If you know me, you know that I love a good crock pot dinner! Easy dinner ideas are my thing as I’d much rather be with my family out and about, than hanging out over the stove. Catch my drift? That’s why this Crockpot Baked Spaghetti is perfect for busy parents!!
Crockpot Baked Spaghetti / Mostaccioli Noodles
Could it be true that everything is better when made in a crock pot? I’d like the opportunity to build a case on this exact statement. Because when momma’s happy everyone’s happy, am.I.right? Just ask my hubby, he’ll confirm this for sure!
And, when I don’t have to turn on the oven, or cook around the 4 o’clock witching hour, I’m a happy lady – insert crock pot dinners here please. 😀
Lately, my newest obsession lies around making pasta dinners in the crock pot. Just check out my newest crock pot dinner recipe, my Slow Cooker Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta here. It’s been pinned over 3,000 times in a matter of 13 days and it’s already gone viral on Facebook, too. That means it’s a keeper!
And, what’s best about both of these dinners is that they’re literally dump and go, and then toss in the pasta at the last minute to cook – no strainers, no hot boiling water on the stovetop, no turning on the oven, nada. LOVE that!
Here’s how I whip up this crockpot spaghetti! PS, I know the noodles aren’t exactly spaghetti noodles, but that’s a pretty universal “noodle” that everyone knows so sometimes that’s just easiest to name a recipe. You could probably use spaghetti noodles, just keep an eye on the slow cooker, as all noodles cook at a different pace.
As far as prep goes, you’ll want to brown the ground beef, onion and garlic together in a large pan. Pretty standard, as far as Italian dishes go. But, what happens next is the real magic. In a four quart crock pot (sidenote: I CANNOT believe how low these crock pots are priced right now!!) you’ll want to combine the ground beef/onion/garlic mixture, the diced tomatoes, basil, parsley, spaghetti sauce and chicken broth. Let that cook on high for three hours. The flavor that this is going to turn out to be is absolutely divine. It’s going to be so full of flavor, seriously.
Once this has all had a change to meld together for three hours, you’ll add in the mostaccioli noodles and let that cook up for about 20 minutes, give it a stir, cook for twenty minutes, give another stir. That’s all the stirring you’re going to do as you’ll top it with some mozzarella cheese, let that melt with the lid on for about 5 minutes and voila! Just like that, dinner is served!
This is the perfect dinner to make for a day that you’re out for most of the afternoon, but still want to come home to all the smells of a delicious, home cooked dinner and can just stir in the noodles. All of the crockpot spaghetti sauce will soak up into the noodles and be absolutely delicious. Serve this with some cheesy, crusty garlic cheese bread and you’re golden. YUM!
You might also like my Crockpot Crack Chicken Sandwiches here!
Print this Crockpot Baked Spaghetti recipe:
Crockpot Baked Spaghetti
This easy recipe is delicious and so, so good!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 can (28 ounce) diced tomatoes
- 2 1/2 cups pasta sauce (650 mL jar)
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups Mostaciolli pasta
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
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Directions:
Combine ground beef, garlic and onion - Brown & drain.
In a 4 quart crock pot combine the cooked ground beef mixture, basil, parsley, tomatoes, pasta sauce and chicken broth
Cook this mixture on high three hours
Add pasta to the crock pot, stir after 20 minutes, stir again after another 20 minutes (40 minutes cooking time for the pasta total) Keep the crock pot on high while the pasta is cooking.
Add cheese to top, replace lid, let cheese melt
Uncover lid, serve and enjoy!
So I only read the indgredients and directions. I threw everything in the crockpot and just realized I was supposed to brown the meat before I put it in the crockpot, I should have read the paragraphs before the directions. I’m new to using crockpots so I wasn’t aware.
That wasn’t really your fault. Browning the meat and onions should have been in the directions. It should not be necessary to read the preceding paragraphs. Anything stated there should be restated in the actual recipe.