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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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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.
Do you always keep the seeds in the sauce? If I wanted to remove the seeds do you have an easy method you would suggest?
We have always kept the seeds in the sauce! Let us know if you find a method to remove them!
If using pint jars instead of quart jars should I still use 2 tablespoons of lemon juce per jar?
If using pint jars, you can just use 1 tablespoon!
This is our new favorite spaghetti sauce recipe to can. My granddaughter won’t eat any other spaghetti sauce now. This was our second year of making it and we just love it. Thank you so much for sharing it with everyone.
Thank you so much!! We love when our family favorites become your family favorites!
Just finished making this and let me tell you it taste amazing. It takes all day to make it but so worth it. Definitely adding this to my recipe box and will be making it every year. Thank you for sharing this recipe
So glad you liked it! Canning always takes forever but always worth it! Thank you so much for your nice comment!
Hi
I’m getting ready to make this after we are on our last big batch of tomatoes. However one recommendation I would have your recipe at the end talks about putting the jars in a boiling water canner.
This will automatically make most first time canners think they need something special versus an accurate water bath in a great pot.
If you prefer canning in a large pot, you definitely can, it’s just not what we have tried so we can’t fully recommend it. A water bath or steam canner is what we have used with success and it is what we can comfortably recommend. Thanks for your comment though, I am sure many of our readers will find it helpful!
OH MY DELICIOUSNESS!!!! This recipe is a keeper! So many will make changes without first trying it the way it’s written. I like to make a recipe as is and then if I want to change it a bit to suite my tastes, I’m ok with it. BUT, don’t change it until you try it the original way! This recipe is perfect. The only problem I had was it didn’t cook down. It might be that I didn’t have the heat high enough. I’ve tried different recipes and this will be my go-to from now on! SOOOO GOOD! Thank you!!!
Thank you!! I am so glad you liked it and I totally agree. You’ve got to just try it before making adjustments!
I would like to add ground beef to this canning recipe. I’ve use beef before in the recipies and would like to do the same with this one. I only pressure can when using ground beef. However, you never mentioned how much ground beef would go into this recipe. I add citric acid to my quart jars as well to make sure there’s enough acid. Thank you
I have never used ground beef in the recipe before because I don’t have a pressure canner. It really depends on how meaty you want it. You could probably use at least 7 pounds. Sorry if this isn’t every helpful– if you try it, please come back and let us know how it turns out!
I was thinking of adding some zucchini and shredded carrots. Dont have preasure canner just reg canning. Will adding such items make sauce un eatable with regular canning process?
If you plan to pressure can it, you could probably add zucchini and carrots. For regular canning, I’m not sure how those ingredients will work with the acidity levels. If I were to guess, I would say you may want to leave them out. When it comes to canning it is better to take the more cautionary route. Just my opinion though. Sorry if this isn’t much help!
Step 7 calls for adding lemon juice to hot 1-quart jars. Does that mean I’d have to boil the jars prior to putting in the sauce. I have never tried canning before so I just want to be sure that I’m following all the steps to ensure safety. Also, rather than simmering for 4-5 hours uncovered on the stove, would it be possible to do this step in a slow cooker?
No, you don’t need to boil them. I either just run them through the dishwasher or you can rinse and dry them. This is just so the jars are clean and sanitized before putting food in them.
You can do it in a slow cooker but the purpose of doing is to get the sauce to reduce down and thicken. When it is covered in a slow cooker, condensation will form on the lid and drip back down into the sauce. If you did it in a slow cooker I would leave the lid off so it has a chance to simmer down a bit. Hope this helps!
I have read through all these comments and I can’t believe no one else had any problems with the sauce sticking to the bottom and eventually burning. I used a large stock pot, stirred the sauce a LOT, actually more like every 5 or 10 minutes, the element was on medium low so that it was barely simmering. The sauce turned quite dark as it was simmering but as comments indicate above, I thought it was the worchestershire sauce or maybe the soy sauce, but when I was putting it in jars and got to the bottom of the pot it was quite burned. The sauce doesn’t taste burned though… is this burned bottom normal or do I just have a cheap pot? Also, I would like to see the superchef who can do the prep in 20 minutes… it took me over an hour just to peel all those tomatoes!
