This easy recipe for Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese makes enough for two large family meals. Place one meal in the freezer for a quick and hearty meal another day.
This recipe for Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese is such a great one to have on hand. It makes a large batch of delicious bolognese sauce which you can use for for traditional spaghetti bolognese, lasagne or any other Italian style mince dish.
Or for a super kid-friendly option, you absolutely must try my Hash Brown Bolognese Bake! Simply add the leftover from this meal to a casserole dish then top with hash brown bites and grated cheese - too easy.
Ingredient notes:
- Mince: I use beef mince in this recipe. You could also use venison or a combination of beef and lamb or beef and pork if you prefer.
- Mushrooms: I like to cut the mushrooms into large chunks so that I can easily remove them for fussy kids... Alternatively you could chop them really small so that they can't even see them! Or leave them out altogether.
- Spinach: The beauty of the spinach is that it gets blended with the tomatoes to create a smooth paste that completely blends in with the sauce.
Step by step instructions:
Brown mince and onion in a large frypan then add to the slow cooker. Blend the spinach with one can of tomatoes in a blender until finely chopped. (optional veg hiding trick).
Add carrots, garlic, mushrooms, Italian herbs, sugar, tomato paste, beef stock, canned tomatoes and spinach mix to the slow cooker. Season well with salt and pepper then stir everything together, turn the slow cooker on to high for 4 hours or low for 6+ hours.
Stir everything together at the end and check the seasoning, add more if needed.
For other epic slow cooker meal ideas, be sure to check out my recipes for Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese as well as Slow Cooker Beef Ragu.
Recipe FAQs:
While this step isn't essential, it is recommended. Browning the mince before putting it in the slow cooker ensures that there are no clumps of meat at the end. It also intensifies the flavour of the meal.
I serve my family spaghetti bolognese the first night I make it, then I use the leftover mince to create two medium size lasagnes which I layer up and then freeze. When I need a quick meal, I simply bake one of the lasagnes from frozen for one hour and 20 minutes at 180°C fan bake until golden and bubbling.
Storage:
Store any leftover bolognese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until piping hot.
The bolognese can also be frozen. If you want to get ahead you could do a double batch and store portions in airtight containers in the freezer. When you want to use them, defrost a container in the fridge overnight then reheat to use in your choice of meal.
Top tips:
This mince bolognese could be used in som many different meals. You could use it make a lasagne, a bolognese past bake, on baked potatoes or even as mince on toast!
Related Recipes:
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Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
A delicious beef bolognese cooked slowly over 4 hours.
Ingredients
- 800g beef mince
- 1 onion, grated or finely diced
- 70g baby spinach (optional)
- 2 cans of tomatoes
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 cup beef stock, I use an oxo cube & boiling water
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 250g mushrooms, sliced or quartered
- 2 tsp Italian herbs
- ½ tsp sugar
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Brown mince and onion in a large frypan then add to the slow cooker.
- Blend spinach with one can of tomatoes in a blender until finely chopped. (optional veg hiding trick)
- Add carrots, garlic, mushrooms, Italian herbs, sugar, tomato paste, beef stock, canned tomatoes and spinach mix to the slow cooker.
- Season well with salt and pepper then stir everything together, turn the slow cooker on to high for 4 hours or low for 6+ hours.
- Stir everything together at the end and check the seasoning, add more if needed.
Notes
- This mince is great for spaghetti bolognese, lasagne and other Italian style mince dishes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 205Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 138mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 20g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya
Kathleen Robinson says
Made this for dinner tonight it was delicious. I didn't have any spinach so used sliverbeet instead which worked just as good. I did however find that it did have a lot of liquid at the end of cooking so next time I will be halving the beef stock to half a cup
VJ cooks says
Hi Kathleen, glad to hear you enjoyed this. Sometimes depending on the water content of the vegetables and the mince, it can produce a more liquidy sauce. My trick to reduce this is to take the lid off and turn the slow cooker to high for the last 30 minutes.
Kirsty says
Man I love a slow cooker! Bung it in, turn it on and hours later (with barely any effort) DINNER!!! This was delicious. The kids raved about it. Super yum. Will make often. Thanks for another winner VJ 😀
VJ cooks says
Me too! So glad you enjoyed it!
Graham Gledhill says
Just made this doubling the amount. I also added celery and fried them with the onions and carrots.
I also added chestnut mushroom.
It came out absolutely wonderful.
Amazingly tasted better than the recipes from the likes of Jamie Oliver etc etc.
VJ cooks says
That sounds absolutely delicious! Great job. I'm also a massive fan of doubling recipes and having a nutritious meal ready to go on the freezer for nights I'm less organised.
Paige says
Hey VJ, can I double the recipe to have mince for a bolognese and then put the left overs together for a lasagne for another night?
VJ cooks says
Yes of course! My favourite way to cook!
Valerie says
Can I cook the spaghetti in my slow cooker. I am new to this and keen to do the spaghetti.
VJ cooks says
At the same time as the bolognese? No. You should cook the spaghetti in a pot of boiling water.
Jane Bly says
Hi There, just wondering what size crockpot you use for this or does it not matter ( new to using a crockpot) many Thanks, Jane
VJ cooks says
As long as you can fit it all in, any size will work!
Ruth says
Would this recipe work with venison mince in place of beef?
VJ cooks says
Absolutely! Use what you have!