This No Sugar Added Spaghetti Sauce recipe is a staple around here! I included instructions to cook it both on the stove top and in a slow cooker. We usually have it once a month for lunch on a Sunday, so I almost always cook it in a slow cooker. The majority of spaghetti sauce recipes out there have sugar added (or use tomato sauce that already has sugar added). Since I’m trying to eliminate all added sugar from my life, I stopped putting any sugar in my homemade sauce. Maybe I don’t have enough of a refined palate, but I honestly can’t even tell a difference!
When I made the recipe this week, it cost about $4.90 to make. Since there are 4 servings, that means it is only $1.23 per serving! You will also need to add in the cost of what you eat with the sauce. (Note: I calculate my cost per recipe by using the price of the portion USED of an ingredient, rather than the total purchase price of the ingredient. I do my absolute best to have zero food waste and use any unused portions in other recipes. The prices for most of the ingredients are in this grocery haul post.)
We have a small herb garden in our backyard, and I love to cook this sauce with basil, oregano, and parsley from our garden! I do still make this sauce with dried herbs quite often as well. It’s great either way!
You can eat this sauce over spaghetti noodles, but I usually have it over spaghetti squash. (See my post about cooking spaghetti squash here!) I love to make a double batch of sauce and use the leftovers in a Zucchini Lasagna or in baked penne.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Cook ground beef and onion, (in a large pan or dutch oven) until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain grease.
If cooking on the stove top
- Add the next 7 ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer the spaghetti sauce for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf.
If cooking in a slow cooker
- Add beef, onion, and the next 7 ingredients to a slow cooker. Cook the spaghetti sauce on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Remove the bay leaf.
No Sugar Added Spaghetti Sauce recipe details
Cook the ground beef and chopped onion in a large pan or dutch oven until the meat is brown. (If you are cooking the full recipe on the stove top, make sure it is a pan with a lid.) Drain the grease.
(If you are really rushed, you can put everything straight into the slow cooker without browning the meat first. It really isn’t as good without the flavor from the browned meat, and it makes the sauce a bit greasy without the opportunity to drain the meat. I will admit, however, that I’ve done that on mornings when I was rushed for time. Just make sure you put the slow cooker on HIGH!)
If you are cooking the sauce on the stove top, add the next 7 ingredients to the pan and bring to a boil. 
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf before serving!
If you are cooking the sauce in a slow cooker, add everything to the slow cooker, and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. I usually put the slow cooker on low if it is going to be cooked much longer than 4 hours (even if it’s just 5 hours).
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