Hi Lynn– We have a heavy canning stock pot so we have never had issues with burning. If you consistently have a burning problem I am guessing it has something to do with your pot. Also, we will double check that prep time to make sure it is more accurate. Thanks for catching that!
Best ever been canning this recipe ever since I found it best around
Thanks
Thank you so much! Have you gotten lots of batches this year?
Mine turned out better than a jar from the super market. My first batch didn’t, (to thin, to much water perhaps from the blanching and not properly straining) BUT it took a considerable amount of time. I ended up with almost 8 jars and I had 6 hours into it. And to be clear i want to say the flavor was better then a jar from the store. Cost was almost the same and I provide my own tomatoes. But for 6 hours and almost 8 jars, I personally would of needed it to be more then “better then a jar from the store” to invest 6 hours of my time again. I have only been canning for a couple years. I can spend less money and not even half the time on a salsa recipe that’s amazing. My point is, it’s time consuming so plan on that. I’m not complaining, and the recipe tells you this from the start. I just wanted to reiterate that to anyone considering giving this a go
What happens if you have sauce that comes out of the jars during the water bath. They are sealed but have sauce on the sides and in the water
I think as long as they sealed you should be fine. The jars were probably just a little too full. If you are worried about it, you can always clean them up and re-process or keep them in the fridge and use them within the next couple weeks. Hope this helps!
Can you please tell me what the lemon juice does and why you use it? It’s my first time making this recipe and I don’t want sour…we are more of a sweet sauce family.
It won’t be sour. It is to make the sauce more acidic to make it safe for canning. You won’t even taste the lemon juice, promise 🙂
Is that 2 tbsp of lemon juice in each jar?
Yep!
Hi. Just trying this receipt today, if processing would be 40min/quart, what would a pint be? Thanks.
If you are doing pints, you only reduce the processing time by 5 minutes. Hope this helps!
This recipe is so great! I just finished my canning tonight and I’m super happy with how everything turned out! I used liquid aminos in place of soy sauce so my sauce would be gluten free but otherwise followed the recipe. Thanks for posting it!
I’m so glad you are happy with this recipe. I love your gluten-free revision and with your permission will add that as a note on the recipe. The work of canning will be so worth it when you enjoy this spaghetti sauce throughout the year. It is delicious!
Depending on your whorchestershire sauce Heinz is gluten free but Lea Perins is not so read your label. Just a little info for you all
I am in the process of making this sauce as I type.
Could you omit the tomato paste by removing excess juice from the tomatoes?
You could do that but the yield will be quite a bit less. I can’t tell you how much less for sure because we haven’t done that before, so if you try it, let us know how much you yield!
My sauce is really runny! What could I do to thicken it?
You can let it cook down more or add tomato paste. Hope this helps!
This sauce is delicious. Made exactly as is. Will definitely make again
Can you make the sauce, refrigerate it overnight, then reheat the next day and then can?
Any time you heat and cool and reheat and cool, you are increasing the risk of food bourne illness. I would suggest canning right after heating. Hope this helps!
I have done it many times with no ill effects. In fact, I’ve refrigerated the tomato sauce for a couple of days and then canned it. I think as long as you reheat it up to boiling and then can it that you would be okay. This is my experience and I’m no expert but it has worked for me and I’ve been canning tomatoes for at least 15 years. I generally use an acidic tomato for canning, like early girls. It may be different with tomatoes that aren’t as acidic.
My tomatoes are non existent this year because of the weather. Can a person buy tomato sauce and substitute that for the fresh ones?
A great substitution is the canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes. You can also try our spaghetti sauce if you don’t have the amount you need for canning. You can either use fresh tomatoes or crushed tomatoes. Hope this helps!
What is the shelf life for this? Excited to try it!!:)
We try to eat everything we can within a year. Hope this helps!
Do you have to use the sugar?
