Your favorite spaghetti just got easier with this set-and-forget recipe! Crock Pot Spaghetti has a creamy twist that’ll make the family flip!
Creamy Crock Pot Spaghetti with meat sauce is delicioso! Noodles, pasta sauce, ground beef, and parmesan combined with cream cheese and chicken broth in the slow cooker for the richest, easiest spaghetti recipe ever!
The Easiest Spaghetti Recipe Ever
Spaghetti with meat sauce is a go-to meal for most families. It’s quick & easy to make, goes a long way, the leftovers are fantastic and everybody loves it!
So, I was thrilled to discover an amazing recipe for crock pot spaghetti that makes this classic dinner: EASIER – brown the beef, then toss all the ingredients into the slow cooker, and YUMMIER – the ingredients have time to meld in the crock pot for an out-of-this-world final flavor!
Other Recipes to Serve with Slow Cooker Spaghetti
- An Easy Wedge Salad completes the perfect Italian dinner, and this is a salad even your kids will love!
- No pasta dish is perfect without a slice of garlic toast, and this Ricotta Parmesan Garlic Bread is the best!
Ingredients
Meat: This spaghetti recipe uses a pound of lean ground beef. Though any ground beef will work, it will be cooked and drained at the beginning.
Sauce: Crockpot recipes require a bit more liquid than traditionally cooked meals, so use three 26-ounce jars of your favorite pasta sauce and 2 cups of chicken broth for the perfect balance of flavors and textures.
Pasta: This slow cooker meal uses a pound of classic spaghetti noodles, so check the portion size. Most boxes contain anywhere from 12 ounces to 32 ounces.
Cheese: Parmesan is, of course, a requirement for spaghetti, but it’s the 8 ounces of cream cheese that add that “extra something” to this recipe!
Seasonings: Salt, Pepper and garlic powder finish the flavors in this creamy spaghetti, though you can always season to taste with your favorites!
How to Make Crock Pot Spaghetti
STEP ONE: Cook the ground beef over medium heat until brown and crumbly. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and drain the grease from the meat.
STEP TWO: Turn the crock pot on HIGH. Pour one jar of pasta sauce into the bottom. Break spaghetti noodles into halves or thirds and layer them over the sauce. Next, add the beef over the pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cubes of cream cheese. Add a second jar of pasta sauce over the cream cheese, close the lid, and cook for 3 hours.
STEP THREE: After 3 hours, add the last jar of pasta sauce and 1 cup of chicken broth. (Depending on how thick you like your sauce, you can add up to 2 cups of chicken broth.) Gently stir the entire contents to mix.
STEP FOUR: Close the lid and cook for another hour. Serve warm, topped with more parmesan and parsley, alongside a great salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Ground turkey will work as a substitution for ground beef or you can leave out the meat entirely for a vegetarian pasta dish.
- Adding a few leaves of fresh basil or oregano (or both!) will increase the authentic Italian flavor.
- Gluten-free noodles will not keep their integrity in a crock pot recipe – they will end up as mush. So if you need a gluten-free version, leave the pasta out of this recipe and cook them separately at the end.
Can I Use Marinara Sauce for Spaghetti Sauce?
Marinara Sauce is usually a dipping sauce, but in a pinch it can be a fine substitute for just about any tomato-based pasta sauce. Marinara is slightly thinner than most spaghetti sauce as it doesn’t include any meat or cheese. So, if you choose to use marinara, you may want to thicken it up with a jar of tomato paste and parmesan.
Can I Freeze the Leftovers of Spaghetti with Meat Sauce?
Once noodles are combined with sauce, most pasta dishes don’t freeze very well. The texture becomes a bit mushy. However, leftover spaghetti will easily last five days in the fridge so that you can enjoy a second meal several days later.
Other Italian Crock Pot Recipes
- Crock Pot Lemon Italian Chicken with Capers
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Crock Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Slow Cooker Italian Pepperoncini Shredded Beef
- Crock Pot Pizza Casserole
- Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Dinner
*This post was originally posted on 10/24/2013.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 78 ounces pasta sauce (three 26-ounce jars)
- 1 pound spaghetti
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 8 ounces cream cheese cut into small cubes
- 1-2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Parmesan cheese grated, for garnish
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Add the ground beef to a large skillet and place it over medium heat. Cook, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until browned through, about 8 minutes.
- Season the beef with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir to combine. Drain any excess grease from the pan. Remove from the heat.
- Pour one jar of pasta sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker. Break the spaghetti noodles in half and place the noodles over the sauce. Pour cooked beef over the noodles. Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and top with cubes of cream cheese. Pour another jar of pasta sauce over the cheeses.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, give the pasta a good stir (it will be thick). Add the last jar of pasta sauce and 1 cup of chicken broth, and then stir to combine. (You can add up to 2 cups of chicken broth total, depending on how thick you like your sauce.)
- Cover the slow cooker again and cook for 1 more hour. Stir and serve warm topped with more Parmesan and chopped parsley for garnish, if desired.
Notes
- You can turn the slow cooker to WARM if you’re not ready to eat right when the pasta is done cooking.
- Since slow cooker heat varies slightly by model, the spaghetti may take extra time to cook. Start checking if it’s al dente about 45 minutes after adding the last jar of sauce and chicken broth. If the pasta needs more time, check every 15 minutes until it’s cooked to your liking.
David R Grindel says
Have not made it but .. yet. But I want to use angel hair spaghetti. Is that a problem ? I suspect the cook time will but much less. Any suggestion for using AG spaghetti ?
This recipe looks and sounds sooo… good, I have to try it.
Thanks much,
Dave
ally says
hi! do you think this could be set to low for 6 hours instead of high for 3 hours?
would love any feedback! thanks!
Aubrey Cota says
I would say check on it at about the 5-hour mark but low for 6 hours should be just fine.
Kellee Crowe says
I was wondering the same thing. Would love to do on a workday this first full week of school.
Aimee says
How many servings does one crock pot make? I am making this for my class, which is 17 students?
Julie Kotzbach says
Hi Aimee! Depending on the appetite you should get 6 to 8 servings from this recipe. 🙂
Diana Russell says
That sounds yummy!!! Can you use ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese?
Amy says
This is AMAZING!!! Got left overs for tomorrow too
Aubrey Cota (Admin) says
Yay! I’m so glad!!!
sarina says
I tried this tonight. Its really yummy very rich and very filling! Kids are stoked that i will have some left to freeze. Thank you for sharing! I think when i make again yes i will double but i wont doubble the cream cheese again lol. I added mushrooms and olives to it.
Donna Rice says
This was ok. I could not seem to make it “great.” I doubled the ground beef and sauce, added Italian seasoning, mushrooms, onions, green peppers – nothing seemed to make a difference. Thank goodness for Sarina’s post – I took out half of the cream cheese. I cannot imagine if I had more in it. I put it in a casserole dish and added cheese on top (usually cures everything). It reminds me of a similar recipe I have that includes cottage cheese and sour cream. People are coming over tomorrow night and I will see if I can get it “great” by then.
Amber Stuart says
making this for dinner right now! but instead i am using elbow noodles, hope it turns out! thanks for the recipe! 🙂
admin says
Amber, I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! Thanks for letting us know you made it! 🙂