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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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- Nick’s Authentic Italian Spaghetti
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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.
After making your amazing sauce
Do you have a recipe for canning just plain tomatoes I can use for other recipes? I am going for the stewed tomatoes like you buy in the store?
We sure do! Here’s the link: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/how-to-can-diced-tomatoes/
I tried this recipe for the 1st time last summer using all ingredients from my garden! I was skeptical because the recipe I made the year before was acidic and horrible but this recipe was to die for! The worst part was I only made 9 quarts and I should have made more! We ran out in April and I have to wait to mid Aug for my tomatoes to ripen! Thank you for a great recipe for my family to enjoy! I did use 5 green peppers because I did not have red and it was still amazing! 🤩
For the 4 red bell peppers and 1 green bell peppers do you measure it in cups
We do not, we just use 4 red and 1 green pepper!
I made this recipe last year from tomatoes my hubby got from a local produce stand and it was a hit! I gave my neighbors a jar of this sauce and the link to this website and they loved it! Word spread to another neighbor and her parents. So I gave them the link to this website as well. 🙂
What I done a little different was chop the onions and bell peppers and saute them in oil before adding garlic, cooking until fragrant, then adding tomatoes and rest of stuff. Followed recipe through til the end.
This year I bought a meat/veggie grinder attachment for my KitchenAid to make the process easier. I’m just waiting on the tomatoes in our garden to ripen. (I have a ton of roma tomato plants with loads of tomatoes on them) I’m trying to be as patient as I can because I am getting excited to make this stuff.
1st time making this sauce, Did I mess up. I put all the lemon juice in the pot, not each jar.
Will that mess and do I still need to put lemon juice in each jar?
Adding the lemon juice won’t mess up the taste of the sauce, but you do need to still put the lemon juice in each jar. It is important for the canning safety of this recipe.
Is a water bath safe with the addition of all the peppers? I thought pressure canning was necessary unless canning whole tomatoes without added veggies?
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.
Could I possibly boil, peel, and quarter the tomatoes (and refrigerate) the day before I prepare the spaghetti sauce?
Thanks.
Sure!
I weighed my tomatoes prior to removing the peelings and core.
Then I weighed them again and was short on the lbs….so I peeled more.
Do you think that was why my sauce was a little runny?
The sauce was very good….but I think I might have not interpreted the recipe correctly.
We weigh the 25 pounds of tomatoes before any peeling or processing. If your sauce is runny, you can add a tablespoon of tomato paste when you are heating the sauce to serve.
Can you blend the tomatoes first before cooking?
Sure!
Can I use Roma tomatoes for this recipe? Since they are smaller how much would I need?
You can use Roma tomatoes! They taste great in this recipe! You would need 25 pounds.
I don’t have an immersion blender. Any other way to thicken sauce?
You can use a regular blender or food processor and blend the sauce in small batches!
Can I use A different colored pepper other than Red and can I eliminate some of the brown sugar?
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.
I canned 2 bxs of tomatoes last yr. using this recipe! Gosh it was delish! Gave some jars to my daughter, & her family loved it! Making more this year!
I want to try this recipe. Can I use my instant pot or pressurize them? If so, how do I do that?
I haven’t used an instant pot for canning before, so I can’t say. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
I specifically grew San Marzano tomatoes this year to make spaghetti sauce and gambled on this recipe for the 1st time… it did NOT disappoint! It’s fabulous! I saved it to make again.
When you say if you want “thicker sauce, blend it with an immersion blender,” do you do that before simmering for 4 hours or after it simmers? Currently preparing this, so I hope you see this. Many thanks!
I would do it after it simmers! It will be easier to blend when everything is soft.
I would give it 100 points, its that good 😊 I make it every year
Would it be okay to half the recipe?
We don’t endorse scaling the recipe up or down for safety reasons.
Me and my husband have canned this recipe 3 times, doubled. I dont like store bought spaghetti sauce so therefore, we didnt eat spaghetti very often. However, I absolutely love this recipe and so does the hubs. We have canned over 60 quart jars. Thank you very much!
Question regarding the spice level in this recipe? Is this sauce spicy using the red pepper flakes as I can not do spicy, and if so could I maybe use half the red pepper instead of the full 2 teaspoons ? I know garlic enhances the flavor 10 cloves seems a lot as garlic upsets my stomach could I maybe used powered garlic instead of fresh? Or possibly use less garlic cloves? Thank you
Our family is extremely sensitive to spice and they all agree that this sauce is not spicy! As for the garlic, if you want to tone down the strength you can saute it before adding.