You don’t HAVE to use the sugar but it will make the sauce taste better. It gives it a tasty dimension. Hope this helps!
What kind of tomatoes should I use? I’m planning my garden for spring and want to include the right variety for making recipes like this one to can.
We use Jack’s whopper tomatoes, some early girl, some celebrity… Roma works great. It really depends on what grows best in your area. Climates and elevations can totally make a difference. The best thing to do is call a local greenhouse, nursery, or garden supply store and just ask them what typically grows best in your area. Hope this helps!
I have a food strainer that I use for peaches and apple sauce that separates the peels and seeds for me. Can I use this in the first steps? I really don’t want the seeds in my sauce.
Absolutely!
This spaghetti sauce is everything and more you talked about! I am a 1st time sauce canner and although the cooking process of 4-5 hours was long, it was worth it. My sauce turned out amazing! I will not try any other receipt. Thank you so much for sharing. I just need more tomatoes to ripen. Thinking I need to stock pile this sauce. It is going to go fast!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤️💕🍅🍅🍅
Thank you so much for your kind review, so glad you love the Spaghetti Sauce and your first time canning it was a success! It goes pretty fast at our house too, haha!
I made this recipe this week and it is fantastic. I had some canned tomatoes from last summer I wanted to use up and thought I would give it a try. Five quarts of canned tomatoes worked out great. I am picky about my spaghetti sauce and I adore this recipe! Next time I will use a tiny bit less brown sugar but that is just my taste preference. Excellent and easy recipe. Thank you!!!
Hi Kathryn- thank you so much for your kind comment! Thanks for sharing how you made this a success with your pre-canned tomatoes. Great tip!
My husband and I grew all the vegetables in our garden and bought the rest of the ingredients, this year we are going to grow herbs as well. My entire family raves over this spaghetti sauce, 5 stars, none of us have ever had a sauce as good as this, except the children under 5. So this year we are halving the red pepper flakes so they can enjoy it like the rest of us. Thank you so much for sharing!
This is awesome!!! We are so glad your family loves this recipe as much as ours does! Thanks for the wonderful review!
Can you pressure can this instead of water bath?
Absolutely!
Do you add that much lemon juice to each jar? Can you just put it in the sauce?
It is important for canning that you add it to each jar.
I did. 25 minutes at 11 lbs per quart.
Would it be possible to use Roma tomatoes for this recipe?
Absolutely!
I just made this sauce and while it’s good I was wondering what type of onions you use in your recipe. Also since I couldn’t find good tomatoes in my area I decided to use whole plum tomatoes that were canned. I used 15 cans and the 4 tomato paste, but I feel like I should have added more paste since it’s not as thick as I would have liked.
Hi! I’m new to canning and followed this recipe, however, after reading a few other canning recipes, the boiling water bath instructed to bring to a rolling boil. However I started timing at a gentle boil, like I saw a few boil bubbles and started to time it, and did the full 40 minutes. Is a boil a boil or does this make my canning method unsafe? Even after the 40 minutes of a boiling water bath it never came to a full rolling boil. Made me think such a huge pot wouldn’t actually come to a rolling boil.
You probably want to have the water be at a full boil before starting the timer. Did all of your cans seal? I can’t tell you for sure whether it is safe or not. You might have to make that call. If you are unsure, you could possible contact someone at foodsafety (dot) org and get a more definite answer. Sorry I can’t be of much help here!
Going to try this today. Just wondering if you can use fresh herbs instead of dried? Or will that effect the final PH level?
We haven’t tried it with fresh herbs, so we can’t speak to how it would affect this recipe.
I made the sauce and made a mistake and only bathe them for 10 minutes instead of 40 minutes but the jars sealed. Are they still good?
I would say you are probably ok if the jars are sealed, your mixture was probably already hot enough when you added it to the jars and started processing. If you are worried about it, you can always reprocess them without breaking the seal but you are probably ok. Check them after they have cooled to make sure they are all still sealed properly. If so, you should be good to go!
would you still use 25lbs if using roma tomatoes? thank you
Yes!