With over 1 million pins, enjoy this addictive slow cooker beef and cheese pasta that is cooked long and slow to bring out the best cheesy meat sauce!
Here’s a really simple meal to throw together that’s pretty kid-friendly too. This slow cooker beef and cheese pasta boasts lots of melty mozzarella cheese strings and a rich meat pasta sauce that has plenty of time to marry the flavors long and slow.
It’s a big enough meal for eight servings so there are plenty of leftovers to go around, although there usually aren’t much leftovers with this one. Though not your conventional pasta sauce, the addition of sugar to balance out the tartness of tomato sauce and other seasonings to make it extra beefy makes this an addictive combination. And with that, let’s get started.
SLOW COOKER BEEF AND CHEESE PASTA RECIPE TIPS
‣ Pasta – I cooked the pasta till al dente and tossed it in the slow cooker 30 minutes before the end. You will end up with soggy pasta if you add uncooked or cooked pasta in the beginning. And no one likes soggy pasta!
‣ Ground beef – If you’re not using lean ground beef, brown it over the stovetop before adding it to the slow cooker. Too much fat will dilute the sauce.
If you have super-lean ground beef, you can skip this step. I would brown anything below 93% lean/7 % fat, then drain away all that fat.
‣ Spinach – I used frozen spinach but if you want to use fresh instead, toss it in once it’s all done cooking and mix. The residual heat will be enough to cook them. It’s the same reason I tossed in the cooked frozen spinach last.
Cooking spinach for too long will make it tough and leathery. There’s no such thing as undercooking spinach since you can eat it raw anyway, but there is such a thing as overcooking it!
‣ Marinara sauce – The marinara sauce is mildly sweetened to balance out the tartness from tomatoes. I’ve also added some beef bouillon cubes and Worcestershire sauce to enhance the beef flavor.
It’s like adding in the flavor of 2 cups of beef broth, only you don’t have to cook it down. Do a taste test and see if you need to add more of the other seasonings to tweak things to your taste.
And that’s about it. As I said, this one is a really simple meal to throw together if you’re craving meaty pasta and happen to like cheese. Because who doesn’t like cheese!
For appetizers, the classic homemade garlic bread or these Parmesan garlic knots pair really well. Enjoy, happy cooking and let me know how you liked it or what substitutions you made in the comments below!
MORE PASTA RECIPES TO TRY
- Meatball Pasta Bake
- Easy Vegetable Pasta
- Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
- Pizza Pasta Casserole
- Pepperoni and Olive Penne Pasta
- Lasagna Roll-Ups
- Easy Ravioli Lasagna
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Slow Cooker Beef and Cheese Pasta
- Total Time: 6 hours 10 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
With over 1 million pins, enjoy this addictive slow cooker beef and cheese pasta that is cooked long and slow to bring out the best cheesy meat sauce!
Ingredients
- 2 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 15 oz. marinara sauce
- 15 oz. stewed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 10 oz. frozen spinach, cooked
- 1 lb. penne/rigatoni/bow tie pasta, cooked al dente
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Over medium high heat, brown the beef in a skillet until cooked and fat has melted. Drain any excess fat.
- Remove beef and sauté onions and garlic until onions are translucent.
- Transfer onions, garlic and beef to a 6 qt. slow cooker and pour in marinara sauce, tomatoes, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, crumbled beef bouillon cubes and sugar.
- Stir to mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
- Cook the pasta till al dente according to package instructions. Drain well and add cooked pasta, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese to the meat sauce and stir to combine.
- Cook on high for 30 minutes.
- Mix in cooked or raw spinach leaves and stir well.
- Dish and serve hot.
- Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 6 hours
Comments & Reviews
It’s so cold I don’t even want to step out the door! I don’t have any jars of marinara. Any suggestions? Can I double the ‘sauce’ part instead of the jar of marinara sauce? Also, all of the Italian seasonings have rosemary in them and I hate rosemary. Can you tell me what to put together to make Italian seasoning myself?
Sure, go ahead and double the tomato sauce. I just use the marinara as a sauce base cause of the flavor. But you can go around that by just adding more herbs yourself. I would suggest thyme, oregano and basil. Good luck, Erin!
I’ve tried this recipe numerous times and my family really likes it! Like everyone else, I got an instant pot for Christmas and was wondering if you had tried it in an instant pot?
I’ve honestly never heard of an instant pot until you mentioned it. I thought you were talking about a pressure cooker. I had to Google it and it sounds amazing! I don’t own one (yet).
Can this recipe be made in the oven ?
Yes it can. I suggest doing until step 4 over the stove top, cook the pasta until al dente then mix it all up with the sauce and spinach. Transfer the pasta mix to a 9×13 casserole dish and top with the cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F until cooked and bubbly. Then broil at 450 degrees F for 2-3 minutes or until cheese layer has browned.
May I use the chicken buillon cube. I don’t not eat anything pork or beef.
I guess you could but how would you eat the rest of the dish with ground beef? If you’re planning to substitute with chicken, I would cook the chicken on stove top instead or add it to the slow cooker for only 4 hours max on low since chicken can overcook if left too long there and gets tough.
