Do you have a garden and value feeding your family fresh food? I love having a garden, but having the time to turn that produce into canned goods for later use is a challenge. I don’t work at home. Instead, I leave the house before 7:00 a.m. and don’t get home until late afternoon. However, I had beautiful Roma tomatoes growing in our garden that I wanted to use to make homemade spaghetti sauce. So I modified a recipe I had that required constant monitoring into a recipe I could make while I at work. Spaghetti Sauce from Garden Tomatoes was born! This recipe is perfect for working moms who want to feed their family real food and use produce from their gardens. It is also a great Keto recipe, since there is nothing but good-for-you veggies and spices in the sauce!
Spaghetti Sauce from Garden Tomatoes Recipe…
First, this recipe does require quite a few Roma tomatoes. I used at least 50 tomatoes, if not a few more, for one recipe. However, the amounts of the ingredients can be modified based on the size of the crock pot used. I used my 6 quart slow cooker, and it was the perfect size!
Here are the steps to creating Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce from Garden Tomatoes
- Blanch the tomatoes prior to loading the slow cooker. This is the easiest method to remove the skins. If you aren’t sure how to do this, please watch this video. My blanched tomatoes in my 42 cup Tupperware Thatsa Bowl are below.
- Chop up the onions, measure out the other ingredients and add to the slow cooker. I actually mixed everything together in a large bowl, and then added to my slow cooker to help eliminate some of the mess!
- Mix well. Cook over low heat for 9-10 hours.
- Remove lid, stir and chop up tomatoes into smaller chunks with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Continue to cook over low heat until desired thickness is achieved. Below is the finished product after about 11 hours in the slow cooker.
- Ladle into jars and use the water bath method for storage, or ladle into containers and freeze.
- Use the sauce for pastas, baking casseroles, or any recipe where commercial sauce is required.
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce from Garden Tomatoes: Perfect for Working Moms
Notes
Roma tomatoes are more meaty than larger tomatoes. Other tomatoes may be used, but realize the sauce may be thinner and contain more liquid. Just cook the mixture longer until sauce is at desired thickness.
Ingredients
- 20 c. blanched Roma tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3-6 T. jarred minced garlic
- 12 oz. tomato paste
- 2-3 T. oregano
- 2 T. Italian seasoning
- 1-2 T. Kosher salt
- 1 T. basil
- 1 t. black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Blanch tomatoes, cut in half and add to 6 quart slow cooker.
- Add chopped onions and seasonings, stirring well.
- Cook on low for 9-10 hours.
- Stir well and chop tomatoes with rubber spatula into desired sized pieces.
- Leave lid off and cook over low heat until desired thickness is achieved.
- Ladle into containers and freeze or use hot water bath to process in pint or quart jars.
- Use in recipes calling for spaghetti sauce.
I hope you’ll try this Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes. The flavors are perfectly Italian, but the best part? No added sugar! Most spaghetti sauces on the market have sugar added. In my opinion, those are calories my family doesn’t need. I like to serve this over spaghetti, Zoodles, or spaghetti squash.
If you’re interested in another homemade spaghetti sauce that relies on canned tomatoes, try my Clean Eating Pasta Sauce. Chicken and Italian Rice Bake has similar Italian flavors. 🙂
I grew up with my mom and grandma canning and freezing many items from our gardens. However, both were stay-at-home moms. I’m not, even though I’d love to be. For our family, it isn’t financially possible. But I still want to have my family experience the same healthy, home-cooking that I grew up loving. I believe it’s healthier, cheaper, and by using my crock pot, it’s totally doable as a working mom! I encourage you to use your extra tomatoes in this spaghetti sauce and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you!!!
These are the tools I used to create this recipe:
Would it be ok to use celebrity tomatoes? If so would you recommend halving the amount of tomatoes due to size?
Jenni,
I haven’t used celebrity tomatoes, but they appear similar in size to Big Boy tomatoes. I would say they would be great to use (I’ve used Big Boys) but may have more juice than a Roma. I’d stick to using around 20 cups of tomatoes, or about 5 qts. Also, you might have to cook them a little longer without the lid on the slow cooker to achieve your desired consistency. Please let me know how it comes out! 🙂 I’d love to hear your thoughts!!! Thanks so much for your question. 🙂