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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!
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More Delicious Pasta Recipes
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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.
This recipe turns out great. I love having my own spaghetti sauce in the pantry and ready to use. I add mushrooms, meatballs, or sausage when I am heating the sauce to use. It saves me hours in the kitchen. I have made this sauce for 3 years or so and I will be making it again soon.
I just wanted to say thank you for the excellent recipe. I have made tomato sauce for years, and it was never quite up to snuff, but it was still fine. This recipe takes it to the next flavour level, you are right about the soya sauce.
I find the sauce is still quite thin. I still haven’t figured out how to make it quite as thick as I want it, but this tastes wonderful and I’m on batch number 4 this season already.
Our best tip for thickening the sauce is to add tomato paste when you are heating it up to serve!
This will be the last pasta sauce recipe I will ever try! Super easy, (especially if you use the kitchenaid grinder & strainer)!! Super flavorful, just the right amount of spices. Made 9.5 quarts. Great way to use up all my garden tomatoes and peppers.
Definitely a keeper!
I doubled the batch for this recipe. Canned 5 gallons in quarts , pints, and half pints for a neighbor. I thought the sauce was extremely flavorful and is now my go to recipe for canning spaghetti sauce, I’ll try it on pizza as well. Very happy with outcome. Thank you for your recipe.
Am I able to can this recipe in a water bath in pints?
We have only tested this recipe for safety in this quantity, so I can’t recommend processing times for other sizes.
You’re never too old to start! I’m 65, and I grew up watching my mom can all summer long — with 7 children on a tight budget, canning and freezing was a MUST. But, as the youngest child I never learned and thought it was way too much work . . . it’s definitely work, but well worth it if only for the self-gratification! So, seeking to can spaghetti sauce I came across your site/recipe. It is DELICIOUS! A huge piece of advice, however, is to NOT forget the lemon juice! I finished the process at 10 pm and went to bed a satisfied canner . . . only to wake up and realize I had forgotten the lemon juice! OH NO!!! I searched the web and learned I could actually re-do the process — open the jars (12 of them!), pour them all back into the pot, bring them to a boil for at least two minutes, and repeat the canning/water bath process WITH the lemon juice this time! I will watch each jar carefully as we use them this winter, but I believe (from all the online advice) that I saved all that hard work! The positive? My kitchen smells wonderful for another day! One question — I blended most of the tomatoes to make a thicker sauce, but it still seems thinner than I’d like. I have read that I can simply add a can of tomato paste when using the sauce. However, is there another way to thicken the sauce BEFORE canning? Or is there another way to thicken the sauce when using it? Thank you!
The only way to thicken the sauce before canning is to let it simmer longer without a lid. After canning, the tomato paste method is the best way.
In my garden I have tomatoes that ripen at different times throughout the year. I have already canned several quarts of my tomatoes. If I use my canned tomatoes to make this sauce, would I need to add lemon juice again, or is the juice I already while canning, sufficient?
I would still add the lemon juice to be safe!
Do you use regular salt or canning salt
Regular salt!
wonderful recipe
I accidently simmered it covered for the time frame. Is that ok? Ours yielded a few jars more since it kept a lot of the liquid in that would have evaporated. If so, when I go to use it how should I thicken it because it is a little thin?
That should be okay. When you reheat it to serve, add a few tablespoons of tomato paste to thicken it up!
This is the best spaghetti sauce I’ve ever tasted! However, I canned this recipe, and so did my friend separately, and we both had the same problem of it tasting bitter after canning. I used a stainless steel pot while preparing and cooking the sauce. I pressure canned it in a pressure canner. I made it exactly as said. Do you know what went wrong?
Oh no! Sometimes a particular batch of tomatoes can have more acid than others, causing a bitter taste. When you heat the sauce up to serve try adding a pinch or two of baking soda to counteract the bitterness. I hope this helps!
Did you leave in the tomato skins and seeds? I’ve had that happen when I have. So now i run the tomatoes through a food mill. Worth the extra work.
I forgot to take out the two bay leaves before pulverizing the tomatoes. I managed to take out a few pieces. Is my sauce ruined?
No – your sauce isn’t ruined! Just look for any bigger pieces when you heat it up to eat.
