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Crockpot-Sausage-Marinara

Ultimate Crockpot Sausages and Marinara

This is about as simple and savory as it gets. Make extra so you can enjoy throughout the week!
4.48 from 23 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Crockpot Recipes, Homemade Marinara, Homemade Pasta Sauce, marinara, Sausages and Marinara, Slowcooker Recipes, tomato sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
on Low Heat:: 7 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 6 people, plus leftovers

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker
  • Wooden Spoon (for stirring)

Ingredients

  • 2 medium sized onions
  • 3-4 cloves garlic (you can lessen if you are not a huge garlic fan)
  • 1 Italian frying pepper
  • 1 can plain tomato sauce (28 oz)
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
  • 4 tbsp tomato paste (store any unused in the fridge for other recipes)
  • 3-4 lbs Sweet Italian Sausage (can use hot sausage, if you dare)
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary (can substitute with dried herbs)
  • 1 sprig fresh oregano (can substitute with dried herbs)
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper (a sublime but key ingredient for adding zing)

Instructions

  • Turn your slow cooker to LOW if you plan on cooking all day or HIGH to speed it up. I like starting this recipe around 9 am if I am doing low and around noon if I am doing high. I cannot overstate this enough. If you have the simple rotary knob on your cooker, CHECK THE SETTING TWICE, especially if you are a daydreamer like me :)
  • Remove skin from first onion by slicing off either end, peeling back first layer of skin.
  • Slice onion in half and lay on its side. Slice crosswise as shown.
  • Slice in thirds along the center axis of the onion slices. You can dice smaller, I feel that thicker onions make this sauce a little heartier. Transfer to slow cooker.
  • Place the garlic cloves on the cutting board, skins on.
    garlic on cutting board
  • Press down on them firmly to crush with the palm of your hand using the flat side of a large knife. This will make it easier to remove the skins.
    smushing garlic
  • Remove skins from garlic and crush some more with the flat of the knife. Carefully dice with your knuckles curved inward to avoid cutting your fingers. Dump the diced garlic in the slow cooker on top of the onions--easy so far, right?
  • Rinse off the Italian frying pepper and place on cutting board. Slice around the edge closest to the stem and pull off the top.
  • Slice the pepper in half lengthwise, and start slicing either side of the whitish ribs. You can then just take this slices with the ribs on them, flip on their sides and slice out the whiter rib part. Rub all the seeds off. Now just slice crosswise--it does not need to be perfect. Slightly larger chunks make for a heartier sauce, IMHO. Transfer to the slow cooker.
  • Now remove the sausage from package. If you got invidual links, I recommend slicing in half, crosswise. This release some nice meaty bits into the sauce and allows for smaller bite-sized pieces. If you got a larger rope of sausage, slice off pieces roughly 3-4 inches in length. Transfer to slow cooker.
  • You should now have a nice pile of goodies in your slow cooker. Almost there!
  • Open the 2 cans of tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes and pour into slow cooker.
  • Add 3-4 tbsp of tomato paste to help thicken the sauce as it cooks.
  • Finally, its spice and herb time.
  • If you have the fresh rosemary and oregano, pinch your index finger and thumb and run along the stem to remove the leaves, then dice on your cutting board. If no fresh herbs on hand, no worries. Season to your liking--you can probably add about 2-3 teaspoons of both rosemary and oregano. Many people have their preferred combo of herbs for Italian sauces, so use your own ratio, if preferred.
  • NOW...DONT FORGET THE CRUSHED RED PEPPER! I learned this trick from Lydia Bastianich, one of my favorite chefs in the world. Even if you dont like spicy foods, add a little bit. It will improve your love life. Trust me on this one. It adds just the slightest amount of zing to any food. If you like more of a diavolo sauce, add more! This is probably the most important, if not most sublime, ingredient in this recipe, and is nicely amplified by the longer simmering time of a slow cooker.
  • FInish off with a decent amount of ground black pepper. You are off the hook for the next 4-7 hours. I like to ensure that the onions stay on the bottom for a good amount of time and I do not stir much. I actually like to leave all the spices on top and give a stir in a few hours if I am home. If you will be out for the duration of the cooking time, you can gently stir the spices and herbs in. Remember that the slow cooker will multiply the flavors of the spices you add, so you can experiment over time.
  • When finished, you and your family will be amazed by the glorious aroma when you lift the lid.
  • You now have meals for days. You can add more sausage and sauce to your liking. The sauce will inherit the flavor and you can serve without the sausage over pasta as leftovers once you have eaten all the sausage.