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Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce

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!

Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce in a Jar

This canned spaghetti sauce is HANDS-DOWN the very best with home-grown tomatoes. We are kind of crazy about our tomatoes over here.

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, lucky 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, click here.

MY LATEST RECIPES

 

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 sauce is so versatile it’s sure to become one of your favorite staples, and not just on pasta night. Try it in these delicious recipes:

Water Bath Canning Spaghetti Sauce

This particular recipe for canned spaghetti sauce hasn’t been “officially” tested for water-bath canning. However, after MUCH research, we’ve found that if you add lemon juice to the jars this recipe is acidic enough for canning. Tomatoes are in the “gray area” of having enough acidity, so they might be just fine on their own. But adding a bit of lemon juice ensures their acidity. If you’re still worried, you can pressure can them or add more lemon juice or red wine vinegar.

UPDATE: 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.

Still Not Sure About Canning? Your Questions Answered!

We get it; canning can be intimidating for some. But stick with us here, we can help you!

Can I Add Ground Beef to the Canned Spaghetti Sauce?

  • 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.

Can I Add ___(fill in the blank)___ to this recipe?

  • Be really careful when adding or omitting ingredients to a canning recipe. You are usually fine adding spices but when it comes to adding more produce, meat or anything else it could throw off the acidity levels, thus making unsafe for canning.

How long does Canned Spaghetti Sauce last on the shelf?

  • 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.

Can I freeze the sauce instead of canning it?

  • 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.

Is this sauce gluten free?

  • 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!

How to Make Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce

4.8 from 20 votes
Print

Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce

Prep Time:
1 hr
Cook Time:
1 hr
Processing
40 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs
 
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!
Course: Canning
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Canned Spaghetti Sauce
Servings: 10 quart jars
INGREDIENTS (with Amazon Links)
INSTRUCTIONS

  1. 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). 

  2. Boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove tomatoes one at a time with slotted spoon and plunge in an icewater bath. Peel and quarter tomatoes.

  3. 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).

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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). 

  7. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to 9 or 10 hot 1-quart jars (depending on how much sauce you have). 

  8. Ladle hot mixture into jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace at the top. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 40 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

RECIPE NOTES
The processing time listed is 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.

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Reader Interactions

238 Comments

      • As a canning/preserving instructor I do not recommend steam bath canning anything that processes longer than 20 minutes, rather it should be water bathed. That being said, I would pressure can this recipe, even with the acid being added to each jar.

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    • Hello I made this recipe, I absolutely love it. I made a third of the quantity due not sure how it would turn out. Tastes better than canned sauce. Cannot wait to make some more.

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    • This recipe was based off of several recipes, including Taste of Home and Ball Canning. This is what one of the sources said: “Anything canned in a boiling water bath needs to be high acid (for the science minded types, this means that it has to have a pH of 4.5 or below). This is because botulism cannot grow in high acid environments. However, tomatoes are in the grey zone, typically having a pH right around 4.5. Because of this, tomatoes need to be acidified when canned, so that the acid levels are pushed into the safe zone and the pH becomes something lower than 4.5. That’s why all other good instructions for canning whole tomatoes includes two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice per jar (you can also use citric acid if you prefer).”
      If you are still worried about it you can pressure can it or just freeze it.
      Hopefully this helps clear things up!

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      • Ok, just to be clear- do you add the 1 1/4 c. Lemon juice to the sauce? OR – Do you put 2 tablespoons into the jar just before putting the sauce into the jar?
        Sorry, just want to do it right!

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          • The lemon juice doesn’t need to be heated… it will heat up in the jars when you process them. Where have you heard that the lemon juice needs to be heated??

          • I think Tori meant adding cold lemon juice from the fridge into heated jars can cause them to break.

          • It is such a small amount of lemon juice per jar… I don’t think it will break the jar. I never had any problems with it. I hope this helps!