What is the purpose of adding 2 Tbl sugar? It’s not enough to “sweeten” the recipe, so it really seems extraneous.
It’s to balance out the tartness from the tomatoes so it’s not just a punch of acid in your mouth but a slightly deeper flavor. It’s something I’ve always done with red pasta sauces cause I can’t stand the taste of tart alone 😉
Not only does this recipe look yummy and look forward to trying it, I also love the white bowls you have the food served in! Where would I find?
Those bowls were a gem I found at Dollar Tree. I used to check in there every now and then while I was building my blog props collection. Got those for a couple of bucks!
This has become a staple in our home. It’s simple and tastes amazing. Thanks!!
You’re welcome, Rebecca! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
I’m so glad I stumbled upon your site. My husband usually does the cooking, but because of his new job resulting in a longer commute and arrival time, I’m trying to chip in with the cooking. I’m not fond of cooking, so I was in search of easy and tasty slow cooker recipes. Your Beef & Cheese Pasta certainly fit the bill. I made this yesterday and we had it for dinner last night. It sure did fit the bill for easy and tasty. YUM! I will definitely be making this dish again. I attempted your Parmesan garlic knots – they were really fun to make and looked great. But unfortunately, our oven must run hot because I burned them. I’m not discouraged though and will try them again next time, either at a lower temp or shorter duration. Thanks so much for this delicious recipe. I will be scouring your blog for more. Cheers!
Sorry to hear about your burned knots but good luck with the revisiting of them! I suggest babysitting the last couple minutes to find the sweet spot for your oven temps. Thanks for trying other recipes too and I hope you find stuff that won’t make cooking such a chore for you 🙂
Hi, I have a smaller crockpot so I only made 1 pound of ground beef but did the rest exactly. I’m wondering if I could make it in a shorter time frame, about 2-3 hours on high.. will that be ok still??
The crockpot is for your convenience so the flavors of the sauce can marry longer while you get to twiddle your thumbs. If you want to try for a shorter time frame because it’s inconvenient, you can do it. Having said that, be sure your crock pot does not run too hot on high (cause I know some do…you would think there would be a standard among the different brands) so it does not burn. I’ve heard some brands run hotter than others. Good luck, Liz!
Thanks! I did do it for a shorter amount of time and it turned out SO delicious! Family favorite!!!
Yay!!! Glad it worked out for you. What brand crockpot do you have out of curiosity?
Do you drain the stewed tomatoes?
Heya Staci! No I don’t drain them. The liquid ratio is so minimal anyway and a little more sauciness doesn’t hurt. Good luck!
I am way down in New Zealand and I have never put a comment on a site before – but this recipe is the best pasta recipe I have found!! And when Im in a rush after work I just use same recipe and simmer the sauce for about an hour. We have this at least once a fortnight. And I have shared with friends. My kids love it. Thanks
Well thank you for taking the time to let me know, Cathy. The pasta sauce is a staple in my kitchen with all the seasonings the way it is. I never liked the tanginess of red pasta sauces so I spent over 10 years testing and adding one thing after another to have a more ‘wholesome’ sauce, if that makes any sense!
Hey im making this wednesday night. Is it ok if i use canned spinach if i rinse it off really good
Sure, you can do that. Like you mentioned, just drain it really well!
I found this recipe and had to try it! It’s cooking as we speak! Smells delicious, and I can’t wait to try! I have a question or two for next time: For the red pepper flakes, it says season to taste. I’m a college student, and fairly new to cooking, so I’m not sure what a good baseline would be. I don’t mind heat in my food, but at the same time, I don’t want to go overboard. What would you recommend as a good starting base? I did 1/2 tsp this time. Also, I could only find 24 oz jars of marinara. If I used the whole jar, should I add more oregano, basil, and italian seasoning, or should it be ok?
Thanks for the quick and easy recipe! I haven’t tasted it yet, but from the smell, it definitely gets 5 stars!
I think 1/2 teaspoon is a good place to start, Darryl. You could always add more later. It’s always better to start small then keep on adding more to taste instead of the other way round. As for the marinara, add a teensy tiny bit of the seasonings you mentioned to make up for it. The dried herbs are pretty forgiving in my opinion, so you won’t risk spoiling the taste with those ones.
Thanks for the 5 stars, sorry for the late reply and I hope you liked it!
I have a small crock pot and only two of us were eating. After 7 hours, I took out half the meaty sauce (froze it) and added half the weights of the final ingredients. Perfect if your pot isn’t quite big enough for all of it. And for all the freezer questions, it’s perfect this way. All you need to do next time is reheat the frozen sauce and add the final ingredients as you would have before, no soggy pasta or tough spinach and fresh cheesiness!
Hey presto!
Great way to adjust the portions for two! And save some for later by freezing it. I hope this helps others in the same boat. Thanks, Mark!
I made this with lean ground turkey and doubled the sauce, used fresh spinach (about 2 bags) also added a bit more mozzarella to cover the added sauce. It was DELICIOUS! The entire house went for seconds.
Ground turkey works too. I’m glad your substitutions worked for you, Lauren!