Next Post
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Coffee Cake.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Our go-to Crockpot Sunday Sauce. Slow simmered Italian-style tomato sauce cooked with short ribs. If there’s one cozy fall and winter meal you need to be making, it’s this Sunday sauce. It’s a simple-to-put-together family-style meal that smells incredible while cooking away all day. Serve over hot pasta with freshly grated parmesan, basil, and a side of garlic bread. A hearty dinner that’s lovely on a Sunday, but equally great any night you decide to serve.
It’s Monday, but we’re making Sunday sauce. This recipe is so special. Of course, you can make it any day of the week. But I find it best when slow-cooked all Sunday long. Because there really is nothing cozier on a Sunday, than an incredible smelling dinner cooking away.
Add to the ambiance with fresh garlic bread and a candle burning in the background. My ideal kind of fall night.
As I type this, I’m in New York and loving my time here. Fall is beautiful in this city and the chilly nights have had me craving slow-cooker meals. I think most of us are on the same page.
With the weather officially cold and November just around the corner, it’s the time of year when we all start to stay in more, host casual dinners with friends, and embrace the cozy season. This sauce is the perfect recipe to have in your rotation of easy, special dinners to share with family and friends.
It’s an oldie-but-goodie recipe that I make throughout the fall and winter months, and one my family loves.
Here are the details
Start by searing the ribs in a nice big skillet. Or if using the oven method, a cocotte that’s oven safe. When the ribs are browned, pull them out and add them to the bowl of your crockpot/slow cooker (whatever you’d prefer to call it).
At this point, everything else goes in. The tomatoes, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, red wine, carrots, onions, jalapeños, and Italian seasoning.
I also add a parmesan rind for extra flavor, plus 1 whole head of garlic right on top of the sauce. Then, slow cook all day long. The more time the sauce has to really simmer away, the more flavor it will develop.
Just before the sauce is finished cooking, I pull out the head of garlic, then squash out the cloves.
Take the cloves and melt them together with salted butter on the stove. As the butter slowly melts, smash the cloves down and allow some of the garlic to get crispy as the butter begins to brown.
When the butter is browned, I pour the garlicky goodness right back into the sauce. Of course, this step is not crucial to the recipe. But it really adds a special richness to the sauce that’s very delicious.
For serving
I always, always serve the sauce over hot pasta, topped with freshly grated parmesan and basil. Polenta could be another nice option if you’re looking for something other than pasta.
This sauce is also really great without the short ribs, just cook it up with your favorite meatballs.
Be sure to include some kind of bread, we love garlic bread or beer bread. A nice salad alongside is perfect too.
Yummmy, as Oslo loves to say. This is always a crowd pleaser!
Looking for other slow cooked fall recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Red Wine Cranberry Braised Short Ribs
Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Short Rib Pasta
Slow Cooker Coq au Vin with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Cider Braised Short Ribs with Caramelized Onions
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Sunday Sauce, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Sunday Sauce
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1047 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds bone in beef short ribs
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 2 cans (28 ounce) crushed san Marzano tomatoes
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 1/2 cup chopped oil packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups red wine
- 2 carrots, cut into large pieces
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup pickled jalapeños (optional, but recommend)
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 -1 teaspoon chili flakes
- parmesan rind, plus grated parmesan, for serving
- 1 head garlic, top portion trimmed off
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- pasta, plus fresh basil, for serving
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high heat, sear the ribs on both sides. Place the ribs in the slow cooker. 2. To the slow cooker, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, wine, carrots, onion, pickled jalapeños, Italian seasoning, and season generously with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Stir the sauce to combine. 3. Place the parmesan rind in the sauce. Add the garlic head. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. During the last hour of cooking, remove the garlic. 4. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins. Add both the butter and cloves to a skillet set over medium heat. Mash the garlic into the butter, allowing the butter to brown and some of the garlic to get crispy. Remove from the heat.5. Remove the parmesan rind. Shred the ribs and add them to the sauce. Stir the garlic butter into the sauce. Serve over pasta. Top with parmesan and basil. Enjoy!
Oven
- 1. Preheat the oven to 325° F.2. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat a large oven-safe Dutch Oven over high heat, sear the ribs on both sides. 3. Reduce the heat to low. To the pot, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, wine, carrots, onion, pickled jalapeños, Italian seasoning, and season generously with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Stir the sauce to combine. Add the parmesan rind and garlic. Cover and roast in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the short ribs are tender and falling off the bone. During the last hour of cooking, remove the garlic. 4. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins. Add both the butter and cloves to a skillet set over medium heat. Mash the garlic into the butter, allowing the butter to brown and some of the garlic to get crispy. Remove from the heat. 5. Remove the parmesan rind. Shred the ribs and add them to the sauce. Stir the garlic butter into the sauce. Serve over pasta. Top with parmesan and basil. Enjoy!
Notes
Italian Seasoning: Mix 2 tablespoons dried basil, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, and 1 teaspoon dried sage. Store in a sealed container.
This post was originally published on October 24, 2022
This recipe delivered what it promised and didn’t need altering of any kind to be delicious after 5 hours in my slow cooker on high. The ease of shredding the short ribs (while also removing them from the bone and separating them from the fat layer) is a great way to dictate readiness. It’s a keeper!