          • That’s exactly what I meant Barry. I had taken my lemon juice out of the fridge and put 2 tbsp into each jar… on my 5th jar I heard that dreaded “tink” and on inspection I had broken 3 out of the 5 jars (they were brand new so it wasn’t from just age). Anyway, the remainder of the jars I had omitted the lemon juice because I didn’t want to break anymore jars and it turned out great! We survived and this was seriously the BEST sauce we have ever had. So here we are getting ready for another year of harvesting and canning! Thanks for the recipe!!! (It was so worth those broken jars!!) =)

          • So glad you like the recipe and I am glad you survived– though we recommend the lemon juice, we are glad it worked out ok for you without it 🙂

  5. I don’t believe my eyes when I saw your ad on FB today. I’ve been looking for a good homemade sauce recipe. Today, I went to the market and got 25 lbs. of tomatoes, but really couldn’t find a good recipe until I saw your’s … now all I gotta do is get started …. Thanks so much for this recipe and I’ve faved your blog for future recipes.

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      • I was just wondering the same thing. I have very little freezer space and would rather just make smaller portions that I’ll use within a month or so.
        Can I use fresh basil? I have a lovely, healthy plant and hardly ever get to use it. If so, will i need to dry it first in the oven?

        reply to comment

    • I haven’t done this in a pressure canner (I don’t even own a pressure canner). You might want to look for a similar recipe online that is specifically for pressure canning and go off of that. Sorry I’m not of much help here– I just don’t want to point you in the wrong direction since I don’t do pressure canning!

      reply to comment

    • You would process the same amount of time, even if they are in pints. Technically you could probably take a minute or two off but I like to be on the safe side when it comes to canning 🙂

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    • You definitely can… because you use an immersion blender it all gets blended together anyway. If you have huge tomatoes you can definitely cut them up more!

      reply to comment

  12. I have read it a few times now and looks awesome! But… am I missing something? It says to process the green peppers and onions- I don’t see where it says what to do w/ the red bell peppers? Is it supposed to be both bell peppers there?

    Also- for us canning dummies 😉 is it saying to pour the hot sauce into hot jars? How do you recommend getting the jars hot- soaking in hot water..? Sorry to ask probably a super basic questions- but this looks amazing and I’d love to make some- but want to do it right and not waste so much!

    reply to comment

    • You can definitely heat them in water. What I will usually do is run the jars by themselves in the dishwasher and get them out right when the load is done so they are nice and hot. I will take them out of the dishwasher, dry them off, and pour the sauce in. You are right about the peppers, both red and green are processed. I will get that right on the recipe 🙂 Thanks for the catch!

      reply to comment

  15. I just finished my spaghetti sauce. It is delicious!! Mine sauce is quite thin and so I am wondering if I should have let it simmer longer. Anyway just wondering if I added too many tomatoes or if it is just a thinner sauce. Thank you so much for sharing it!!

    reply to comment

    • If you want to thicken it up you can add more tomato paste.. it could have been watery tomatoes or it needed more time to simmer. Could be a number of reasons but tomato paste should fix that 🙂

      reply to comment

  18. Erica, sorry another question…at what point do u do the immersion blender? No where on the recipe did I see that, but I could have missed it. Also does garlic just gets thrown in as a whole clove or do u mince it?

    reply to comment

  19. Finished making a whole batch. First time I have done it from scratch with fresh tomatoes. AND IT WAS AWESOME!!! Even my daughter who usually is very picky and doesn’t eat spaghetti loved it! I did freeze instead of can and the second week it was just as good after defrosting. thanks!!!

    reply to comment

  20. Our extension service says that processing spaghetti sauce in a boiling water bath is not recommended. Do you know why they would say that? I tried this recipe a few weeks ago. It worked great and we really like it, but now I’m wondering if I should go get a pressure canner.

    reply to comment

    • I have read on some sites that they say spaghetti sauce isn’t acidic enough– that is why we added lemon juice to the jars. From all the recipes I have seen online and other canning recipes, I feel confident that the spaghetti sauce is fine (I wouldn’t serve it to my family unless I felt good about it). If you are worried about it you can definitely pressure can or freeze it.

      reply to comment

      • Grew up canning with Mom in a water bath canner. She never had a pressure canner. Didn’t learn to use one till I got married and my mother in law taught me. Mom even waterbathed green beans. (3 HRS) but I am living to tell the story. We never got sick from beans or anything else. If the lid was not sealed when she took it from the basement, she threw it out.
        She did all her tomatoes and peaches water bath too.

        reply to comment

  23. Another great way to skin your tomatoes is to put them whole in the freezer. When they are thawing out the skins slip right off. I found this out because I added tomatoes to the bag in the freezer as they ripened on the tomato plant. Was able to skip the boil/cold bath step completely!

