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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 I really need to boil this for 4-5 hours? Would 2-3 be sufficient?
The longer you boil it for, the better it will taste. Boiling breaks down the ingredients and lets the flavors mesh. I would suggest boiling the full 4-5 hours, but if you are in a time crunch you can try 3. I can’t speak to how it will affect the flavor or texture of the sauce.
If you are using a pressure canner, do you have to add lemon juice, and does pressure canning affect the taste or texture?
Pressure canning should work fine! You do still have to add the lemon juice though!
Hi is this 25 lbs of tomatoes after they are peeled and coded or before? Thank you!
We usually weigh them before. Hope this helps!
Loved this recipe! The only tweak I made was changing out the 1/4 cup soy sauce for 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar (also a gluten free option unless your buying dirt cheap brands then check your ingredients.) for two reasons. A) In my humble opinion, I think the richness spoke of is coming more from the Worcestershire sauce. And B) I just like a little red wine background note in my sauce 🙂 Granted B probably made me say A just to have a justification…lol. It was either the soy or the Worcestershire sauce that had to go, and my grandfather would come back from the dead and haunt me if I EVER took Worcestershire out of a recipe!
I have early girls, romas, heirlooms. Do you recommend any type out of the 3? I was thinking romas. Also, should I stick to one type or can I mix and match?
Romas are always great, but you can mix and match!
Can I use fresh basil in this instead of dried?
We recommend dried, just because using fresh can mess with the acidity and make the canning unsafe.
If you are just making to use fresh or to freeze vs can, do you still add any lemon juice?
No, you can skip the lemon juice if you aren’t canning.
Could I put the sauce in a crock pot and let it simmer for several hours verses stove top?
I don’t see why not!
May I use commercially canned tomatoes to make home canned spaghetti sauce? It sounds counterproductive, but asking for a friend (wink).
Sure! (wink)
Does it matter what kind of tomatoes you use? Can you mix them? i.e. Roma and beefsteak?
It doesn’t matter what kind you use. Go for it!
We have made this recipe three times so far this summer (about 32 quarts worth)! It is soooooo good! No need to change anything! We did follow the suggestions to roast the onions and peppers first and at the end, we used the immersion blender to get it to a smoother concistency. So far, we have eaten it over spaghetti squash from the garden for a tasty meal, all fresh from the garden!
You can’t beat fresh produce straight from the garden! Sounds delicious!
It was a lot of work but turned out great. I put it in pint jars and got 17 pints.
I used sea salt and low sodium soy sauce. Also reduced thr red pepper flakes 1/2. Turned out absolutely great. Thank you so much !!!!
I wanted to add Parmesan to the spaghetti sauce. Can I do that if I add lemon juice?
I wouldn’t add the Parmesan to the spaghetti sauce before canning. I would wait to add Parmesan until you are actually serving. Hope this helps!
We have a small deck garden, so 25lbs of tomatoes sound like an impossible yield. If we halve the ingredients, or even cut them to 1/3, would the recipe still work?
It should! Let us know how it turns out if you try it!
Anybody ever use a kitchenaid mixer food grinder/strainer attachment to process
Your tomatoes instead of blanching them to remove skins? Does it make them too watery?
I use a Food Strainer and Sauce Maker for Tomato and my sauce is thicker! I highly recommend this method instead of the blanching/ice water method.
Can I roast the tomatoes to remove the skin instead of boiling it? Would that add more flavour to the sauce?
Oooh yes! That sounds delicious! I will have to try that next time I make it!
Could you tell mew how it turned out roaring the tomatoes? And did you season them with s and p? How looking did you roast them and temp? Dis toy quarter them or roast whole? Thank you and sorry dir soooo many questions. Sincerely Christina
Can I pressure can with or without the lemon juice?
You don’t need to add lemon juice if you are using a pressure canner. Hope this helps!
Recipe sounds great but I have a problem with all of the sodium. I want to can my own sauce but cannot use salt/sodium due to high blood pressure. Would leaving it out be a problem…other than making it bland as all get out???
