

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