    I also buy onions and bell peppers [esp. the red ones!] when they are on sale, chop them up and freeze in bags of 1 cup each for future recipes.

    reply to comment

    • You can use any kind of tomatoes. We used Early Girl and Park’s Whopper tomatoes last time and it was wonderful. It’s tough to estimate basket sizes… I would say about a 2/3 full 5-gallon bucket is about 25 Lbs.

      reply to comment

  26. Just made a batch of this spaghetti sauce, it is absolutely delicious!!!! Thank you for sharing your recipe!!! I will NEVER, again buy spaghetti sauce in a store, there is no comparison, Thanks again!!!

    reply to comment

  27. I was wondering, can you use a food mill instead of peeling and coring all the tomatoes. My grandma and mom aways used this as it cuts out all that extra time. Or is there a reason you cook it that way?

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  28. Hi ladies:) I am in the middle of many roma tomatoes. I have put them through the food strainer because I have many grand children I watch so I have to work in shifts. I strain all my tomatoes & the next day I make my sauce & can. I need your help in figuring out how many gallons of juice I would use for this recipe? I sure hope you can help this grandma! Thanks for your time.

    Chris

    reply to comment

    • I always leave my unblemished skins on in tomato sauces and when jarring whole or crushed tomatoes. There are a lot of great vitamins and tomato skins. They may add a little bitterness that requires a little spice adjustments. The same is true with using tomato seeds. I use them. I used the Vitamix to blend the sautéed onion and peppers. Worked well. At the end of the cooking process I used the immersion blender, and was so very happy that I did. This recipe filled to the brim my16 quart stock pot. That amount of sauce to process in the Vitamix would’ve been very cumbersome endeavor. The immersion blender (a handheld stick that you insert in the pot to blend) allows you to manage the chunkiness or smoothness of your sauce. That is something that’s very difficult to do in any table top blender. And the whole pot is blended the same. Back to the tomato skins and seeds—the immersion blender broke down all of the skins and most of the seeds. I could’ve ran the immersion blender longer to break down all of the seeds but I really liked the consistency of the sauce that I had. Two thumbs up! 👍😍👍

      reply to comment

  31. Just tried canning with my daughter. We must have done something wrong. I do not have the right canning bath, so I put 4 pint jars in one of my big pans, boiled them covered for 45 minutes. But the lids didn’t pop. What can I do to save it?

    reply to comment

  32. I just made the last night, I woke up in the middle of the night realizing I forgot the garlic, do you think it is still safe? I can just add garlic when I use it??

    reply to comment

  33. I would really love to try this recipe! But It’s just my husband and I. Could I make it on a smaller scale? I’m not a canner so anything left would have to be frozen.

    reply to comment

    • You can definitely make it on a smaller scale.. you could just use a recipe converter to make as much as you would like. This will also freeze well if you want to make extra.

      reply to comment

    • Hi Gloria– definitely feel free to modify to your tastes. Last time I doubled the herbs and added a little more salt and it was wonderful. Some people like more Italian flavor, some like it more minimal. I usually taste and add, taste and add until it’s perfect. What type of tomatoes did you use? That can affect the taste, too.

      reply to comment

        • I see this is an older post, but in the hopes it can help other people thinking of trying this recipe I thought I would reply. I know that the brown sugar can settle on the bottom and caramelize if not stirred frequent enough….I would think that may be the bbq taste you got (sweeter) and even the tomato paste can settle at the bottom and burn giving off a different flavor. Just ideas I’m throwing out as I haven’t seen anyone else comment on that flavor and this is my second batch I’m making today!

          reply to comment

  36. Okay so I don’t can. It’s pretty intimidating for me, so I’m really just interested in this recipe for a small batch… for a one time dinner. Any idea how I might adjust for that?

    reply to comment

    • I haven’t ever made this as a non-canning dish before. You could probably just adjust for how many pounds of tomatoes you are using and divide the ingredient amounts by that number. Hope this helps!

      reply to comment

  37. I need some help. I had 25lbs of tomatos that I froze and have thawed out. There is a LOT of water it seems. The water level is almost as high in the pot as the tomatoes, should I drain some of it? All of it? Thank you!

    reply to comment

    • I have never heard of using frozen tomatoes for canning before so I’m not exactly sure. There shouldn’t be much or any water– it should just be pure tomato juices. If it isn’t boiling down and thickening right, I would definitely drain the water off

      reply to comment

  39. Hi Erica,
    I just bought a electric Pressure Cooker and was wondering if I could make the Sauce in it? I have never used it before so kind of scared. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    reply to comment

