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This Canned Spaghetti Sauce Recipe is one of my favorite ways to use up a big batch of fresh garden tomatoes. It is rich, savory, thick enough to cling to pasta, and so much better than anything I can buy at the store. I love having jars of homemade spaghetti sauce on the pantry shelf because it makes dinner feel half done before I even start.
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Best sauce ever. I use it in my rigatoni bake for potlucks, and I received tons of compliments and requests for the recipe. My children do not want spaghetti unless I use this sauce.” – Jennifer
“I tried this recipe for the first time last summer using all ingredients from my garden. This recipe was to die for! The worst part was I only made 9 quarts and should have made more.” – Kristina
“I have been using this recipe for several batches. It is so good everyone loves it. Thank you for sharing.” – Jole
Why I Love This Canned Spaghetti Sauce
We are a little tomato-crazy in our family, and this recipe is one of the big reasons why. Every year when the garden starts producing more tomatoes than we can eat fresh, I start thinking about canned spaghetti sauce. There is just something so satisfying about lining up those jars and knowing I have homemade sauce ready for busy nights, lasagna, soups, casseroles, and quick pasta dinners.
This recipe has also become a family favorite because it has passed the Dad test. My dad loves Italian food and is very picky about spaghetti sauce. It has to have the right balance of tomato flavor, seasoning, sweetness, and richness. When we served this sauce at family dinner, he loved it so much that he used a spoon to get every last bit off his plate. That is about the best review I could ask for.
🩷 Erica
Table of Contents
- 5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Why I Love This Canned Spaghetti Sauce
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- How to Make Canned Spaghetti Sauce
- Altitude Adjustments
- Recipe Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Make Ahead and Storage
- Our Family History with Tomatoes
- Acidity Testing for Canned Spaghetti Sauce
- Water Bath Canning vs Pressure Canning
- Where to Find Canning Jars and Cookers
- Pairing Ideas
- More Canning Recipes
- Canned Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Tomatoes: Fresh garden tomatoes are best. I have used Roma, Celebrity, Early Girl, Park’s Whopper, San Marzano, Beefsteak, and even a few cherry tomatoes mixed in.
- Onions and bell peppers: These add body and flavor to the sauce. Red bell peppers add a little sweetness, and green bell pepper gives it a classic savory flavor.
- Tomato paste: This helps thicken the sauce and gives it a deeper tomato flavor.
- Soy sauce: It sounds a little strange in spaghetti sauce, but it deepens the savory tomato flavor. Use gluten-free soy sauce if needed.
- Worcestershire sauce: This adds richness and a little meaty flavor without adding meat.
- Brown sugar: A little sweetness balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic gives the sauce the best flavor.
- Spices: Dried oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and bay leaves give the sauce that classic homemade spaghetti sauce taste.
- Bottled lemon juice: This is added directly to the jars for water bath or steam canning. Bottled lemon juice is recommended because the acidity is consistent. The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon citric acid per quart of tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon citric acid per pint.
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
Canning spaghetti sauce is different from making a regular pot of sauce for dinner. With a fresh sauce, you can add a handful of this and a little more of that. With canning, you need to be much more careful because changing ingredients can affect acidity, thickness, and processing safety.
- Sugar and salt: These can be adjusted to taste. Start with the recipe amount, taste as the sauce simmers, and adjust a little at a time.
- Soy sauce: Use gluten-free soy sauce if you need this canned spaghetti sauce recipe to be gluten-free.
- Citric acid: You can use citric acid instead of bottled lemon juice. Use ½ teaspoon citric acid per quart jar or ¼ teaspoon per pint jar.
- Tomato varieties: A mix of paste tomatoes and juicy garden tomatoes works really well. Roma and San Marzano tomatoes make a thicker sauce, while larger garden tomatoes add fresh flavor.
- Frozen tomatoes: Frozen tomatoes can be used. Thaw them first and drain off extra liquid so the sauce does not take as long to thicken.
- Fresh herbs: For water bath canning, stick with the dried herbs in the recipe because that is how the recipe has been tested. If you want fresh basil, parsley, mushrooms, extra garlic, or meat, add those after opening the jar.
