This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
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
This particular recipe for canned spaghetti sauce hasn’t been “officially” tested for a water-bath canner. However, after MUCH research, we’ve found that if you add lemon juice to the jars, this recipe is acidic enough for canning. Tomatoes are in the “gray area” of having enough acidity, so they might be just fine on their own. But adding a bit of lemon juice ensures their acidity. If you’re still worried, you can pressure can them or add more lemon juice or red wine vinegar.
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
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
Equipment
- Dutch Oven (I love this one from Camp Chef!)
- Food Processor (I use this one from Ninja)
- 1-Quart Jars (Ball jars are the BEST!)
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.
Love this!! We eat a lot of spaghetti & having the sauce on hand & made already, makes my life so much easier!
Thank you so much for this amazing and really delicious spaghetti sauce recipe! It’s super easy to make! Will surely have this again, Highly recommended!
Hello, I will be making this for the third time in less than a year. This is going to be the 2nd time I’ve doubled the recipe. I have given over half of it away and everyone wants more. I roast all my veggies first and then put everything through the vitamix before cooking it. I’m going to even roast the tomatoes a little before putting them in the vitamix this time. I’m sure it will add a little different flavour as well.
I was wondering if you have a recipe for tomato paste? I would like to try making that next.
So glad you’ve loved this recipe! We don’t have a recipe for tomato paste, but that is something we might look into in the future!
I removed the water from the tomatoes as they were cooking and it basically came out as paste. The flavour is great. A happy accident on my part. Just thought I’d share.
So much flavor🍅🫑🌶🧅🧄
Awesome sauce!! I thought I was done canning for the season but a friend gave me 45 pounds of tomatoes. Used half the tomatoes for juice and decided to try your recipe for spaghetti sauce. Made a batch this week and canned 7 quarts but ate for dinner what I didn’t can. Huge recipe! Used an 18 quart electric roaster to simmer it as I didn’t have a kettle large enough! Didn’t peel or de-seed tomatoes, just left in chunks, slowly adding more as they started to cook. Used an immersion blender to get rid of big chunks and peel. But waited to add onions & peppers until after using blender, I wanted a chunky sauce! Was short on peppers and garlic but it was still delish! Added a bottle of Guiness Beer and some powdered beef base. Started in morning and went about my business, occasionally stirring. Simmered in roaster about 6 hours. Pressure canned it. Now, hoping I can get more tomatoes and make another batch!! Thanks!
Great flavour a wee bit spicy but nice. I put mine in ziplock bags and froze the sauce about 1.5 cups foe 2. This will be my go too . Just another 50lbs of garden fresh tomatoes to do.😊
Can I use a water bath canner instead of a pressure cooker?
This particular recipe for canned spaghetti sauce hasn’t been “officially” tested for water-bath canning. However, after MUCH research, we’ve found that if you add lemon juice to the jars this recipe is acidic enough for canning. Tomatoes are in the “gray area” of having enough acidity, so they might be just fine on their own. But adding a bit of lemon juice ensures their acidity. If you’re still worried, you can pressure can them or add more lemon juice or red wine vinegar.
Can you use a steam bath canner for this recipe?
Yes!
Can you substitute the brown sugar with Swerve brown sugar to make it a bit more keto friendly?
We have only approved this specific recipe for canning safety, so we cannot recommend any substitutions. Sorry about that!
I have used this recipe and substituted with the “swerve” bs substitute. Turned out amazing! Making another batch now! My new favorite sauce recipe!!❤
Does the lemon juice change the flavor of the sauce?
We don’t ever notice it! It is just for pH leveling for canning.
Could you substitute vinegar, 5%, for the lemon juice?
We have only approved this specific recipe for canning safety, so we cannot recommend any substitutions. Sorry about that!
According to this canning site, 4Tbsp of 5% vinegar per quart can be used in place of lemon juice, but may change the flavour (perhaps because you need twice as much). Red wine vinegar might be nice, or it might not be noticeable enough to be worth the change, I might try with a few jars. https://nchfp.uga.edu/tips/summer/canned_tomato_types.html
The spice blend in this recipe is yummy! Thank you! Instead of blanching tomatoes, I usually roast them (skin on) with onion and garlic (and pepper, if using) prior to immersion blending and simmering. Roasting adds flavor and you can peel off the tomato skins once they cool a little.
