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’m about ready to make this recipe for the third year in a row, saved in my bookmarked favorite recipes. I make it just as is, only half a recipe at a time since I don’t have a pot that big! My kids are on the cross country team and we have weekly team dinners before races, so I go through a lot of spaghetti sauce. Love being able to use my own garden tomatoes!
Wow – what a compliment to know you’ve made this three years in a row. I’m so happy you like the recipe. What a lucky cross country team to have you cooking homemade meals for them with garden tomatoes!
do you skim the foam off the top or leave it?
It doesn’t matter – it’s up to you, but it’s easier to leave it. Thanks for asking!
Wow this recipe is wonderful! I was looking for a spaghetti sauce recipe with home grown tomatoes and this one is GREAT!!! Great flavor and easy to make. This will be my go to sauce with my home grown San Marzano tomatoes. Yummm. Thank you for posting this wonderful family recipe.
Thank you, Ann! I’m so happy you love this recipe as much as we do!
Can you use yellow and green peppers along with red?
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.
Hello! About how many cups of red peppers does the recipe call for? I have homegrown red peppers that are much smaller than the ones you buy at the store and wanted to be sure I used the right amount. Thanks!
Each pepper we use is about 1 cup chopped. Hope this helps!
I am cooking this recipe but running out of time on the boil. Can I stop boiling and continue in 8 hours?
I am not sure. We haven’t done it that way before. Sorry!
Good morning, instead of adding 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar to each jar, what are your thoughts about whisking in 2 cups of the red wine vinegar with 10 tablespoons of cornstarch (to help thicken) right before placing into the jars, to help incorporate the vinegar throughout the whole batch. Do you think this would be a safe way to add the acid before water bath canning?
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 don’t think cornstarch can be water bath canned. Try adding more tkmato paste to thicken and boil it down longer?
Clarification question. The recipe calls for 25 lbs of tomatoes, but in the directions it says to place 8-10 tomatoes in the Dutch oven and bring to a boil. It then continues with the rest of the recipe. Are you supposed to boil the rest of the tomatoes, or do you proceed with the recipe as written with only the 8-10 tomatoes? I’ve never canned tomato sauce before, so I’m reading it as a newbie.
You boil the tomatoes in batches of 8-10. That is how many normally fit in a Dutch oven. It will take a few batches, but you don’t want to crowd the Dutch oven!
I would love to try this recipe but my stomach can’t tolerate peppers. Is there a substitute?
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.
Is this recipe actually safe for water bath canning? It varies a lot in terms of peppers, garlic, etc… From any at ball or the national food preservation site
Yes we have had this recipe tested. Exactly as written, it is safe for canning.
Made this again this year. It’s my GoTo sauce. I think I made twenty quarts. Only difference is that I used fresh oregano and bay leaves. Also added about three tablespoons of Better Than Bullion Beef to the 3x recipe. Gives it even more umami.
If you use beef broth, I hope you’re pressure canning instead of waterbath canning.
This is the ONLY recipe I will use to batch cook spaghetti sauce now. I followed the recipe exactly. I actually used tomatoes that I had frozen because I hadn’t had time to process them from fresh. I filled 10 quart baggies (measured out about 24 ounces per bag, standard size of Ragu or Prego that I would use), and froze them. I cooked from frozen today, added a pound of ground beef, and boiled it down a bit. It was seriously the best spaghetti sauce ever.
This turned marginal tomatoes (weird texture, so-so flavor) that were otherwise inedible into way better than store bought sauce. The first batch was actually a bit salty, even using Kikkoman Low Sodium soy sauce. So, the second batch I adjusted by reducing the soy a touch and just waited until near the end to add any salt. I also use citric acid in lieu of the lemon for attaining the acidity for canning. Worth the effort.
For 2023, I’m excited to try this. Have been using Mrs. Wages and it’s getting too expensive and I’d like to try to use a recipe instead. So I’m hoping this works great. How did it taste after sitting for a while, like a month or so later. Just concerned about the salt. I have a pH meter, so salt is not necessary to preserve. Just wondering how it tastes after it’s processed for a while. Thanks!
I’ve made this twice this season. Love it! I cut the recipe in half because I didn’t have 25 lbs of tomatoes each time and I got 6 quarts both times. Thank you!!
Sounds delicious, will definitely try this.
Can you use yellow tomatoes in this recipe instead of red?
We haven’t tried that! We only have the recipe approved for canning as written.
If you are pressure canning this recipe, do you need the lemon juice still?
Yep!
Wonderful flavor and not too spicy for my sensitive stomach.
If I plan to can this recipe in pint jars, do I cut the lemon juice in half?
Yes!
Why do you need the lemon juice? Can I pressure can with out it?
The lemon juice helps balance the pH to make it safe for canning. Don’t skip it!
What is half?
Canned 8 quarts today with about 3/4 of a jar left over! DELICIOUS! Used my partial jar for dinner adding cooked sweet Italian sausage and homemade pasta!
Thank you for the recipe! Do I have to add the sugar to make it shelf stable?
Yes!