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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.
Pressure Canning Spaghetti Sauce
For a weighted-gauge pressure canner, you will want to process 20 minutes for pint jars and 25 minutes for quart jars. 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.
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!
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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.
Doesn’t sauce need a little oil in the recipe to help coat the pasta??
Contrary to popular belief, oil actually causes the sauce to slide off the pasta. The best way to get sauce to stick to a pasta is to add a little bit of the water from the pasta pot before you drain it!
I found this recipe last year when i wanted a change from my recipe. I came back to this recipe this year because after sitting on the shelf and all the flavors join together, this recipe is outstanding. My 25 pounds of tomatoes are on the stove now for my second year after harvesting some from the garden. The only change i made is using dehydrated onion, because i feel safer with acid levels. Thank you so much for this recipe outstanding.
Second year making this recipe, it’s by far our favourite. We add some jalapeños to give it a kick.
There is only two of us in the household eating so a quart is a lot of sauce for the two of us.
How much lemon juice would you use for pint sized jars??
You should use 1 Tablespoon for pint sized jars! Glad you guys liked it!
Can I use citric acid instead of the lemon juice?
Yes. It citric acid can be used instead of lemon juice. 1/4 teaspoon powdered Citric Acid is equivalent to 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Hope this helps!
My family loved this sauce and ate one of the 9 jars in one night! Today when I checked on the remaining 8 jars, I noticed there was separation.
Should this occur? I made the batch of 9 jars about a month ago and they are stored in dark, cool, area. Thank you in advance.
Separation can happen, and it is totally fine! Just give it a good shake before using.
One comment says I can add meat to this recipe. Cooked ground beef? Then you would HAVE to use the pressure canner if meat is added?
We can only endorse the recipe as written for canning purposes. Substitutions or additions can be safely made if you plan to freeze the sauce instead of canning.
Any suggestions if I am 5 pounds short of tomatoes?
I am attempting to make this recipe however, I do not have 25 lb of tomatoes. Do you have details to reduce the amount – such as cooking times etc.? I have approx 10 lbs of tomatoes.
You can use canned tomatoes for the rest of the 25 lbs if you’d like! We do not have exact measurements and cooking times for a reduced amount of tomatoes.
What kind of tomatoes do you recommend? I have cherry and Roma with that work? Do you have to peel the tomatoes?
Cherry and Roma work great! And yes, you do peel the tomatoes. You’ll see in step 2 an easy way to peel them!
Can I use coconut aminos in place of soy sauce?
We can only endorse the recipe as written for canning purposes. Substitutions can be safely made if you plan to freeze the sauce instead of canning.
Please explain what the soy sauce does? Thank you
It adds a deeper umami or savory flavor to the sauce. It is so delicious!
This is going to be my first time canning spaghetti sauce how long after canning the sauce should you wait to eat it.
You can eat it right away!
OMG…this is the best tomato sauce I have ever made…was a little iffy on the soy sauce, but followed the recipe as written and turned out fabulous. I used 25 lbs of several different verity of tomatoes from my garden to make this sauce. Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe and will defiantly use again!!!
That is so great to hear! Thank you for sharing. We are happy that you tried it and loved it!
Is there a soy sauce substitute I can use?
Have a soy allergy.
Some substitutes can be tamari, fish sauce, or Worcestershire sauce. These may alter the taste and texture of the spaghetti sauce too. You may want to try it before canning and make sure that is the flavor that you like. Hope that helps!
How much meat should I add to this recipe?
You can add 1 to 2 pounds of meat to this recipe. It is delicious mixed together!
I am glad I found this recipe to use again this year. I have been canning for over 40 years and by far this is the best! I made this sauce in a large insta post and pressure canned it to save time. I’m all out and need sauce so I’m attempting to cut the recipe down to use up my canned tomatoes for a single meal. Wish me luck. Thank you so much for sharing
Wow! So glad that we can help. You are going to do great!
I don’t have a pressure cooker so I will water can . How long do I boil the sauce in the jar? First time canning
You will boil the water for about 1 to 2 minutes long. Have a fun time canning!
In the video, a liquid was added to the stock pot and stirred about at the very end just prior to placing into jars. Was this the lemon juice? Does the lemon juice also go into each jar?
Good eye! Yes, the last ingredient is the lemon juice. You can either do it this way or add lemon juice to the jars once they are heated.
Interested in trying to make this sauce and wanted to make sure that fresh squeezed lemon juice is okay to use.
Yes, that will be great as well. Enjoy canning!
No – You should not use fresh squeezed lemon juice for canning as the ph can vary. Use bottled juice only.
Can I add cook type clear gel to my batch?
Yes, that would work well too! Enjoy your spaghetti sauce. Homemade is always best!
My first year gardening a few veggies. I plan to try this, however I would like to know if you remove the seeds or not? I noticed this was asked earlier this year but question had no reply. Thank you
Either way is fine! You don’t have to remove them, but you can if they bother you.
Is it safe to add chopped mushrooms to this recipe?
We can only endorse the recipe as written for canning purposes. Substitutions can be safely made if you plan to freeze the sauce instead of canning.