You can use low-sodium soy sauce! That should help bring the sodium down. Hope this helps!
What kind of onion yellow, red or white
I use white in this recipe!
Water bath for 40 minutes or pressure /canner ?
Do the bay leaves stay in?
No, you remove the bay leaves after cooking.
Can i chop the tomatoes after roasting them, and then put everything in the stock pot and cook for 4 hrs? Or do the tomatoes have to be cooked first and then blend all together?
I have a question. Can u puree the tomatoes to get the seeds and skin off at same time b4 u add to stockpot along with all other ingredients?
You can try it… we have never done it that way before. We have always kept the seeds in but we have never kept the skins on. I’m not sure if leaving the skin on will alter the acidity (I am guessing it won’t) but it might be something you will want to research just in case. AS far as pureeing– absolutely! It’s way good pureed.
Hi can I add black olives? And if I add meat how long do I pressure cook for?
Adding ingredients can mess with the chemistry of this recipe and make your sauce unsafe for the shelf. If you want to add olives and meat, I would recommend freezing the sauce instead of canning. Hope this helps!
If I need to use canned tomatoes, what is best and how much would you recommend?
San Marzano tomatoes are by far the best. Other than that, any whole or halved tomatoes would be great. Diced tomatoes might be a little too watery. I would do about 12 quarts of tomatoes (about 3 gallons) if you can! It will cook down some so you will end up with about 10 quart jars. Hope this helps!
so adding the lemon juice; do i still need to hot bath?
Yep! That is how we usually do it.
How
Much lemon juice to put in quart jars?
Debbie, yes you would still need to water bath them. The lemon juice is a sort of fail safe to ensure that the product in the jars is acidic enough to safely can them using a water bath canner. Low-acidity foods cannot be safely canned in a water bath and therefore must be pressure canned to be safe, but acidic foods are just fine (hence, the additional lemon juice). Hope that helps to answer your question!
On the subject of lemon juice your recipe says, “ Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to 9 or 10 hot 1-quart jars (depending on how much sauce you have). ” Because acidity is so important to safety, please clarify – is it 2T per jar or 2T divided between 9 or 10 jars? I assume 2T per jar but want to be sure. Thanks
2T per jar is correct!
I just replace the red wine vinegar ounce for ounce instead of lemon juice?
If freezing do I need the bath & lemon juice?
Nope! You can just put it straight into the freezer.
Hello, will this recipe work without sugar? Any substitute I could use that work? Thanks.
You can substitute honey, or I’ve heard of people adding a sweeter vegetable like carrots.
Can i omit the onions and replace with zucchini? We don’t eat onions.
You want to be careful when adding and switching around ingredients because it can alter the acidity of the sauce. I think it would be fine to take the onions out but I am not sure about adding zucchini unless you plan on pressure canning. Hope this helps!
First time making this sauce and it turned out great. I used cans of diced tomatoes instead of fresh and just put them in the blender. The flavor is great.
This is the best sauce I have ever had!!! Followed the recipe exactly! Only got 6 quarts but that’s alright, going to be making more!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!!
Hi, thank you for a great recipe! I would like to try it but 25lbs of tomatoes is quite a lot! Can you help with scaling down the rest of the ingredients if i want to try a smaller quantity first e.g 1/3 of the recipe?
Thanks
Yes, I will send you an email. Thank you for asking!
Hi…
I have made this recipe a number of times over the past couple of years. I love it!! I have nearly ran out, but thankfully, I have enough tomatoes in my freezer for about a half batch that I plan to prepare tomorrow! I have found many uses for this… especially after heating and adding a little tomato paste, creating a marina sauce that works well for mozzarella sticks, pizza, and many pasta dishes. I highly recommend this!! Thank you, ladies!! ; )
I’m so happy you like this recipe as much as we do! It is my Mom’s “famous” recipe and it is truly the best spaghetti sauce ever – in my humble opinion. 😉
love this recipe and so does everyone else!!