I was first introduced to this style of spaghetti sauce by our old babysitter, Kim, long ago when we lived in Florida and I was working full time for corporate America. While the baby (who is now 8 going on 9!) was napping and I was working, Kim would start or sometimes even make our dinner for us. And with our work schedules back then, her extra help with dinner was such a life saver at times. Granted, at that time in our lives, the meat wasn’t local and the tomatoes weren’t organic and the pasta definitely wasn’t whole-grain, BUT it was still a somewhat wholesome meal I very much enjoyed and remember to this day.
And thanks to a similar dish made by my friend Trang and a “Super Sunday Sauce” recipe I found in Rachael Ray Magazine, I was able to piece together how Kim made this for us, plus – added bonus – turn it into a dish that can simmer all day long in the slow cooker!
Never have seen grain fed meatballs. Can someone give me a brand? Also, I don’t do anything with ribs, so I would substitute another meat for that as well as Italian turkey sausage for the regular sausage. Other ingredients seem pretty straightforward.
You make the meatballs yourself using a recipe linked to within this recipe.
I think this recipe sounds like it is very tasty. It seems hard to justify the cost of using 3 pounds of meat for one dish. It seems like a food budget buster.
I think the whole idea behind “Sunday Sauce” was a way to use leftovers. I am sure you could just use whatever meats you had or could find on clearance and it would be just as good.
Thank you! This sauce is delicious!
Should the meat be drained or do you add everything to the crockpot?
Hi Laura. I leave it all in the crock pot. :)
I have been following your blog for years and bought the book a couple of weeks ago. We love all of the recipes from the book so far (so easy!). I have made your homemade red sauce a couple of times and today I am tackling this one – hoping it is just a delicious as the others. Thank you for making eating and cooking whole foods easy for this two working parent household with a toddler and another on the way!!
whoops sorry, didn’t see the previous 4 pages of comments, haha
Just curious, do I have to step #1? Because if it sits in the crockpot all day, doesn’t it get cooked through? Sorry, I’m super lazy. :D
Hi Yolanda. The meatballs might fall apart if you skip the first step.
Would beef stew meat work in place of the meatballs? I’m making this for someone who doesn’t like the texture of ground beef.
Hi Sarah. I think it would. :)
Lisa, your slow cook Sunday sauce is amazing, made your tried and true meatballs too! Can you please provide nutrition information for it? I had it over spaghetti squash and had to go back for seconds. :)
Hi Marlo. We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. This post will help you understand why: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/. You can use an online tool like My Fitness Pal if you need those details.
Hi – is there a brand and size of slow cooker you recommend? The slow cooker recipes sound amazing!
Hi. Lisa uses a Panasonic. You can find it here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/.
I know meat shreds in the crock pot which is great for the pork but does the meatballs stay whole or do the break apart also thank you
Hi Teresa. They stay mostly in tact. ~Amy