This versatile tomato sauce will give you something to cheer about on your big game day, whether you use it for pasta sauce, meatballs, stuffed shells, or even as a dipping sauce for mozzarella sticks. And the fact that this sauce can be made overnight in a crockpot makes it even more amazing. This may just be the easiest tomato sauce you’ll ever make.
So, it’s only a few more days until the big day; Kitten Bowl IV. Are you excited? No? You’re more excited about the actual Super Bowl than cute-as-a-button kittens playing football? My how we differ. Oh well, I guess our differences are what makes this world such an interesting place to live in.
I’m curious how much time you have spent planning your menu for game day? None? Seriously? Super Bowl Sunday is all about the food y’all, so you better get busy. If you need some ideas, make sure to check out the Super Bowl 2017 Recipe Round Up, which I shared earlier this week. There’s bound to be something that will grab your attention and be just right for whatever event you’re taking part in this Sunday.
As for us, we’ll be having Spinach and Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells using this Game Day Overnight Crockpot Tomato Sauce while lounging around pretending to give two flying figs about the game but really just using it as an excuse to snack the evening away. Snack dinners are always my favorite, no matter how elaborate or simple. As long as there is cheese or olives involved, I’m pretty much a happy gal.
Anyway, back to this sauce. The great thing about this chunky tomato sauce is that it’s made completely in the crockpot. You can caramelize the onions overnight and then add the sauce ingredients in the morning. After the sauce has cooked all day, you can decide what you want to do with it. You can use it as is, for a chunky pasta or pizza sauce, or puree it for a dipping sauce to serve with baked mozzarella sticks.
If you’re one of those people who just can’t decide, leave half of the sauce chunky, purée the other half, and stir them both together for the best of both worlds. Or, keep them apart and use them for two completely different things. Perhaps use the chunky version to spoon over meatball sliders and the puréed version to dip fried ravioli in. No matter how you serve it, it’s bound to be a winner, and chances are, way more exciting than the half time show.
Ingredients:
Caramelized Onions:
- 1 Tablespoon Salted Butter
- 2 Large Yellow Sweet Onions
- 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
Tomato Sauce:
- 1 (28-oz.) Can Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 (28-oz.) Can Diced Tomatoes
- 1 (8-oz.) Container Button Mushrooms, Roughly Chopped
- 2 Large Carrots, Peeled & Diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- Sea Salt (Optional)
Directions:
Caramelized Onions:
- Liberally coat the sides and bottom of a crockpot with butter.
- Peel the onions, slice them in half, and then slice each half into thin slices; place in crockpot.
- Add the olive oil, salt, and Worcestershire to the onions, stir to combine, and cook on low heat for 8 hours overnight.
Tomato Sauce:
- Add the canned tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to the caramelized onions.
- Stir to combine and then taste to see if you need to add any salt.
- Cook on low heat for 8 hours.
Suggestions:
- Use a mandoline to thinly slice the sweet yellow onions.
- Canned tomatoes often contain a high amount of sodium, which is why I suggest tasting the tomato sauce before adding additional salt. When possible, purchase canned tomatoes with low or no sodium added.
- This sauce can be used as-is for a chunky pizza or tomato sauce or puréed in a blender for a smoother dipping sauce
- To get ahead of the game, you can always cook the onions in the morning, add the remaining ingredients after 8 hours, and then store the tomato sauce in the refrigerator overnight the day before you plan on using this sauce.
Improvements:
- Add browned Italian sausage or hamburger to the tomato sauce.
- Use Italian seasoned canned tomatoes to bump up the flavor even more.
- Make Spinach and Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells with this tomato sauce.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Salted Butter
- 2 Large Yellow Sweet Onions
- 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 (28-oz.) Can Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 (28-oz.) Can Diced Tomatoes
- 1 (8-oz.) Container Button Mushrooms, Roughly Chopped
- 2 Large Carrots, Peeled & Diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/4 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- Sea Salt (Optional)
Directions:
- Liberally coat the sides and bottom of a crockpot with butter.
- Peel the onions, slice them in half, and then slice each half into thin slices; place in crockpot.
- Add the olive oil, salt, and Worcestershire to the onions, stir to combine, and cook on low heat for 8 hours overnight.
- Add the canned tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to the caramelized onions.
- Stir to combine and then taste to see if you need to add any salt.
- Cook on low heat for 8 hours.
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Make these Spinach and Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells with this Game Day Overnight Crockpot Tomato Sauce. This spinach and four-cheese stuffed shells Italian pasta dish is the perfect recipe to serve for a large family dinner, especially if you’re trying to get your family to eat more spinach. After all, it’s pretty hard to resist a baked pasta dish, topped with perfectly browned ooey-gooey cheese and crisp pepperoni. CLICK HERE for the recipe.