This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
This homemade canned spaghetti sauce is FAR better than anything you can find in a store. You’ll love the rich, savory flavor. The best way to use fresh garden tomatoes! Canning spaghetti sauce is easy and rewarding and makes for the best pasta sauce ever!
This canned spaghetti sauce is HANDS-DOWN, the very best with home-grown tomatoes. We are kind of crazy about our tomatoes over here. The taste of this savory tomato sauce stays fresh and turns any pasta dinner into something special.
Ingredients in Canned Spaghetti Sauce
All you need for perfect spaghetti sauce are some herbs, spices and of course, fresh ripe tomatoes! This sauce couldn’t be simpler to make:
- Tomatoes – about 25 pounds. This recipe makes a huge batch of tomato puree.
- Onions – I start with about five large yellow onions. You’ll end up with 7-8 cups chopped onions.
- Red bell peppers – four large peppers work great.
- Green bell pepper – dice one large pepper
- Tomato paste – four 6-ounce cans should do the trick.
- Soy sauce – Sounds weird, but trust us, it deepens the tomato flavor like you won’t believe!
- Worcestershire sauce – stir in a little sauce to enhance the flavor of the tomatoes and give the sauce a meaty flavor.
- Brown sugar – a little sweetness balances the acidity of the tomatoes and all the herbs.
- Seasonings – Salt, garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves is all you need to season this delicious sauce.
- Lemon juice – for the jars
Why Can Spaghetti Sauce?
Canning spaghetti sauce offers several great benefits. It may take a little time up front but I love the satisfaction of walking into my pantry and seeing rows of freshly canned spaghetti sauce jars! Here are some more great benefits to canning:
- Long-term preservation: Enjoy homemade sauce even when fresh tomatoes are out of season.
- Control over ingredients: Customize the flavors, spices, and level of heat to suit personal taste preferences.
- Convenience and time-saving: Have ready-to-use sauce on hand for quick and easy meal preparations.
- Cost-effective: Save money by utilizing homegrown or bulk-purchased ingredients.
Tomatoes: A Family Tradition
Growing tomatoes is a “family tradition” of sorts for us. Our Uncle Larry is arguably the best gardener ever. He always has an immaculate garden and has studied and taught about gardening. The man knows ALL the tricks to get plants to grow. Uncle Larry has 10 green thumbs! His techniques have been passed around the family, luckily for us. He shared his secrets with our mom, who also grows a bountiful garden every year. To learn more about our tips and tricks for growing tomatoes, see our full guide.
Tomato growing is our family’s way to connect year after year. We compare notes on everything, from how our crops are faring, to what varieties we planted, to what has been canned so far. And of course, we love talking about all the delicious ways we can eat them! Along with the abundance of tomatoes comes a million ways to prepare them. One of our fondest memories growing up with our mom was making her delicious Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce. We’ve tweaked the recipe over the years and now it’s darn near perfection!
Family Tested, Dad Approved
Part of the reason we worked so hard to perfect this canned spaghetti sauce recipe is because of our dad. To know him is to know his passionate love for Italian food. He is super picky about spaghetti sauce; it has to be just right. Well, we’re happy to report that we served this sauce at family dinner recently and our dad loved it! He couldn’t get enough. In fact, he used a spoon to get all the excess off his plate. He’s crazy about this savory sauce, and you will be too!
How Can I Use Canned Spaghetti Sauce?
The name may say spaghetti, but this marinara sauce is so versatile, it’s sure to become one of your favorite staples, and not just on pasta night. Try it as a thickener for Italian-style soups like Minestrone, or add tomato paste to a serving to make pizza sauce. Here are some more delicious recipes that use spaghetti sauce:
Water Bath Canning Spaghetti Sauce
Water bath canning tomatoes is the most common way to can tomatoes, but it must be done the right way. Tomatoes are in the “gray area” of having enough acidity, so you need to add a bit of lemon juice or citric acid to ensure it reaches the correct acidity for canning. You can learn all about water bath canning in my water bath canning guide. If you want to learn about the basics of canning and other ways to can, check out my Canning 101 post as well. Between these two posts, you will learn how to be a water bath canning pro in no time!
How to Use a Pressure Canner
For a weighted-gauge pressure canner, you will want to process 20 minutes for pint jars and 25 minutes for quart jars. I like to use the Presto 16-Quart Pressure Canner, which is great for canning spaghetti sauce, homemade jams, and more. You can get it for $78 at Walmart to start canning your own sauces.
Process at 10 pounds for altitudes between 0-1,000 feet. Process at 15 pounds for altitudes above 1,000 feet. For more information on pressure canning spaghetti sauce, check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation here.
Where to Buy Canning Jars
We like to use 1-quart canning jars from Ball. They’re the BEST for canning spaghetti sauce. You can get 12 of them at Walmart for around $16, which makes it a little over $1 a jar and one of the more affordable ways to start canning. We also like to use them as drinking glasses, food storage, flower vases, and more, so you’ll get a ton of use out of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do not, I repeat, do NOT skip this step. Stick a reminder note on your jars or tie a ribbon on your finger so you don’t forget. You absolutely can not safely can tomatoes without bringing up the acidity first. If you forget to add the lemon juice you will need to open the jars, add the juice, replace with new lids, and reprocess.
