Spaghetti Bolognese In Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese: Mmm… spaghetti bolognese! There’s nothing quite like getting a good pot of bolognese going on a rainy, busy weekend. Since so many people have been asking me for this recipe in private messages, I figured it was time to just share it here so everyone can enjoy it too.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 kg extra lean beef mince
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 700g passata (smooth tomato puree)
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons chicken stock powder
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 500g spaghetti
• Grated parmesan cheese, for serving
• Fresh basil leaves, for serving

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese: Directions

1. Brown the beef. Place a large frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once it’s hot, add the beef mince. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat apart into small pieces as it cooks. Keep stirring and cooking for about 8 minutes, until the mince turns a deep brown color all the way through.
2. Add the wine. Pour in the red wine and stir it into the meat. Let it cook for about 2 minutes, giving it a stir now and then, until the liquid cooks down to about half of what you started with. This step helps build a deeper, richer flavor in the sauce.
3. Move everything to the slow cooker. Carefully transfer the browned beef and wine mixture into a 5.5-litre slow cooker. Add in the passata, crushed garlic, dried Italian herbs, chopped onion, chopped carrot, chopped celery, chicken stock powder, tomato paste, sugar, bay leaves, and 1/4 cup of water. Stir everything together gently so the vegetables and seasonings mix evenly through the sauce.
4. Cook low and slow. Put the lid on the slow cooker and set it to cook on LOW for 8 hours. This long, slow cooking time lets the flavors blend together and turns the sauce thick, rich, and full of flavor.
5. Cook the spaghetti. About 15-20 minutes before the sauce is ready, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions until it turns soft but still has a slight bite to it. Drain the pasta well.
6. Serve it up. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce before serving. Spoon the warm bolognese sauce generously over the cooked spaghetti. Finish each plate with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese and a few fresh basil leaves on top for extra flavor and color.