    • A pressure cooker or pressure canner? A pressure cooker would be great to make the sauce in– it just needs to be in something where is will simmer down to the thickness you would like. The only issue I could see with a pressure cooker is that it is typically something you would cover– which might make it difficult for the excess steam/moisture to boil off. When you boil it on the stovetop you keep it uncovered so it can reduce down. I haven’t tried it in a pressure cooker though so it might be totally fine! I know this might not seem like a whole lot of help– let me know if you try it and how it turns out. I would definitely be interested to know!

      reply to comment

  40. Hi Erica. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I am curious if you have tried it with red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice? Also, I would like to use pints instead of quarts so I assume only one tablespoon of juice at the bottom of each jar then? Thank you.

    reply to comment

    • Yes, if you do pints, just do 1 Tbsp of lemon juice– as far as the substitution goes, you will probably want to stick with lemon juice just to make sure you have enough acidity. I’m not sure red wine vinegar has enough.

      reply to comment

  41. Just made this last Sunday. Tastes great but one question. Why process so long? Mine was a great consistency after 2 hrs and seems to have thickened more over the last week. Thanks
    Cassandra

    reply to comment

    • The processing time is for safety for canning. As far as the simmering goes, if you like the consistency after just 2 hours you won’t need to simmer any longer! If you are happy with it– great!

      reply to comment

  43. I already diced my tomatoes from the garden and froze them in a bag. I would now like to can them and use this recipe. I have 22 pounds that I have diced up already and kept the juice also. I saw that if you use a canned diced tomato, you should add sauce. Do you think I should add sauce, or is the juice enough? I am hoping 22 pounds is enough, considering I already skinned them and cut out the cores. Do you think 22 pounds with sauce will work?

    reply to comment

  44. Hi!!

    I’ve made your sauce one other time and it was awesome! I remember last time I made it, I was a little confused with the processing instructions.

    Your instructions say:
    “Process for 40 minutes in a boiling-water canner.”

    Just to be *crystal* clear, you mean to submerge the jars in boiling water (cover by 1inch) and then boil for 40 mins… Right?

    I may just be having a brain fart, but I cannot remember what I did last time I made this sauce!! I *think* I processed it in a pressure canner, but I cannot remember how long or at what pressure.

    Can you clarify? This recipe is definitely a keeper!! It’s going into the Family Bible (what we call my Grandmother’s cookbook).

    Thanks!

    reply to comment

    • Yes, you are right. You will want to use an actually water-bath canner (I am assuming that is what you have). You can do it in a pressure canner but since I don’t have one myself, I don’t know what times and pressure to recommend. I hope I was able to answer your question! So glad you like the recipe! It is a favorite around here, too!

      reply to comment

  45. Sorry haven’t tried your sauce yet. Just did my own and am commenting for those asking about pressure canning. I process @ 11# for 20 min for quarts, 15 min for pints. Have not had a problem in 40 years of canning. My sauce has mushrooms in it also just an FYI. Your sauce looks wonderful, think I will try it next time, enjoy trying new things!

    reply to comment

    • Yes, you can– you would want to probably do 1/4 to 1/5 of the recipe and just put it in the crock pot.. depending on the size of your crock pot.

      reply to comment

  47. Delicious! I’ve been canning tomatoes for some time, but spaghetti sauce was a first for me. I have a huge basil plant and so I used fresh basil, about two cups. (We really like our basil.) Otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Thanks!

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  50. Thanks the recipe. I looked around for a good pasta sauce that could be canned – either pressure or hot water. I followed the recipe exactly. I did not saute the onions and peppers (since some folks think this is controversial). The sauce took about 5 hours to reduce. I was hoping this was as good as the sauce I made last year. Well, gotta say, this recipe knocked it out of the ball park. It is nice, thick, spicy, delish! Some small children might like it due to the pepper flakes. I didn’t know what kind of onions to use – so I used a couple varieties. I love my salsa thick, rich and flavorful, and this recipe delivers. I yielded 9 quarts. Thanks for sharing.

    reply to comment

  52. I am interested in making this. I am new to canning and was wondering if I could add carrots, zucchini and olives to it? I love texture in my sauce!

    reply to comment

    • You need to be careful when adding veggies when canning because it can throw off the PH-balance. I don’t know for sure what those veggies would do to the balance but if I were you I would add them when you are preparing your meal AFTER you have already canned, but that is just me. I would saute the carrots, zucchini, and olives and then pour the sauce over and heat before serving. Hope this helps!

      reply to comment

  54. Ah, I found this again! Last year I made this recipe and canned it, gave it to coworkers and everyone raved about it. Sadly, I did not bookmark the site, so I feared that I had lost it! It’s time to make some more sauce today, and absolutely LOVE this recipe! Thanks for posting it for me to find (and again a second time).