I am confused on what or where to put the lemon juice?
Add the lemon juice to the bottom of each jar before processing.
Carbs? Anybody got an idea what the carb count for this recipe might be?
It should be listed at the bottom of the recipe card under Nutrition Facts.
I already have my tomatoes coming to the end of the boil. This is too late for you to answer but could I have cut up all the peppers and added all the other tastes now ,even if they haven’t been cooked along with these tomatoes? Was thinking of using my 6qt. instant pot to cook the additions, but I don’t like surprises. I will use this pot of tomatoes for soup, use to call is lobster soup with the cut tom’s (for the boys), add baking soda then the milk, s&p, it is very good, pint good enough for the two of us now.
Your recipe reads like a good recipe.
I had the start of a real wonderful tomato patch, but went out to look a things and the stems which were huge were all brown and the tom’s were looking like they were branded with the side of a butcher knife. Thought I could saved some, but no chance. Would your experts know what happened to them.
Maybe tomorrow I will things together for you recipe.
We can only endorse the recipe as written for canning purposes. Omissions, substitutions, or additions can be safely made if you plan to freeze the sauce instead of canning.
As for your split tomatoes, sometimes that happens if there is heavy rain followed by a dry spell. The tomato swells too much and then the skin splits.
I haven’t tried this yet, but what if I grew fresh Italian herbs as well? I have thyme, rosemary, parsley and oregano growing outside. How can I add them if canning? Or can I just chop up real fine and freeze instead? Also, an Italian friend roasts her tomatoes and garlic with olive oil in the oven first…do you recommend this or feel it makes a difference? Your recipe seems much simpler!
We can only endorse the recipe as written for canning purposes. Omissions, substitutions, or additions can be safely made if you plan to freeze the sauce instead of canning. As for freezing the herbs, I think that sounds like a great idea!
I made this sauce last year. That was the first time I ever made sauce and it turned out soooooo good!
We will never go back to store brand sauce when we can make it this fresh & delicious at home from our homegrown tomatoes.
We plan on making it again next weekend for our years supply of sauce.
Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Totally awesome sauce. I have 30 quarts canned.
Love this recipe and I’ve been using it for several years. Is it ok to use citric acid instead of the lemon juice? And what would the conversion be? I like my sauce thick so I reduce it quite a bit. Just wondering if it’s a possibility. Thanks!
Yes that is totally fine! 1 tablespoon of lemon juice = 1/4 teaspoon citric acid.
I made 14 qts. of the spaghetti sauce yesterday for my son & his family & plan on making more today for my husband & I. I have not tried it yet but what I want to know is on a few of the jars the sauce separated. There is liquid on the bottom than the sauce. I know when I make stewed tomatoes that happens & they are fine but will this be a concern. Hope the sauce will still be ok,hate to have to throw it out,that is a lot of work.
Separation is pretty normal! It should be safe and you can cook some of the water off when you reheat it to eat.
I used your recipe for a starting point. I use about 40-50 lbs of tomatoes (all types), 2-3 sweet onions, and a couple of large Italian peppers. The family would freak if I put any more than that. I placed the washed and quartered tomatoes in pots on the stove to simmer and remove the water in the tomatoes. I skim most of the water off and then place them in a colander to drain more. I then put them through a Kitchenaid vegetable strainer to remove the seeds and skins. I then place all of the strained liquid in a large pot to which I add the onions, peppers, 24oz. paste, 1/4 c of Soy sauce, 1/4 c Worcestershire sauce, 2/3-3/4 c brown sugar, 1/4 c salt, 3 tbsp each of garlic, oregano, and basil. If I have them I’ll add the bay leaves. I stir this simmering mixture for about and hour to meld the flavors then process for canning. This yields anywhere between 15 and 17 pts of sauce. The wife kept dipping bread in the sauce and saying “tastes like more” Best sauce ever.
Sounds delicious!
Hello, Can you tell me how many cups of crushed tomatoes 25# makes.
I am making this today and find it is easier to measure the tomatoes after taking the skins off and putting in a food processor.
From Boise, ID too!
Thank you, Pamela
It can vary but I would say about 11 quarts.