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Slow Cooker Spaghetti

BeefSlow CookerItalian

Time: 6 hours 5 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

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About

Slow Cooker Spaghetti does the work for you. All you have to do is make up some meatballs, throw them in the sauce and, when the time is right, add the spaghetti. Everything else the slow cooker handles; it's like having an electric sous chef in your kitchen. The result is melt-in-your-mouth tender meatballs, a rich, deeply bright, savory sauce with just the right amount of heat, and pasta ready to twirl onto your fork. Comfort food has never felt so low-effort or tasted so good. Slow Cooker Spaghetti takes on the workload and serves up the wonder!

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Ingredients

  • For the meatballs:
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
  • 1/4 cup parsley, freshly chopped
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • For the sauce and the pasta:
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
  • 12 ounces spaghetti
  • parmesan, optional, to taste, grated, for garnish
  • parsley, optional, to taste, freshly chopped, for garnish

Directions

Step 1 -In a large bowl, combine the beef, the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of the parmesan, 1/4 cup of the parsley, the egg, 2 cloves of the garlic, 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the red pepper flakes.

Step 2 -Form the beef mixture into 16 meatballs.

Step 3 -Place the meatballs at the bottom of a slow cooker.

Step 4 -In another large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, the tomato paste, the onion, the oregano, and the remaining garlic.

Step 5 -Season the tomato mixture with the salt, the pepper, and the red pepper flakes.

Step 6 -Pour the sauce over the meatballs.

Step 7 -Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 5 hours.

Step 8 -Add the broth and the spaghetti to the slow cooker, breaking the noodles as needed to fit and stirring until all the noodles are coated.

Step 9 -Replace the lid of the slow cooker and cook until the noodles are tender and the meatballs are cooked through, about 1 hour 30 minutes on low heat. Make sure to break up any noodle clumps and add more broth as needed.

Step 10 -Garnish with the remaining parmesan and the remaining parsley and serve.

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