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  55. I looked and looked and looked for a spaghetti sauce recipe i thought would be worth my time trying to make. I have been so excited to try this recipe and we finally have enough tomatoes to try it! We are getting ready to make it and I will be posting back with how it goes and our opinions of it!

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  56. Simmering now and it smells delish! It seems to be reducing nicely after 2 hours — will it continue to reduce (and get thicker) after more time?

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  57. Hi. Am curious as to why if they are growing tomatoes with less acidity,why can with lemon juice,wouldn’t it make more sense to grow the tomatoes they were instead of creating a problem for people who home can.I have been canning for 40+years,never had any problems.no I didn’t add citric acid nor lemon juice to any of my sauces,juices,soup,ketchup all which were made using roma an beefy tomatoes.

    reply to comment

  60. What is the shelf life for this spaghetti sauce once canned thru the water bath process? I don’t think I saw that anywhere on the recipe. Excited to try the recipe ????

    reply to comment

    • You can totally use the ninja blender.. you will just have to do it in batches and may be a little more messy. If you like it a little on the chunky sire you can just pulse it until you get the consistency you like. Hope this helps!

      reply to comment

  62. Hi, I am just making your sauce pretty close to your ingredients, I like it chunky so left my mushrooms (which I added) and peppers and onion a little chunky. Last time I made it i used a food processor for peppers and onions and they were really cooked out when sauce was done. as when I buy canned sauce I always buy the chunky style and we like that. Thanks for your recipe,

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  64. Added fresh mushrooms after about 2 hrs and also 1 LB of browned and strained hamburger. Didn’t blend the onions, garlic or peppers – but we chop them very fine – and substituted Red Chili pepper flakes instead of red pepper flakes for a bit more bite. Also added 1 TBSP of smoked paprika and this came out the best I’ve ever had. I added the lemon/lime (yes I used half lemon and half lime instead of only lemon) to the entire mixture about 30 minutes before canning. It will all be gone within 3 months anyways! Doing this because we have such a huge crop of tomatoes this year.

    reply to comment

    • So glad you like this recipe! Hopefully you pressure canned this if you used ground beef… I don’t think it is safe to use a water bath or steam canner if you are adding protein. :/

      reply to comment

  65. My home smelled amazing! Every time my DH walked into the kitchen, he took in a big breath and of course a sample. I followed your recipe very close, only added a few jalapenos and used fresh basil. I had about 30 lbs of field tomatoes and ended up with 11 quarts. I am so happy I found your sauce. I have been canning for many, many years and by far this is one of the best recipes I have every done. This totally ROCKED!

    reply to comment

    • Rebecca— Thank you so much for the nice comment! 😀 I am so glad you like the spaghetti sauce. Thanks for sharing how many quarts you yielded with your tomatoes. That is always helpful to other readers so they know what to expect. Great idea using jalapeños and fresh basil, too. YUM!

      reply to comment

  66. I have made the Taste Of Home recipe 2 years in a row and then came across this one. I am going to use this as I like the 4 red peppers vs the green as the red are usually sweeter. Also no canola oil in yours which I like and brown sugar vs white. I am going to make this tonight and can’t wait to see which I like better (a little worried about the soy sauce but I will trust)

    reply to comment

    • haha I know the soy sauce sounds weird, I promise you won’t be able to even taste it. It just gives a deeper flavor that just salt alone. I actually always add a little soy sauce when I make spaghetti sauce (even when I am not canning it)! So excited for you to try it, be sure to let me know what you think!

      reply to comment

  70. Hello! I canned this recipe last season and it was wonderful! I’m wanting to make a batch for a fundraiser and was wondering how many ounces of tomato sauce would I need to substitute for fresh tomatoes?
    Thanks so much!

