How to make from scratch spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce in slow cooker?

[jamoehope]

Hello,

I am new here and this is my first post so forgive me if perhaps this was asked before...

I like making my own spaghetti sauce completly from scratch with whole tomatoes but it takes a while to break the tomatoes down in a pan on the stove. Is there a method for making spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce in the slow cooker with whole tomatoes so I don't need to babysit a pan for hours?

I've seen many recipes of this nature for the slow cooker that involve canned tomatoes and I'd like to avoid it. IMO, canned tomatoes are convenient but they are too salty for my taste.

Thanks!

Jamie

 

[keltin]

Try cutting up your tomatoes smaller. Also, a BIG help in both breakdown and flavor, is to roast the tomatoes before putting them in the slow cooker! This also speed up sauces on the stove top…..and it’s easy to do!


Also, if you want a smooth sauce, quickly, you can roast the tomatoes, and then put them in a food processor or blender with white wine or chicken stock and some herbs. Puree the mixture and you are on the FAST track to a flavorful sauce. Heck, you can even puree fresh uncooked tomatoes if you're really in a hurry.

Welcome to DC by the way!

 

[Dave Hutchins]

Keltin is on the right track but use Roma/Italian plum tomatoes and roast them then puree them in the food processor and then into the slow cooker..
Now keep in mind that herbs will cook out if put in two early so put a few in early and preseason then about 1 hour before you want to serve add the second batch of herbs and re season again then taste before you plate and adjust any seasonings and welcome to DC Cooks Illustrated had a program on this very sub. You could try there web site as theres looked very good

 

[Katie H]

Jamie, believe it or not I have a wonderful spaghetti sauce recipe that's cooked in the crock-pot. It makes a bunch of sauce and freezes well. I'll post it later because it's late right now and I'm about to fall asleep in my soup. I'll post it tomorrow in the "sauces" section of our forums.

 

[jamoehope]

Thanks for responding, all of you! This is helpful and makes me excited I can get some of my many cooking questions answered.

keltin and Dave Hutchins: Thanks for the tips. I will try them next time I do spaghetti sauce.

I still wonder two things. How much liquid you two recommend to add to the slow cooker with the tomatoes? How long do you recommend cooking for? My boyfriend would say "until done" but I am not as confident a cook as he and I like estimates of times and amounts.

As for Cooks Illustrated, thank you Dave, but I am not ready to subscribe to it just yet!

Katie E: I'm looking for your sauce recipe today! Thank you!!!

Jamie