- Meat: Do not add ground beef, sausage, or meat if you are water bath canning this recipe. If you want a meat sauce, add cooked meat when you open the jar, or use a tested pressure-canning recipe for spaghetti sauce with meat.
How to Make Canned Spaghetti Sauce
- Peel the tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Add the tomatoes to the boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the skins begin to split. Move them to the ice water, then peel and quarter the tomatoes over a large bowl so you save all the juices.
- Prepare the vegetables. Pulse the onions and bell peppers in a food processor until finely chopped. You can sauté them first in a little oil with a pinch of salt for extra flavor, or add them straight to the sauce.
- Simmer the sauce. Add the tomatoes, chopped vegetables, tomato paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, garlic, salt, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves to a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 4 to 5 hours, stirring often so the sauce does not scorch.
- Blend and prepare the jars. Remove the bay leaves. Use an immersion blender if you want a smoother sauce, or leave it chunkier if that is how you like it. Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to each hot jar before filling.
- Fill the jars. Ladle the hot sauce into hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims clean, and add the lids and rings.
- Process and cool. Process the jars using the water bath canning or pressure canning. When processing is finished, let the jars cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check the seals, label the jars, and store them in a cool, dark place.
Altitude Adjustments
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.
Pressure Canning – process at 11 pounds pressure up to 2,000 feet elevation, increasing by 1 pound for every 2,000 feet (12 lbs for 2,001–4,000 ft, 13 lbs for 4,001–6,000 ft, and 14 lbs for 6,001–8,000 ft).
Recipe Tips
- Weigh the tomatoes before peeling. That is how we measure them for this recipe.
- Use hot sauce and hot jars. Hot sauce going into hot jars helps prevent cracking.
- Do not skip the bottled lemon juice for water bath canning. Add it directly to each jar, not to the whole pot of sauce.
- Include the pepper juice. If liquid comes out when you pulse the bell peppers, add it to the sauce.
- Stir often while simmering. Tomatoes can scorch on the bottom of the pot, especially once the sauce starts to thicken.
- Use an electric roaster carefully. It can work for cooking down a large batch, but I would not leave it unattended overnight. Stir it often and watch for burning.
- Thicken by simmering longer. The final yield can change depending on how juicy your tomatoes are and how long the sauce reduces.
- Use an immersion blender for smooth sauce. For chunkier sauce, pulse the vegetables less and skip the blending.
- Do not over-tighten the rings. Fingertip tight is enough.
- Check every seal. Any jar that does not seal should be refrigerated and used soon or reprocessed with a new lid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do not, I repeat, do NOT skip this step if you are water bath or steam canning. Stick a reminder note on your jars or tie a ribbon on your finger so you don’t forget. You absolutely can not safely water bath or steam 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.
Fresh garden tomatoes are always the best choice. I’ve had great results with Roma, Celebrity, Early Girl, Park’s Whopper, San Marzano, and Beefsteak varieties. And when I have extras, I even toss in a handful of cherry tomatoes!
The number of tomatoes in 25 pounds really depends on the variety and size of the tomatoes. If you’re using smaller varieties like Roma or plum tomatoes, you’ll get about 70–80 tomatoes in 25 pounds. For medium-sized tomatoes, it’s closer to 55–65, and for large beefsteak tomatoes, you can expect around 35–40. So in general, 25 pounds of tomatoes will give you somewhere between 35 and 80 tomatoes, depending on the size.
Do not add ground beef or sausage to this recipe if you are canning it. If you want meat sauce, add cooked meat after opening the jar, freeze the sauce instead of canning it, or follow a tested pressure-canning recipe specifically written for spaghetti sauce with meat.
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. When it comes to canning it’s best to stick with a tried and tested recipe and don’t deviate.
For best quality, use home-canned spaghetti sauce within 1 year. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place. If a jar loses its seal, leaks, bulges, smells off, or looks moldy, throw it away.
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.