    reply to comment

    • I haven’t measured out how many oz. of tomato sauce … instead of tomato sauce I would probably use crushed tomatoes. For a whole batch you would need quite a few! Do the cans of crushed tomatoes say how many tomatoes are in each can? That would give us a start to figuring out how many to use!

      reply to comment

  71. Hey ! We’re building a house so I want to have plenty of recipes for next spring !
    How much does this make in pints?
    We have 12 acres, I’m thrilled to get started , I’ve canned strawberry jam and tomatoes last year .. nothing to crazy !

    reply to comment

    • Hi Jennifer– For each quart jar you should be able to get about 2 pints. I am guessing you will get about 18-20 pints jars for each batch. Good luck with all the new land! That should be a blast!

      reply to comment

  73. Would it be ok to make it without taking the seeds out. I ran across this recipe after I had already started cooking the tomatoes with the seeds in.

    reply to comment

    • It isn’t as sweet as Prego sauce, but it our favorite spaghetti sauce to use now! You could probably add a little extra sugar to make it sweeter like Prego if you wanted to, but I wouldn’t overdo it. If you want to make it thicker like prego when serving, just add a small can of tomato paste to the sauce when heating before serving (after it has been canned and you are pulling it off the shelf to eat). It will be nice and thick like Prego. Hope this helps!

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  75. Unfortunately, my family and I didn’t care for the sauce. The flavor was much too strong and spicy for our taste. I also found it to be quite oily when cooked for 4 hours and extremely dark in color. The Worcestershire sauce just didn’t do it for us.

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    • Sorry this was a miss for you! I’m not sure what you mean by “oily”.. I can’t say that I have had it turn out oily before. You can definitely leave the Worcestershire sauce and red pepper flakes out if it isn’t to your liking! Feel free to modify how you see fit. :/

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  78. Recipe sounds good. But I would pressure can it. Let me tell you why. The lemon juice is sufficient if we’re only canning tomatoes but recipe also has peppers and onions, both low acid foods. Those must be pressure canned.

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  80. I am also new to canning, started this year with pepper jelly, and other jellies. Anyhow, it seems like no one has had an issue with botulism since this has posted. I was wondering, if I make and can about half, would it help prevent something like botulism if it was stored in the refrigerator? Just a thought. I plan on making it. I think I read this somewhere else about canning, that if you are concerned you could keep it in the fridge. I am so excited to try it… We have a family dinner every week and I think this is what we will be having this week! In fact, today I am playing hooky from work because I have so many tomatoes and other stuff to can that I needed an extra day, especially with the cold weather coming in early this year.

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    • Yes, you can absolutely keep it in the fridge. The nice thing about canning, though, is that you can keep all the jars in your pantry where there is more space. This recipe usually makes a nice big batch so storing them in the fridge may be difficult. It would work great if you maybe had an extra fridge? We haven’t had anyone write in with an issue with canning and storing normally so you are probably ok not storing them in the fridge if you didn’t want to!

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  81. I forgot to add the lemon juice to the jars before canning. Can I empty and wash the jars and reheat the sauce and start over with the canning process? This is my second batch and we love it! First batch I added the lemon juice????

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  82. THIS IS THE BEST!!!!!!
    I’m so glad I pushed on this choice when my choices for making sauce came up! Thank you for sharing this family secret, no longer buying bottled ????

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  83. When quartering the tomatoes, do you remove the seeds before blending?
    This is a must try recipe when my tomato harvest is in.
    Thanks for your response.

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  85. WOW! Made this sauce this past weekend and it is AMAZING. Better than Prego! Took quite a bit of time, but so worth it! I followed the recipe exactly and got 10 quarts. Will be making more as long as my tomato plants keep producing. I am so glad I found this recipe; thanks for posting it!

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  87. I have a lot of green peppers to be used up. Would it change the taste much to switch out red for green?
    Also, any suggestions for using frozen tomatoes…I’m assuming they will be extra runny…
    Excited to try this!

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  88. I am making this now and realize I will not have enough time to let it simmer before I have to run around with the kids. Do you think it will be okay to simmer for a while now and complete the process when I come back later tonight?

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  89. This is the most amazing sauce! However, like some of the above posters, I do not feel comfortable preserving it with only a water bath. Some canning references go so far as to suggest a full mixed-vegetables long processing for a recipe like this. However, I found a very similar recipe on the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They recommended 11 pounds/20 minutes for pints, and 25 minutes for quarts, with the normal adjustments for altitude.

