Slow Cooker Pasta Bake

 Slow Cooker Bolognese Pasta - No Browning Recipe!

Easy slow cooker bolognese. Just dump the ingredients into your slow cooker (minus the pasta) and leave to cook for 7-8 hours on low.

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Add cooked pasta and cheese 30 minutes before the end of cooking until the cheese has melted - simples!

Slow cookers are the way to go! 

With the stupid and ever-rising high cost of fuel these days a slow cooker costs so little to run.

You can buy them as cheap as 20 quid but I highly recommend one that automatically turns to keep warm. I used the Morphy Richards 3.5L Easy Time Slow Cooker.  It's also available in a 6.5 Litre size.

Can you put raw mince in a slow cooker?

Yes, indeed! Mix the raw mince in with the other ingredients, and switch on the slow cooker to LOW. The result will be a meltingly tender mince at the end of cooking.

Recipe Top Tips!

• As I've cut out the browning stage in this easy chilli recipe, and so you need to use low-fat beef mince (5% or less) because cooking raw mince in a slow cooker will not cook out the fat.

• If your mince is higher in fat then, you will need to brown it in a pan and discard any fat before adding it to your slow cooker.

• Don't add any salt until the end of cooking, as you probably won't need any. You might well need to add tomato ketchup or a little sugar if the sauce isn't sweet enough for you.

• Don't be tempted to add red wine to the sauce as the alcohol will not cook away and the sauce will taste bitter.

• Use garlic granules or garlic powder rather than fresh garlic as despite the long cooking time fresh garlic might still taste raw.

• Only cook until just 'al dente' as it will cook for a further 30 minutes later on. Drain and toss in a little olive oil to stop it from sticking together and set aside until needed.
• Use good quality tinned tomatoes otherwise, your sauce will be watery, I always use Cirio tinned tomatoes.

• Do make the full recipe even if there's only one of you as it can be frozen so next time you have dinner in a matter of minutes!

Storage

Store: Place the cooled bolognese in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Reheat:

Reheat in the microwave until piping hot.

Freeze:

This slow cooker chilli can be frozen for up to 3 months. be sure to defrost thoroughly in the fridge before reheating in the microwave until piping hot.

Slow Cooker Bolognese 

Prepare the sauce ingredients as shown on the recipe card. Remove the stringy bit from the celery using a Y-Peeler.

Whiz the carrot and celery in a food processor and then do the same with the onion. I used the Ninja Chopper as it's easier than getting out a big food processor for such a small amount.

Dump the lot into the slow cooker - except for the salt and tomato ketchup.

Give it a good mix as you won't be taking the lid off to stir for a good few hours. Once cooked and you've had a taste adjust the seasoning with salt and tomato ketchup or a little sugar.

Stir in the cooked pasta and put the cheese on top. Pop the lid back on, turn the HIGH and cook for a further 30 minutes until the cheese has melted and the pasta is piping hot.

What to serve with Pasta Bolognese

A simple side salad and, or garlic bread or dough balls 😋

Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!

slow cooker bolognese pasta, no browning recipe, easy, slow cooker spaghetti bolognese

pasta, sauce

Italian

Yield: 4

Author: Jan Bennett

Slow Cooker Bolognese Pasta - no browning recipe

Deliciously easy bolognese pasta recipe, topped with cheese, what's not to like?!You may need to add tomato ketchup if you prefer a sweeter sauce.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 7 HourTotal time: 7 H & 10 M

Ingredients

Sauce ingredients

• 500g minced beef - low fat 5%
• 1 large onion
• 2 large carrots
• 1 stick of celery - use a Y-Peeler to remove the stringy bits!
• 2 x 400g good quality tinned tomatoes - I used the brand Cirio
• 1 x Knorr beef or chicken stock cube
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree (paste if you're in the US)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon Worcester sauce
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• *Tomato ketchup
• *Salt to taste

30 minutes before the end of cooking

• 300g cooked rigatoni pasta - cook in boiling salted water as per packet instructions. Only cook until 'al dente' as it will cook for a further 30 minutes later on. Drain and toss in a little olive oil to stop it from sticking together and set aside until needed.
• 250g of 4 cheese mix - or a mix of cheddar and mozzarella

Instructions

1. As you're not going to brown it first, chop through the mince before adding it to the slow cooker - this will stop it from clumping together.
2. Whiz together the onion, carrots and celery in a food processor or chop really finely and add to the slow cooker.
3. Add in the rest of the sauce ingredients except for the salt and tomato ketchup.
4. For best results cook on LOW. Switch the slow cooker to LOW and cook for 7 hours (or HIGH for 5-6 hours)
5. 30 minutes before the end of cooking have a taste and add salt and tomato ketchup if needed.
6. Stir in the cooked pasta and top with cheese. Put the lid back on and turn the HIGH. Cook for a further 30 minutes until the cheese has melted.
7. Serve with garlic bread and a simple salad.

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