Can I half the recipe? I haven’t tried the recipe yet since i’m a novice to canning, but would like to start out small. Thanks!! 🙂
Sure!
Best ever. Making it second year!
If I use fresh basil how munch should I use?
We have only approved this specific recipe for canning safety, so we cannot recommend any substitutions. Sorry about that! If you do want to add fresh basil, you could freeze the sauce instead of canning. The rule of thumb ratio for dried herbs to fresh herbs is to multiply by three, so 9 tablespoons of fresh basil should do the trick!
A previous comment asked about cup measurements. I replied with another question, but decided to post my own comment for others with the same questions.
You stated that a large onion yields 3 cups chopped. I have regular sized onions, which yield 1 – 1 1/2 cups chopped. If you use large onions for this recipe, then you’re using about 15 cups chopped? Regular onions would yield about 7 cups chopped. Onions are a low acid vegetable, so the quantity makes a big difference in the acidity of the sauce for canning.
Also, while I’m here, I substitute a few Jalepeño peppers for some of the green or red peppers without changing quantity. It gives it a little extra “kick.”
Great Recipe!!
You want about about 7-8 cups of chopped onions.
Thanks so much! We love this sauce! My husband doesn’t want me to tell our kids I made it, “because they’ll want you to send them some!” Which I do , of course!
The flavor is amazing but ours turns out runny. Do you do anything to thicken it up when you use it?
You can add an 8oz can of tomato paste to thicken it up when you use it from the can! Hope this helps!
I bottled 24 quarts of Tomato Juice and didn’t know what to do with the 12 pounds of leftover tomato meat. This recipe saved the day, smelled and tasted delicious!! I got 5 quarts of sauce but just realized i put lime juice not lemon in my jars, is that going to be ok?
Yes it should be fine! They have a very similar pH!
You can also dehydrate the tomato meat and powder it to use as flavoring!
quick question, Do you add 2 tablespoons to each jar or batch?
Each jar!
How much lemon juice for pint size jars?
1 tablespoon for pint jars 🙂
Do you put the lemon juice in the jars and leave it? What’s the juice for?
The lemon juice is to help balance the pH of the sauce to be safe for canning. Hope this helps!
I love garlic. Wouldn’t having extra garlic eliminate the need for citric acid?
We have only approved this specific recipe for canning safety, so we cannot recommend any substitutions. Sorry about that!
Is the instructions correct that you have to simmer this for 4-5 hours?
Yep! That is how the flavors get really strong and blend together well.
Also, one more question. I have a dial gauge pressure canner. Not a weighted gauge. Is there a difference in the processing times? Or am I even able to use a dial gauge canner? Thanks!
I haven’t used a dial gauge canner, so I am not sure! Maybe there is some info on Google?
I’m confused. If we used a weighted gauge canner, how can we tell we are at 10lbs of pressure. Shouldn’t it be a dial gauge anyway??
My canner is weighted gauge. Two rings, five pounds with no rings (the weight holder is five pounds on its own) and each ring is five pounds. So if you have two rings on it’s fifteen pounds total.
Hi! I’m planning to use mostly San marzano tomatoes and try your sauce this week. My question is with the weight. Do you weigh the 25 pounds of tomatoes before or after trimming and dicing? A lot of my tomatoes are all different sizes and if I weigh them before cooking, the weight would change after trimming and coring them. Thanks!!
We usually weigh them before we trim and core them!
This sauce is the best I have ever tasted. I made it this afternoon and am going to heat it up and water bath can it tomorrow when I get home from work. Thank you for such a great recipe! I omitted the oregano and red pepper flakes because I didn’t have any. I just added extra dried basil from my garden. I will definitely be sharing this recipe with anyone who grows tomatoes, it’s so delicious! I can’t wait to crack a jar open this winter and enjoy it.
So glad you like it!!
Do you need to deseed tomatoes?
You can if you want to, but it isn’t necessary.
Can’t wait to try this. It will be my first time canning tomato sauce. Some of the jars I will using are 48 oz, how long should I process them in the water bath?
For the larger jars, I would add 5 minutes. Here is a link to the National Center for Home Food Preservation to read more about canning times and elevation: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/general/selecting_correct_process_time.html