I think the slow cooker I inherited may be a 4 quart (Rival Crock Pot) and this recipe seems to require a 4.5 quart. I’ll definitely measure the capacity before I start another recipe as I lost quite a bit of the sauce that spilled over until I removed the in tact short ribs and carrots. It would be helpful to indicate the minimum capacity required on each recipe as not all slow cookers are the same:^)
For the novice cooks like myself, it would be helpful to indicate on the ingredients list 1) whether the oregano is dried or fresh, and 2) if the 2-4 tablespoons of fresh Parmesan cheese should be grated.
It would also help to indicate in the instructions that 1) by adding “tomatoes” you mean the whole tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and tomato paste, and 2) that you should discard the bones (and any stubborn fat caps) as part of the “Shred the short ribs..” step.
Thanks for listening. Keep up the great work!
THRILLED you love this sauce! it is one of my favorites too! THANK YOU!
Happy Holidays 🙂
Also, thank you for your notes on the recipe. I will fix that! 🙂
Looks amazing!
Quick question though,do you add the liquid from the whole tomatoes or just the tomatoes themselves?
Can’t wait to try,thanks!!
I tried this recipe for the very first time today. Even though I made some minor adjustments (fresh jalapeño, boneless ribs, tomato sauce) it came out amazing. It was very easy to put together. The hardest part was pulling the crock pot out of the cabinet. Definitely hearty and tasted like I worked on it all day. I have already shared your recipe with everyone I’ve encountered today!
So happy you loved it! Thanks!
Hi Tieghan, this looks divine!! I am a super, super novice chef who has been trying to broaden her horizons and so I’m giving this one a go tonight! I already seared the short ribs before leaving my apartment this morning (I put them in the fridge in the slow cooker pot covered and assumed the butter part is for right before I start the slow cooker, right?). Anyways, my question is: if I am making this recipe for 2 should I cut ALL of the ingredients in half if I’m only using half the meat (1.55lbs boneless because that’s all the supermarket had) or should I use the ingredients as listed and have a less meaty sauce? Sorry if that’s a dumb question, I just really want to get it right before I throw it all in the slow cooker on lunch. Thank you!!
Hey Neli!
So this is really up to you. If you would like A LOT of sauce with your meat don’t reduce the recipe, but if you want what you see in the photos, I would just halve the recipe. Not a dumb question at all. Let me know if you have any others. Hope you love this!
This looks great and I will make it for sure. I have a question for you though — why put a carrot in the sauce and then take it out? I have a couple of other recipes with carrots and beef (one with short ribs). My grocery store has boneless short ribs, is that ok?
Hey Carolyn!! I use the carrot for flavor, but since the sauce kind of gets mashed I remove it after cooking. You can chop it and leave it in though too! Yes, boneless will be fine. Hope you love the sauce and thank you!
Made this last weekend for my grown son and myself,and even though we both enjoyed it,it was more than we could eat. Can anyone tell me if this freezes well?
Would like to save it for another meal.
Hey Donna!
So happy you enjoyed this meal! The sauce freeze great, just thaw overnight in the fridge before using. Thanks again!
Holy cow!!! This was so incredibly delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
We are totally hooked on your recipes. When I was married to the wrong husband, his Italian mother taught me how to make spaghetti sauce. Yours puts hers to shame. My husband and I made this today with a few substitutions and additions. We used bison short ribs and some hot sausage, added mushrooms and ended up adding a little sugar to cut the acid. Definately needs a full bodied wine in the sauce. The one we used was too light. Next batch will go in the freezer for use in our Christmas lasagna. Thank you Tieghan!
First of all, you’re recipes are always a hit in my house! I put this Sunday Sauce in the crockpot this morning. The instructions do not include the tomato paste or sundried tomatoes. I presumed that it all got dumped in the pot with the rest, but wanted to let you know. Happy cooking 🙂
Awe! Thank you so much! I will fix the recipe!
I’ve made this same sauce with Italian sausage and meatballs (both browned) added. Even better, if you can imagine that.
Whoa! That sounds awesome! THANKS!
The last ingredient: “fresh hot past” LOL!
Oh my word! Made this yesterday and everyone could not stop eating it! Easy, delicious with lots of leftovers and Paleo friendly! Will be in our rotation moving forward! Thank you!
So happy you loved it! THANKS!!
i made this and i couldn’t stop eating it over pasta. love your blog !
This is crazy good! Thanks for the recipe. I had to make to TINY changes, first, short ribs were $9/lb so I bought a roast and cut it into stew-size chunks, second, I had a bag of sun-dried tomatoes that were dehydrated but not packed in oil, I needed to use them up so I added those instead of buying a jar packed I’m oil. After 8 hours in the crockpot I used a potato masher to smash up the meat and sauce and it came out perfectly shredded because the meat was so tender. My super picky daughter had seconds and then ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. My hubby says this recipe is a keeper!
Recipe looks great, had a quick question: Do you use 6-8 pickled jalapeno slices, or 6-8 whole pickled jalapenos? If they are whole jalapenos, how would you cut or prepare them before putting them in? Thanks!
I use 6-8 pickled jalapeno slices, not whole pickled jalapenos…that would be SPICY! Hope you love this and please let me know if you have other questions.