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Slow-Cooker Sunday Sauce
Isabella

Slow-Cooker Sunday Sauce

This Slow-Cooker Sunday Sauce is a rich, low-and-slow Italian-style tomato sauce made with tender beef, savory sausage, and hearty meatballs. Designed for relaxed weekends and family-style meals, it delivers deep, cooked-all-day flavor with minimal hands-on effort.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Tomato Base
  • 2 cans crushed tomatoes (28-ounce cans) use good-quality tomatoes
  • 3 sprigs fresh basil
Meats
  • 2 lb boneless beef shoulder cut into 3-inch chunks
  • 1 lb Italian-style beef or chicken sausage hot or sweet; no pork
  • 1 lb uncooked beef meatballs homemade or store-bought; no pork
Flavor Base
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more as needed
  • 1 yellow onion coarsely chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic smashed and peeled
  • ⅓ cup red Jus de raisin non-alcoholic grape reduction
Seasoning & Serving
  • kosher salt to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 ½ lb pasta rigatoni, spaghetti, or similar
  • grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese for serving

Method
 

  1. Add crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker and nestle basil sprigs into the sauce. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches until deeply golden, then transfer to the slow cooker.
  3. In the same pot, brown the sausage on all sides for flavor. Transfer to the slow cooker.
  4. Lower heat and add onion and garlic with a little more olive oil if needed. Cook until softened, then deglaze with Jus de raisin, scraping up browned bits.
  5. Transfer the aromatic mixture to the slow cooker. Add meatballs on top. Cover and cook on LOW for 6–8 hours, until beef is fork-tender.
  6. Cook pasta in well-salted water until al dente. Reserve some pasta water.
  7. Remove meats from sauce, shred beef and slice sausage. Toss pasta with sauce and a splash of pasta water until well coated.
  8. Serve pasta topped with sausage, beef, meatballs, and grated cheese.

Notes

Browning the meats builds essential flavor and should not be skipped. If the sauce tastes acidic, add a small pinch of sugar. For a thicker sauce, uncover the slow cooker during the last 30 minutes. This sauce tastes even better the next day.