An Italian seasoned Crockpot Butternut Squash Marinara Sauce made from fresh butternut squash and Roma tomatoes, stewed together with red wine, vegetable broth, and olive oil in the crockpot.
I don’t know about you, but Ragu has made quite a pretty penny off of me and my family. When it comes to spaghetti sauce, you tend to use what you grew up with. For me, that was Ragu. And not just any old Ragu, but more specifically Ragu Tomato, Garlic and Onion flavor.
My mom swears by it. I think she buys these jars by the case to stash away in the basement food storage in desperate times of lasagna making. Really, I’m serious. I still have her original lasagna recipe that she wrote down for me when I got married and the instructions state exactly which Ragu to use.
Now I may get a nagging phone call later today, that is if my mother actually reads this post (sometimes I think my family forgets that I have a food blog!), but I have actually converted to another spaghetti sauce: Ragu Sundried Tomato and Sweet Basil.
Okay, right about now you are probably wondering if there is actually a recipe embedded somewhere in this post since it seems like all I’m doing is promoting store-bought spaghetti sauces. Bear with me.
I love the flavor of this particular sauce because of its mild sweetness. You know what else has a mild sweetness to it that nearly makes me buckle at the knees???
I bet you thought I was going to say my husband since Valentines is coming up and all. Well, you’re wrong. He is pretty sweet, though. Especially after he spends an entire Saturday out with his buddies doing anything and everything he wants from shooting, to golfing, to four wheeling, to movie watching.
Yeah, he’ll be real sweet when he finally gets home and I ask him to mop the floors. He owes me.
But no, I’m talking about the mild sweetness, smooth texture, and nutty flavor of a good old butternut squash that makes my heart do a little pitter patter dance.
Now I’m usually a happy camper with just a touch of butter and brown sugar on my squash, but this time around I wanted to give my butternut squash a little tender lovin’ makeover. As soon as I eyed the two containers of uneaten Roma tomatoes on my countertop, I knew just what to make.
Crockpot Butternut Squash Marinara Sauce.
I’ll admit the crockpot part of the recipe was no genius idea on my part. It stemmed from pure laziness in the fact that I wanted to throw something in a pot and forget about it for a few hours. But I do think that the slow and low cooking really enhanced the flavors in this recipe.
The liquid base of this sauce is a mixture of red wine (don’t worry, the alcohol cooks out…I think), vegetable broth and a bit of olive oil to round out the flavors and add some richness. The butternut squash gives this sauce a sweet nutty flavor while the Roma tomatoes and red peppers kick up the acidity to make it a perfect spaghetti sauce.
Season it up with some Italian herbs and you have the perfect base for your next pasta dish, lasagna, or chicken parmesan.
You can also cater the smoothness of this sauce to your liking. If you are a chunky fan, go easy with the blender at the end. If you like your sauces smooth and velvety, then puree to your little heart’s desire. Either way you blend the sauce, the flavors are divine and you’re halfway there to a healthy hearty meal in no time.
We’ve had this sauce a few different ways:
- Plain Jane on top of a bowl of spaghetti.
- Mixed with peas and rotisserie chicken on top of brown rice. Add some crumbled goat cheese for a real treat.
- As the sauce layer in vegetarian lasagna.
- As a dip for parmesan baked chicken fingers.
- Converted into a soup by adding a cup of half and half at the end and pureeing until smooth.
The possibilities are endless people! Okay, maybe not endless. You probably don’t want to pour this stuff on your next bowl of cereal. But really, it’s pretty dang good!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you’re sure to enjoy my other crockpot recipes over at Breezy Bakes!
Slow Cooker Cowboy Chili, Everything Hawaiian Haystacks, Southwest Cilantro and Jalapeno Stew, and Sweet and Tangy BBQ Sauce
- 4 cups peeled and diced butternut squash 1 average sized squash
- 1 medium onion diced
- 9 Roma tomatoes roughly chopped
- 2 red bell peppers roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves cut in half
- 2/3 cup red wine
- 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
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Wash and prepare all vegetables. Peel squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds with a spoon and discard. Cut squash into 1" cubes. Dice onion, tomatoes, and bell peppers. Cut garlic cloves in half. Place all vegetables in crockpot.
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Pour red wine, vegetable broth, and olive oil in a small bowl. Whisk together. Add salt, oregano, rosemary, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Mix together and pour over vegetables.
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Cover vegetables with lid and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours until vegetables are tender.
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In two batches puree the vegetables and liquid to desired consistency in a blender or food processor. Thin sauce if needed with additional vegetable broth or water. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve over pasta, as a base for vegetable or meat spaghetti sauce, in lasagna, over rice, or as a dip. Turn into soup by adding 1 cup of half and half and pureeing until smooth.
