Slow Cooker Tomato Pasta (Printable Recipe)
Rich tomato sauce coats slow-cooked pasta with loads of cheese, making dinner super easy any night.
# Ingredients You'll Need:
→ Tomato Sauce Base
01 -
0.5 teaspoon (optional) red pepper flakes
02 -
0.5 teaspoon black pepper, ground
03 -
1 teaspoon kosher salt
04 -
2 teaspoons dried oregano
05 -
1 tablespoon (15 g) honey or regular sugar
06 -
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
07 -
2 cups (480 ml) water
08 -
170 g tomato paste
09 -
794 g crushed tomatoes
→ Pasta and Cheese
10 -
1 cup (240 ml) water
11 -
0.25 cup (25 g) Parmesan, freshly grated
12 -
1 cup (120 g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
13 -
1 cup (240 g) cottage cheese
14 -
16 ounces (454 g) ziti or rotini noodles
# Steps to Follow:
01 -
Dump the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste in your big slow cooker. Mix in olive oil, water, either honey or sugar, dried oregano, salt, ground black pepper, and those red pepper flakes if you want. Give it all a nice stir so everything blends well.
02 -
Put on the lid. Let it cook on the low setting for 4 to 5 hours so the flavors have time to hang out and mingle.
03 -
When those 4–5 hours are up, lift the lid and pour in the rest of the water, the uncooked rotini or ziti noodles, cottage cheese, and mozzarella. Stir it together so the cheese and pasta get mixed into the sauce.
04 -
Cover it back up. Change the slow cooker to high. Cook for 25 minutes if you’re using regular pasta, or up to 45 minutes if you’ve picked whole grain noodles. Give it a stir halfway through. Pasta should be soft when it’s done.
05 -
Once the noodles are just how you like them, scatter the Parmesan over everything and scoop it out to eat right away.
# Extra Tips:
01 -
If you don’t want to make sauce from scratch, toss in 794 g jarred sauce and use 240 ml water. Heat on low for an hour, then keep going with the pasta and cheese part.
02 -
Swap out cottage cheese for ricotta if you like things extra creamy.
03 -
Want it meaty? Brown up some ground beef or sausage and stir it in with the pasta to bump up the protein.
04 -
Leftovers? Pop them in a sealed container in your fridge, they’ll be good for 5 days.