Save This Recipe
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Homemade, rich, and ready when you are.
You know those days when dinner sneaks up on you? Like, suddenly it’s 5:17 PM, the kids are asking for snacks, and you forgot to thaw anything? Yeah. Same. That’s exactly how this sauce came to live in my freezer—like a little gift from past-me to future-me.
I started making this Slow Cooker Freezer Spaghetti Sauce when I realized I could barely keep up with the weeknight chaos and still cook food that didn’t come out of a box. I needed something real. Something homemade. Something I could make in bulk and not think about again for a while.
This sauce? It’s the one. It’s rich, a little sweet, loaded with Italian herbs, and it makes pasta night feel way more intentional than it probably was.
Why You’ll Be So Glad You Made This
-
One big batch = many chill nights. It makes 8 bags of sauce. EIGHT.
-
You control the ingredients. No weird additives, no mystery flavors — just real stuff.
-
It’s ridiculously versatile. Seriously. Use it on pizza, in chili, for lasagna, shakshuka, ziti, even enchiladas.
-
Slow cooker does the work. You blend, dump, and walk away. Boom.
-
Freezer-friendly and future-proof. Just pull out a bag, thaw, heat, and dinner’s basically done.
Ingredients (a.k.a. What You’ll Need)
This isn’t one of those “fussy” sauces. You’re working with pantry basics and a pile of tomatoes. That’s it.
-
25 quartered tomatoes (skin on) – Yep. That many. Ripe ones work best, but we’re not being picky.
-
5 small cans tomato paste – Adds depth and thickens everything.
-
1.5 cups sugar – Don’t freak out. It balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
-
½ cup olive oil – Adds body and richness.
-
½ cup diced bell pepper – Red, green — go with what you’ve got.
-
½ cup diced onion – I just use one medium-ish one.
-
1 tbsp oregano
-
1 tbsp basil
-
1 tbsp minced garlic – Jarred is fine. No shame.
-
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
-
1 tbsp salt
-
Optional: 2 tsp red pepper flakes – If you like a little kick, add ‘em.
Let’s Get Cooking (And Freezing)
1. Blend the fresh stuff
In batches, blend up the tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion. You’ll end up with a big bowl of slightly chunky, bright red puree. Don’t stress about it being perfect — it’s going to cook down.
2. Start layering in the slow cooker
Fill your slow cooker halfway with the puree. Add all the seasonings, tomato paste, sugar, garlic, and olive oil. Stir it well — it’ll smell amazing already.
3. Add more puree
Pour in the rest of the tomato mix, leaving about 1 inch of space at the top. Trust me, sauce expands when it cooks. Nobody wants a splattery mess.
4. Cook low and slow
Cover and cook on low for 4–5 hours or high for 2–3 hours. Stir once if you remember. Let it simmer and do its thing — your kitchen will smell like a little Italian grandma moved in for the day.
5. Cool it down
Let the sauce cool until it’s warm, not hot. This part takes patience, but you don’t want to melt your freezer bags or trap steam in there.
6. Bag it up
Scoop 2 cups per quart-size zip-top bag, label them, press out the air, and seal tight. Lay the bags flat on a baking sheet and pop them in the freezer. Don’t stack more than two at a time or the ones on the bottom get weird.
7. Freeze, stack, smile
Once frozen flat, you can stack the bags like little tomato-scented files in your freezer. They’ll stay good for 3 to 6 months — if they even last that long.
What You Can Do with This Sauce (Besides Just Pasta)
I mean, pasta is the obvious go-to — but this sauce is your new weeknight MVP. Here’s how we’ve used it around here:
-
Pizza sauce
-
Lasagna layers
-
Stuffed bell peppers
-
Sloppy joes with a twist
-
Chicken or eggplant Parmesan
-
Baked ziti
-
Shakshuka
-
Ratatouille
-
Sausage and peppers
-
Chili starter
-
Tomato basil soup
-
Enchiladas (seriously!)
-
Even just warmed up in a bowl with bread for dipping
It’s your sauce, your call. There are no rules.
A Few Real-Life Tips
-
Blend it chunky or smooth. I go middle-of-the-road. Smooth enough to please the picky eaters, but with just enough texture to feel “homemade.”
-
Don’t skip the sugar. I know it looks like a lot, but it’s necessary. The tomatoes need it.
-
Want it thicker? Let it cook longer uncovered at the end, or stir in a bit more tomato paste.
-
Spice it up. Add red pepper flakes or even a pinch of cayenne if you like heat.
-
Add meat later. This base is vegetarian. You can always brown up sausage or beef when you thaw it and mix it in.
Before You Run to the Kitchen…
This recipe isn’t fancy. It’s not meant to impress a food critic.
It’s meant to save your sanity at 5 PM on a random Wednesday when you just need something real, warm, and satisfying on the table.
You’ll feel like a genius every time you pull out a bag and say, “Oh, yeah — I made that.”
So make it once, stock your freezer, and thank yourself later.
And hey — if you make it and end up adding your own twist, tell me! I’d love to hear how you use it, tweak it, or hoard it like a secret weapon in your freezer drawer.
Stay saucy,
Slow Cooker Freezer Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 25 tomatoes quartered, skin on
- 5 cans tomato paste small cans
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup bell pepper diced
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp basil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes optional, to taste
Instructions
- Blend tomatoes, onion, and bell peppers until smooth.
- Fill the slow cooker halfway with the tomato puree.
- Stir in basil, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, red pepper flakes (optional), oregano, tomato paste, olive oil, and sugar.
- Add more tomato mixture until it's about 1 inch from the top of the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 4–5 hours or high for 2–3 hours.
- Cool the sauce, then portion 2 cups into labeled quart-sized freezer bags.
- Freeze flat on trays, stacking no more than 2 bags on top of each other.
- Ensure the sauce is fully cooled before freezing.
Notes
Nutrition