This easy, 5-ingredient sausage pasta sauce made with lean chicken or turkey sausage is perfect for busy weeknights! Make it in the crock pot and come back for a cozy meat sauce that’s ready to serve.
Crock Pot Pasta Sauce
On those busy weeknights when you don’t have time to cook, using your slow cooker is a lifesaver! Add juicy Italian sausage, crushed tomatoes, garlic, and a few seasonings to the crock pot. Turn it on in the morning, then come home and boil some pasta (I love Barilla’s new protein pasta), roast some spaghetti squash, or spiralize some veggies and pour this easy sausage pasta sauce on top!
Why You’ll Love This Sausage Pasta Sauce Recipe
I love having slow cooker recipes like Chicken Cacciatore, Crockpot Meatballs and Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili on standby whenever I need a low-effort, home-cooked dinner. Here’s why this Italian sausage pasta sauce is such a winner on weeknights.
- 5 ingredients: This sauce comes together with ground sausage, canned tomatoes, garlic, and simple seasonings.
- Hearty: Everything slow-cooks for hours until the meat is ultra-tender and the sauce is infused with flavor.
- Versatile: Once you have your sausage pasta sauce, you can toss it with your favorite pasta or use it in more recipes, like homemade Lasagna or Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients needed for this crock pot pasta sauce recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Chicken Italian sausage or turkey sausage, casings removed.
- Extra virgin olive oil or your preferred cooking oil.
- Fresh garlic: Smashed with the side of a knife.
- Can of crushed tomatoes, I swear by Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes green label.
- Crushed red pepper flakes or fresh cracked black pepper, to taste.
How To Make Sausage Pasta Sauce
I recommend browning the sausage and sautéeing the garlic before you combine everything in the crock pot. It adds so much depth of flavor.
- Brown the sausage. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon. Afterward, drain any excess fat before transferring the meat to the crock pot.
- Sauté. Wipe down the skillet and set it over high heat. Then, sauté the garlic in oil.
- Assemble in the crock pot. Now, add the tomatoes and sautéed garlic to the crock pot. Give that a scrunch of black pepper.
- Cook. Cover the pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. For a smoother sauce, you can use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients and break up the sausage even more.
- Serve. Toss this sausage sauce with your favorite pasta or low-carb veggie noodles.
Tip for the Best Pasta Sauce
The best tip I can give you when you make this is to use good-quality chicken or turkey Italian sausage and a can of Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes. I’m very brand-loyal to Tuttorosso if I’m using crushed tomatoes, and I think it makes the best-tasting sauce. Other brands tend to be too acidic, and I have to keep adding things to doctor up the taste, but never with Tuttorosso. Of course, you may have a favorite brand of crushed tomatoes you are loyal to. If so, feel free to use that instead.
Variations
I kept this really simple since sausage has plenty of flavor, but you could add more ingredients to this sauce if you wish.
- Roasted red pepper: Roast the peppers like you would for Roasted Red Pepper Soup, and then blend or chop them to add to the sauce.
- Herbs: Add fresh herbs like basil, oregano, or parsley right before serving.
- Spicy: Extra crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne.
How To Serve
Serve this over your favorite pasta or even over spaghetti squash with a dollop of ricotta cheese for a complete meal.
Pasta
Swap the sauce in any of these pasta recipes for this crock pot sausage pasta sauce instead.
Which Slow Cooker Should I Buy?
I love my slow cooker and have been using this 6-Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker for years. I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it’s done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot; it burnt everything, and my food had a weird taste. This slow cooker is so great, I actually own several!
Storage
- Refrigerate. Store leftover sausage pasta sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat. To reheat, warm the sauce on the stove or in the microwave, stirring often.
- Freeze. This sausage pasta sauce freezes well for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
Crock Pot Sausage Pasta Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken Italian sausage, or turkey sausage, casings removed
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of a knive
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes, I swear by Tuttorosso green label
- crushed red pepper flakes , or fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon.
- When sausage is browned, drain any fat if needed and transfer to the crock pot.
- Wipe the skillet with a paper towel and set heat to high; when hot add the oil.
- Add garlic and cook until golden but do not burn; add tomatoes and garlic to crock pot along with fresh cracked pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- If you wish, take an immersion blender and blend the sauce a 2-3 seconds to break the sausage up into smaller pieces to combine with the sauce.
- Serve over your favorite pasta or veggie noodles!