    Here is the link to the NCHFP recipe I found: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/spaghetti_sauce.html

    Your recipe is much better. Thank you for sharing it!!

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  91. Can you clarify if it really has to cook. For 4-5hours. The time outline at the beginning of the recipe doesn’t align with what’s in the recipe. 4-5 hours seems like a long time.

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    • It is up to 4-5 hours. Technically it will taste fine after 10 minutes simmering or so.. but for the BEST taste, you will want to simmer longer. This really give the tomatoes a chance to simmer down and have a deeper flavor. It also allows all the flavors to really blend together nicely. Hope this helps!

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  92. I am unsure how many tomatoes I started with, but I have the pulp ready to go. Wondering how many cups/quarts/etc. of pulp this recipe would require? Thank you!

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  93. This is my first time canning and I love the taste of this recipe. But I forgot to add the lemon juice! Am I doomed? Should I just toss the jars in the freezer or pop the lids and add it?

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    • Oh nooooo! You may be able to get away with it but I would do what you suggested in your comment just to be safe. I would either freeze them or re-process them after adding the lemon juice. Those acidity levels are crucial when canning. Be sure to seal with new lids if re-processing. Hope this helps!

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  94. Every year I hot water can salsa with the tomatoes and hot peppers I grow and I got about 30 pints of it this year. I’ve always wanted to can a batch of “gravy” as some in my family call it (tomato/spaghetti sauce) and after a particularly bountiful haul of tomatoes this weekend I decided that the time for me to try to make it was now. I came across your recipe and went to it. I didn’t quarter the tomatoes, I chopped them with a knife and I didn’t use an immersion blender. I always remove the seeds when I make salsa, but I left them in for this sauce and I’m happy with it that way. The only variations I made was I went with 6 small cans of tomato paste instead of 4 because I like a thicker sauce and I went with a half teaspoon of ground cayenne because I discovered I was out of red pepper flakes. I tried it before I canned it and it is delicious! I can’t wait to have it on my pasta later this week! I ended up with 10 quarts which is perfect. I’m definitely saving this recipe, and the next time I make it I think I may roast the peppers beforehand.

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    • Hi Michael – Thank you for your nice comment! I love the idea of roasting the vegetables beforehand. I have been wanting to try roasting them but every time I get in the canning mood, I always forget. Definitely going to try with my next batch! Hopefully I can squeeze in one more big batch this year. Thank you so much for the 5-stars!

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  95. This turned out awesome! Very, very good! Only thing I changed was the tomato type, I used roma tomatoes and I sliced them in large slices, brushed them with garlic oil and roasted them in the oven for about 1.5hrs at 425. I then put everything in a blender and blended it all, then in to canning jars and processed for 40 min. Best ever!! Thank you for the great recipe!
    Todd H

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    • Thank you so much for your comment! I’m so happy you like the recipe. Using roasted Roma tomatoes with garlic oil is genius. It sounds so flavorful! Don’t you just love having all of those jars of delicious spaghetti sauce in the pantry?!

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  96. Hi! My tomatoes are finally getting a nice rich color and I am I credibly excited to dive into the world of homemade pasta sauce- but I was wondering if heirloom tomatoes would work with this recipe?

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  97. I was looking for a new recipe to do the last of my tomatoes and came across this one. What an awesome discovery! We got 9 quarts from it. We will never make Mrs. Wages again! What a great way to end our canning season. I think next year I may juice half the tomatoes so we don’t have so many seeds. I could eat this sauce plain it has such good flavor. Thank you!

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  98. I’m going to try this recipe as it looks the best that I’ve seen but I am making it for my husband who is a bit picky about his spag sauce lol. He likes meat in it and likes cinnamon in his sauce. I’m not sure if I should add the cinnamon or not, do you think it will clash with the soya?

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  99. I used a Victoria Strainer last year instead of removing skins using a water bath and then blending the tomatoes. It worked great and the kids loved to crank the handle for me.

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  100. I can’t wait to give this a try. I wonder if anyone has tried… 1. Fixing the sauce in an Instant Pot and/or 2. Canning then in an Instant Pot?
    Can you tell I got an Instant Pot for Christmas? 😉

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  102. 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!

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