Easy Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce
Try this Easy Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Easy Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 5.95525 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.0891 g
- Fiber 1.1275000077486 g
- Protein 0.745125 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0240625 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (56g)
- Sodium 30.9526432291667 mg
- Sugar 4.8277499922514 g
- Trans Fat 0.02601 g
- Calories 26 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat the oil in a pan
- Add onions and cook for 2 minutes
- Add thyme, carrots and garlic and sauté for another 3-5 minutes
- Pour onion/garlic mixture into your slow cooker
- Add tomatoes and mash them with a potato masher
- Set slow cooker on high and cook for 4 hours
- After it's cooked, mix together and check salt and pepper amounts.
Shedding excess moisture from canned tomatoes before prolonged heating prevents a watery finish. Whole canned tomatoes carry less water than purees and break down cleanly under mechanical pressure. Initial pan-sautéing of the yellow onion, shredded carrot, fresh thyme, and minced garlic in extra virgin olive oil unlocks fat-soluble aromatics that raw simmering misses. Shredding the carrot allows the natural sweetness to disperse uniformly through the acidity without chunks altering the mouthfeel. Transferring this cooked base into the slow cooker alongside crushed whole tomatoes establishes a steady flavor profile over four hours on high heat.
Pairings and Equipment Alternatives
Pairing this sauce with dense shapes like rigatoni or thick polenta holds the chunky texture better than smooth strands. Grating a hard cheese over the hot pasta supplies the necessary sodium balance to counter the natural tomato acid. When a slow cooker is unavailable, a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven operating at 250 degrees Fahrenheit in a standard oven yields identical reduction results over three hours with the lid slightly cracked.
- Watery sauce results from omitting the initial pan sauté step that reduces excess onion and carrot moisture.
- Sticking occurs if the slow cooker runs too hot; verify the appliance reaches a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil.
- Storing leftovers in glass containers prevents staining and preserves freshness for up to five days in the refrigerator.
