If you make this crock pot marinara sauce, I’m almost positive that you’ll never buy a jar of sauce ever again, if you have a choice in the matter. It’s free of any added sugars or oils, which makes it extremely calorie and weight watchers friendly.
It’s huge on flavor! Nothing against anyone who uses a jar of sauce, I used jarred sauces of all different varieties for years and years. I never even thought making homemade sauce was a thing that normal people did until I did a Whole 30 Challenge two years ago.
Now jarred sauces are a thing of the past in this house. I made this into a bulk freezer recipe because like most people, I don’t have time to make a fresh pot of sauce every single time I need some.
I simply measure out about two cups into quart freezer bags, squeeze out as much air as possible, lay them flat, and stack them in the freezer. This recipe makes about 5 freezer bags with 2 cups of sauce in each bag.
If you like your sauce chunky, blend it less.
However, I like it to be more smooth, so it goes a little farther and is a little more versatile. So I either run it through a blender, or use the immersion blender when it’s fairly cool.
I use this in almost all recipes that require a sauce, and also for pizzas! Since it’s really just tomatoes and spices, It’s ZERO smart points for as much as you want!
ENJOY!
Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 cans 28 oz crushed tomatoes preferably a higher quality brand. I use Cento (big yellow can) (you may also use diced or whole tomatoes even tomato sauce if that's all you can find- drain extra liquid if using diced/whole tomatoes)
- 2 14.5 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes drained
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1 yellow large onion diced
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes more or less depending on the level of spice you’d like
- 1-½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1-2 bay leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Stir all of your ingredients in a 6 quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours to really get all of those lovely flavors to mingle and fall in love with each other. Salt and Pepper to taste when finished.
- For smoother sauce: use an immersion hand blender, or put in a blender. Blend on low until desired consistency.For thicker sauce: tilt the lid off of the crockpot and cook on high for about 30-60 minutes. This will reduce the sauce some so that it's thicker. Depending on the canned tomatoes sometimes the sauce can be a bit more "water-y". Reheating after freezing: You can add sauce to your favorite recipe. If you think it seems a bit "water-y" this is normal and can happen depending on the actual tomatoes after they were picked and canned. You can put sauce in a pot on the stove without a cover and heat over medium-low heat reducing it until you reach desired consistency. *If using a blender make sure the sauce is cool or blend in small batches*
- Freezing instructions: Let cool completely. I usually add about 2 cups to each freezer bag, press as much air out as possible, close the bag, and then stack on top of eachother in the freezer to save space.
My whole family loves this recipe. We recently moved so I had to give away my freezer stash and everyone keeps asking for the recipe we are making it today to rebuild my stash of pizza sauce! Even my 16 month picky eater loves it.
This is not only delicious but so easy. Freezes well so you always have marinara on hand. Do yourself a favor and double the batch!!
Crazy easy and so good!
You used to have a zero point Marinara sauce recipe that was done on the stove top (instead of a crockpot) I can no longer find the recipe though. Is it the same ingredients as this? And how long do we cook it on the stovetop? We loved that version when we tried it but I just dont have 8 hours to wait on the crockpot.
that wasn’t my recipe, sorry! I always do this. You can always make the crockpot version ahead of time and freeze then you wouldn’t have to wait 8 hours.
I saw a note about the possible bitter taste. My mom used to add a whole carrot to the simmering sauce and she said it cut the bitterness.
I definitely will make this. Sounds really good.
Thank you for that tip!
How long does this last in the fridge?
And definitely will be a staple in my kitchen. So so good.
This marinara sauce is the best and the only one I will ever make and use!
I’m fixing this today!