You can add ground beef or ground Italian sausage ONLY if you are going to pressure can it OR if you freeze it instead of canning it (or you just want to eat it fresh or within a few days). Do not add ground beef if you are planning to water-bath can or steam can — it will not be safe to eat after sitting on the shelf.
Be really careful when adding or omitting ingredients to a canning recipe. You are usually fine adding spices but when it comes to adding fresh mushrooms, celery, parsley, thyme or meat it could throw off the acidity levels, thus making unsafe for canning.
We usually try to eat anything that we have canned within a year. You can probably go a couple years but probably not much longer than that. Some canning sites even say you shouldn’t go more than 6 months, but I think you are fine going longer than that.
Absolutely! This spaghetti sauce recipe freezes beautifully and lasts for several months in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers. Just make sure to thaw the sauce completely in the refrigerator before re-heating. If you DO want to add more random ingredients like ground beef or extra veggies, freezing is a good way to go if you are worried about acidity levels.
The only ingredient that has any gluten in this recipe is the soy sauce. It sounds weird to even have soy sauce in a spaghetti sauce recipe, but trust us, it is divine! Instead of cutting the soy sauce, opt for a gluten free brand. The rich flavor will knock your socks off!
Still Have a Question about Canning Spaghetti Sauce?
This recipe has been tried and LOVED by many of you. Be sure to check out the comments to see everyone’s reviews about this canned spaghetti sauce. We also answer a lot of canning questions that have been asked in the comment section so if you have any questions, read below and I am sure you will find the answer you are looking for! Still can’t find an answer? Leave a comment and we will try to answer it as quickly as possible. With the sheer volume of comments we get, it may take a few days for us to respond but we try to get to every question!
READ NEXT: Ravioli Sauce
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
- One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles
- Nick’s Authentic Italian Spaghetti
- Old Spaghetti Factory’s Mizithra Pasta
How to Make Canned Spaghetti Sauce
Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce
Video
Ingredients
- 25 pounds tomatoes
- 5 medium onions (about 7-8 cups chopped)
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 green bell pepper
- 4 (6oz) cans tomato paste
- 1/4 cups soy sauce Sounds weird, but trust us, it deepens the tomato flavor like you won’t believe!
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup salt
- 10 cloves garlic chopped or minced
- 3 tablespoons oregano dried
- 3 tablespoons basil dried
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/4 cups lemon juice for jars
Instructions
- Fill a large pot or Dutch oven half-way with water, bring to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, add tomatoes one at a time until you can't fit any more (about 8-10 tomatoes).
- Boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove tomatoes one at a time with slotted spoon and plunge in an icewater bath. Peel and quarter tomatoes.
- In a food processor, cover and process green peppers and onions in batches until finely chopped (if you want to add extra flavor, saute the peppers and onions in a little oil and a pinch of salt before processing).In a large stockpot, combine the tomatoes (do not discard excess juices from the tomatoes), onion/pepper mixture, tomato paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, salt, garlic, oregano, basil, pepper flakes, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 hours, stirring every 15 minutes or so (tomatoes burn easily so keep an eye on it). Discard bay leaves.If you want to make your sauce thick and smooth, use an immersion blender to blend the tomatoes until smooth with no large chunks (you can also blend it in batches in a blender).
- Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to 9 or 10 hot 1-quart jars (depending on how much sauce you have). Ladle hot mixture into jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace at the top. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids.
For Water Bath Canning:
- Process for 40 minutes in a boiling-water canner for altitudes of 1,000 feet or less. For altitudes up to 3,000 feet, add 5 minutes; 6,000 feet, add 10 minutes; 8,000 feet, add 15 minutes; 10,000 feet, add 20 minutes.
For Pressure Canning:
- Using a weighted-gauge pressure canner, process 20 minutes for pint jars and 25 minutes for quart jars. Process at 10 lb for altitudes between 0-1,000 feet. Process at 15 lb for altitudes above 1,000 feet.
Notes
- This recipe makes 9-10 quart-sized jars
- Our Uncle Larry is arguably the best gardener ever. He always has an immaculate garden and has studied and taught about gardening. The man knows ALL the tricks to get plants to grow. Uncle Larry has 10 green thumbs! His techniques have been passed around the family, luckily for us. He shared his secrets with our mom, who also grows a bountiful garden every year. To learn more about our tips and tricks for growing tomatoes, see our full guide.
- This spaghetti sauce recipe freezes beautifully and lasts for several months in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers. Just make sure to thaw the sauce completely in the refrigerator before re-heating. If you DO want to add more random ingredients like ground beef or extra veggies, freezing is a good way to go if you are worried about acidity levels.
i forgot the worchestire sauce, would it make a difference, or should i substitute something else
I would add some extra soy sauce just to make sure the acidity stays at the right level.
