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.
Can I substitute minced garlic in a jar for the fresh garlic?? What would you advise as a 1 to q sibstiturs?
You can use minced garlic from the jar!
the best ever, all my friends make it since i gave them a taste. canning it has turned into a yearly event, we are at it as we speak !!!
We love this recipe! We do start with roasting the tomatoes on our pellet grill first. Extra flavor and helps soften them to run through strainer. We cook this in our Nesco but have found we don’t scrape the upper sides off as it simmers down… can taste burnt. 3rd year making this recipe and shared it many times! We also process this in our pressure cookers.
Do you have to use lemon juice if you are pressure canning? I thought lemon juice was only for water bathing?
We use lemon juice with either method!
I want to make this spaghetti recipe. We are not fans of peppers. Can we leave them out of the recipe without compromising the acidity level?
We can only endorse the recipe as written for canning purposes. Omissions or additions can be safely made if you plan to freeze the sauce instead of canning.
I am looking at making this tomorrow and you mentioned that you could add lemon juice or red wine. I would like to add red wine do I just substitute for the lemon juice at the same measurements.
Red wine vinegar is an appropriate substitution for the lemon juice. Not just red wine.
Would fresh basil work? I’ve got a ton I need to use…
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.
Understood. Thank you!
From my canning experience, you can cook them in for flavor, but must remove for canning. .. But do your own research.
Can you prepare the sauce one day and can it the next? I have my tomaotes ready to go but I won’t have time to let it simmer and get it canned all in one day within the next day or so. Is that a problem? I am fairly new to canning.
I advise doing it all in one day, that way your tomato mixture is piping hot when you add it to the jars. Canning is tricky because you don’t want any chance of spoiling or contamination between the hot spaghetti sauce pot to the cans. It is probably best to do it all in one day if possible. Hope this helps!
OK. Thanks. I guess my tomatoes will have to wait another day. I bought them Monday and ran them through the Kitchen Aid strainer Monday night. I will take care of it all starting Thursday morning. Hopefully the juice/pulp will still be fresh enough. Had I known a bunch of conflicts were going to creep up, I would’ve waited to process them until today. They would’ve been fine. But I will do all the rest tomorrow. I look forward to trying the recipe!
I made a mistake!!! I added my lemon juice in the pot with all the sauce and its cooking now! Do i add mor elemon juice when i add them to the jars or is canning it not a good idea anymore?!
I would add a little more to each jar just to be safe!
I made it yesterday and I agree with everyone that it is a fabulous recipe! I followed it precisely and the whole family said it has a very rich flavour. I am tempted to buy more tomatoes and make it again.
I used the KitchenAid strainer attachment (saves SO much time!) to process the tomatoes and I am wondering if I buy more tomatoes and run them through the strainer and freeze it, could I then make this again in a few months time when I am less busy processing everything else that needs to be done?
When I don’t have time to do everything in one day, I leave the mixture in my cooking vessel and cool slightly at room temperature. I then place the mixture in my cooking vessel in the refrigerator. When I’m ready to can, I bring the mixture to a boil so it’s hot. Then I proceed with canning.
Excited to try this recipe! Couple questions: instead of simmering for 4 hours, could I put it in a crock pot all day or would this make it too runny? Also, how long would you process pint jars in a water bath canner?
You can definitely put in a crock pot all day but make sure the lid is off — it will splatter so I don’t know how to best combat that. For the pint jars, only 2-3 minutes less.
If the crockpot method is used, is it still the same amount of time as the stove version or longer?
It would be longer, maybe 6-8 hours.
By far the best I’ve ever had!
Can you use an instant pot to do this recipe?
We haven’t tried it in the instant pot, so I am not sure.
Do I need to use the lemon juice if I’m going to freeze the sauce?
Nope!
My water bath canner only holds 7 quart size jars. Can I let the sauce for the last few jars continue to simmer while the first batch is processing and then process the last few after the first are done? I’m new to canning.
Yep! I do that all the time. I almost always have to work in batches when canning. Hope this helps!
I started making this later in the day
I followed the recipe and cooked the sauce for 5 hours when I stared to can I realized the sauce was thin. I’m wondering what I did wrong? I went ahead and canned it hoping I can thicken it when I use it. Any suggestions for the next time?
Thin sauce can be a result of a few different things like the consistency of the tomatoes or the simmering time. If the sauce is too thin when you are preparing to eat it, you can add some tomato paste to thicken it up.
I made this last year and am currently making it again. Best spaghetti sauce we’ve ever had! Love that it’s not too acidic like some sauces are!
This is my go-to for thick and rich marinara sauce! The combination of ingredients is perfect, and doubling the recipe works great! Thank you for pulling the perfect variety and quantity of ingredients together!
Good morning I’m trying this recipe today but one quick question,are we using fresh bay leaves or dried whole leaves?
You can do either one. I usually just use dried whole because that is what I have on hand. Hope this helps!
I made this last year and it was delicious!! I freeze mine and it works really well. I am curious why you say you need to completely thaw it before heating it?
Would it work to put it in crockpots on high with the lid off and cook it down that way?
Yes you could cook it down that way for sure 🙂 You may still want the lid partially on to avoid splatters.
I made this recipe but with 20 lbs of tomatoes cause that’s all I had. Anyways, I gotta say Thank you for sharing this recipe. It came out AMAZING. Hands down the best sauce I’ve ever eaten and I’m not exaggerating. Y’all I highly recommend you try it out.
I want to use the KitchenAid fruit and veggie strainer to prepare the tomatoes. Can I do that and still follow this recipe?
Absolutely! It will just make it easier for you 🙂
This is the 3rd year in a row I’ve made this recipe and all my family raves over it! I use it throughout the year as pizza sauce by adding some tomato paste. This year I accidentally put 2 TBS of lemon juice in the pint size jars instead of the quart. Will that mess with the flavor/canning for acidity levels?
Nah, it shouldn’t affect it too much. You should be totally fine. I doubt it will even affect the taste at all. Hope this helps! Also– so glad you have enjoyed the recipe!!! – Erica
Is the processing time the same for pint size jars as it is for quart? (40 minutes?)
Technically the smaller jars can be processed quicker, but we don’t have exact time measurements for smaller jars, so I would stick with 40 minutes to be safe.