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Homemade Crock Pot Marinara Sauce is easy to make – set it and forget it in the crock pot. It smells fantastic as it cooks, and it has all the full flavor of a sauce that you stirred for hours on the stove top, but you saved yourself a lot of energy!
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Summer Tomatoes
It’s perfect for those summer tomatoes too! I often end up with so many beautiful summer tomatoes that I can’t eat them all.
With my Homemade Crock Pot Marinara Sauce problem solved! Make up some of this, and it freezes well too. You will be in summer tomato heaven for a long time to come!
Home grown or canned
I started making this Homemade Crock Pot Marinara Sauce over the summer. Now, you don’t have to start that early. I was processing the home-grown summer tomatoes before they went bad.
This is a great way to use up all those tomatoes. But, if you don’t have any home-grown tomatoes, or if you want to start this in the winter, use canned tomatoes, they’ll work perfectly.
I cooked down the tomatoes
It was too hot to cook the tomatoes inside, so we started them on the grill. I cut each in half and put them in a large ovenproof casserole dish.
I don’t bother to peel them before hand either. As they cook down, the peels come off and float to the top. When they do, fish them out with tongs, a slotted spoon, or your fingers (watch out, it’ll be hot!).
You can freeze tomatoes
I cooked the tomatoes down to about half of what was there to begin with. Let them cool, and then I froze them.
A few months later (or just a couple days ago) I decided to use the cooked down tomatoes in marinara.
And, this is a great marinara sauce! It’s so easy because it’s done in the crock-pot. Also, the sauce is really budget-friendly (even cheaper if you use tomatoes from the garden!).
What onions should you cook with?
I used ½ a red onion and ½ a sweet yellow onion (because they were in the fridge and needed to be used up). Any onions will work in this recipe.
How much salt should I add?
Also, I actually didn’t add any salt to my marinara. I’m still doing the super healthy food, so I’ve eliminated most salt from the stuff I cook. But, I do think the sauce would benefit from salt. Leave it out entirely if you want, the sauce is still great.
How to use marinara?
We had the marinara over simple spaghetti last night with some meatless meatballs. Tonight I’m going to make little individual pizzas using this marinara as the pizza sauce. And, over the weekend I think I’ll make Red Pepper Lasagna.
Other great recipes to use your sauce in:
- Weeknight Italian Tomato Soup
- One Pot Pizza Tortellini Bake
- Red Pepper and Fresh Mozzarella Lasagna
- Serve some marinara for dipping with my Skillet Pizza Bombs
- Baked Meatballs in Balsamic Tomato Sauce
- Serve up some Pizza Sticks with marinara for dipping
This recipe makes a large batch
I don’t think I’ll have to worry about using up all of this sauce, but it makes a large amount, so you may want to can it or freeze it to preserve it. If you’re going to freeze it, allow it to cool before placing it in the freezer.
If you’re looking for another great sauce, make sure to check out my Meatless “Meat” Sauce. If’s hearty and delicious!
If you’re going to can it, while it cooks, prepare (get out and make sure they are squeaky clean) the jars you’ll use to store it.
Transfer cooked sauce to the clean & ready jars. Please follow the instructions from the USDA’s National Center for Home Food Preservation, the official site from the makers of Ball jars, or the makers of the Weck Jars.
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Recipe
Homemade Crock Pot Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 cups crushed tomatoes or 2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1 medium onion coarsely chopped
- 2-4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ½ tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt if desired
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the slow cooker. Stir well to combine. Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or high for six hours. Stir the sauce and remove the bay leaves. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt and some freshly ground pepper as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Ladybook
With diabetics in the family, I grate in 1 small carrot and skip adding any sugar products.
Debby
i could eat thiis all day long if my gut would behave.yummy
Rita Sicora
when you cook down the tomatoes, at what temperature in the oven? Do you ever roast them for this recipe?
Debi
Rita, I’ve made this recipe several times with the canned tomatoes, and it’s always great. When I’ve cooked down the tomatoes from fresh I’ve done them on the stove or on the grill, so medium flame/ temperature setting. I’ve never cooked the tomatoes in the oven. When I’ve done oven roasted tomatoes I have cooked them at 250° F for about 3 hours. You may want to check out my recipes: https://lifecurrentsblog.com/preserving-summer-sun-dried-oven-roasted-tomatoes/ and https://lifecurrentsblog.com/balsamic-roasted-tomatoes-onions/ The fun thing about a recipe like this is getting to try new things. Give it a try, it sounds like a great way to make them. Be sure to let me know how it goes!