This has become our families favorite spaghetti sauce. I made 37 quarts of sauce and I am getting reading to make another 37. Thank you for sharing this. It takes work and I can see where people would be hesitant, but do yourself a favor….you won’t regret it!
i put all the lemon juice in the pot by mistake , what should i do
If you put the sauce into jars right after you added the lemon juice, you should be fine. However, if you let it boil after you added it, it might have boiled some of it off. I would still add about 1 tbsp to each jar. Hope this helps!
Can I skip the red peppers and use all green? I am trying to use up my garden haul and have a ton of green peppers!
Yes that should be fine!
My family loves this sauce! This is the first
year I’ve tried making Spaghetti Sauce, although I’ve canned lots of things over the years! Delicious 😋
Will it still be safe for canning if I make this recipe without the onion? I am allergic.
I can’t really speak to the safety of any recipe besides the exact recipe we listed. If you are worried about it, you can freeze it instead of canning.
what is the approximate yield on this recipie I want to can it in pints because there is only two of us at home quarts would be too much im thinking
This recipe would make 20 pints!
Is there any chance that you have cup measurements for the onions and peppers? I freeze my peppers throughout the summer and it would be great to know for sure how much to use. Thanks and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
One pepper usually yields 1 cup chopped, and one large onion usually yields about 3 cups chopped. I hope this helps!
Are you saying you use large onions? So about 15 cups of onion? I have regular size onions, and each yields about a cup when chopped.
You want about about 7-8 cups of chopped onions.
I’m downsizing the recipe in half. Can I add Zucchini, mushrooms and/or other vegetables in this recipe for canning and how do I figure out how much other veggies to put in it? Would they require prepping differently then the others in this recipe?
Be really careful when adding or omitting ingredients to a canning recipe. You are usually fine adding spices but when it comes to adding more produce, meat or anything else it could throw off the acidity levels, thus making unsafe for canning.
Yum! So good! I made this today-follow the recipe with one exception- I added one cup of merlot in the beginning. Will definitely be making again. Thank you for sharing!
I am canning my sauce today and cant wait! Do you put 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in EVERY jar?
TY
YES, you want to put it in every jar. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to taste it. It just keeps it safe when canning. 🙂
I forgot to pit kemon juice in the jars. What should I do?
I wouldn’t can it. I would freeze it instead! I worry that the acidity won’t be high enough to can.
I had already added 2-3 more lbs of tomatoes BEFORE reading the Q&A. I canned all 9 quart sized jars and added the proper amount of citric acid to each jar before filling. Should I be concerned that I added a few more tomatoes? Thank you for the recipe!
I think that should be okay, if you added the citric acid.
Could you freeze this sauce once made?
Absolutely!
Absolutely wonderful sauce. Making a second batch!
Do you have to use tomato paste?
Yes, if you don’t use the tomato paste, it will not be the right consistency. It will be too runny.
I usually use tomato paste when I make this but forgot to get some the last time I made it. I just tried to remove more of the seeds and gel. It was a little bit thinner but still worked well over pasta!
Absolute favorite pasta sauce BTW! My most picker eater was heart broken when we ran out over winter! 🙂
By far the best pasta sauce I have ever canned for my family. So good that my husband grabbed a pan and cooked some rotini to eat it immediately once he tasted it. I made 8 quarts, looks like I will be making more!
Can you use canned tomatoes?
Sure!
This is a really good recipe. My husband does not like tomatoes or any kind of tomato based sauce, and even he thought it was really good. My daughter, who is also not a tomato fan, asked for spaghetti for dinner after I let her taste the sauce just so she could have more!
Do you remove the seeds from the tomatoes before you can?
We usually don’t remove them, but you can!
Can I cut this recipe in half and still can it, my tomatoes gave up this year and only produced sm tomatoes.
Yeah of course!
If half the recipe, would the simmer time still be the same?
Yes, I would think so. You still want the flavors to have time to meld together.
I was wondering if anyone has had success replacing the brown sugar with Sukrin Gold Brown sugar alternative and the soy sauce with coconut aminos?
If you elect to freeze the sauce would you eliminate the lemon juice? Thanks!
Yes! You don’t need the lemon juice if you are freezing.
Does this recipe use canning salt or just regular salt?
We just use regular salt, but I’m sure canning salt would work too!
Can you use citric acid instead of lemon juice?
Sure!
Can you add garlic? My man loves it?
Yes, you should be fine adding garlic. 🙂
Can I use sliced peppers and onions instead of chopping them?
Sure!
If pressure canning do you need the lemon juice?
Yes. The tomatoes don’t add enough acidity by themselves.
I forgot to add the lemon juice!!! The jars are already boiling. What do I do? Is it all ruined now?
Unfortunately, I would not continue with the canning. I would freeze it instead. The acidity level won’t be right and it will be unsafe.
How many cups of tomato’s would this be?
One pound of tomatoes is about 1.5 cups chopped. Hope this helps!
I accidently added the lemon juice to tomatoe sauce instead of jars. Should I still add the lemon juice in jars before I pressure cook them?