It can be. The ingredient to watch is soy sauce, so use a gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos if needed. Also check your Worcestershire sauce label.
I always peel the tomatoes and remove the rough stem area but they don’t need to be seeded. If you prefer to remove the seeds you certainly can. If you decide to leave the skins on, it won’t change the acidity but it will change the texture.
If you can get it to all fit, sure! Just simmer in the Crock Pot with the lid off until it reaches your desired thickness.
Yes, please adjust the sugar and salt to your personal liking. It will not affect the acidity so taste as you go and adjust in small amounts.
The amount of jars this recipe yields really depends on the water content of the tomatoes and how long you reduce the sauce. You can get more or less than what the recipe says depending on how thick you make it.
The easiest way is to just let it simmer until it thickens. You can also add tomato paste to thicken if needed.
If you like it more chunky, you can just roughly chop the tomatoes and veggies instead of blending.
YES. You can use ½ teaspoon of citric acid instead of lemon juice. Citric acid is more concentrated so you will need less. I like using lemon juice because it’s cheaper and more accessible but either one works.
I do not recommend swapping dried herbs for fresh herbs if you are water bath canning this recipe, unless the recipe has been tested that way. Add fresh basil, parsley, or other herbs after opening the jar.
We weigh our tomatoes before peeling.
Yes, frozen tomatoes work. Thaw them first and drain off extra water before making the sauce. This helps the sauce thicken faster and keeps it from tasting watery.
Yes, you can halve the recipe. Keep the same amount of bottled lemon juice or citric acid per jar. For quarts, use 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon citric acid per jar. For pints, use 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon citric acid per jar.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Make ahead: You can wash and sort the tomatoes the day before. You can also chop the onions and peppers ahead of time and refrigerate them until you are ready to make the sauce.
- Using frozen tomatoes: If you freeze tomatoes as they ripen, thaw them in a strainer over a large bowl or pot so extra water can drain away before cooking.
- Shelf storage: Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place. I like to use home-canned sauce within a year for best quality.
- After opening: Refrigerate opened jars and use them within a few days.
- Freezing instead of canning: This sauce freezes well. Let it cool, portion it into freezer-safe containers or bags, and freeze for several months. Freezing is also the best option if you want to add extra vegetables or meat without worrying about canning safety.
Our Family History with Tomatoes
Growing tomatoes has always been a family thing for us. Our Uncle Larry is one of the best gardeners I know. He has studied gardening, taught gardening, and somehow seems to know every trick for getting plants to grow. We joke that he has ten green thumbs. He shared so many of his garden tips with our mom, and she has always grown a beautiful garden too. See our full guide for growing tomatoes.
Tomatoes are one of those things that connect our family year after year. We compare what varieties we planted, how the crop is doing, what we have canned, and what we still need to make. Some of my favorite memories are from the kitchen with baskets of tomatoes on the counter and a huge pot of sauce simmering on the stove.
This canned spaghetti sauce recipe came from that tradition. We have tweaked it over the years, tested it, made it for family dinners, and served it to my very picky Italian-food-loving dad. When he approved it, we knew we had a keeper.
Acidity Testing for Canned Spaghetti Sauce
Tomatoes can be tricky for canning because their acidity can vary by variety, ripeness, and growing conditions. The CDC classifies low-acid foods as foods with a pH higher than 4.6, and low-acid foods need special care because they are the foods most often linked with botulism in home canning.
We have tested this recipe for safe water bath canning nine times, exactly as written, and it has consistently tested in the safe range, between 3.7 and 4.2 pH. A pH of 4.6 or lower is considered the key cutoff for high-acid foods. We have used Roma tomatoes, Celebrity, Park’s Whopper, and other red garden varieties with success. Even with that testing, it is still important to follow the recipe as written, use bottled lemon juice or citric acid in each jar for water bath canning, and follow trusted Home Food Preservation Guidelines.
Water Bath Canning vs Pressure Canning
Water Bath Canning is the method I use when I make this canned spaghetti sauce recipe as written with bottled lemon juice added to each jar. It works for high-acid foods or properly acidified foods. A boiling-water canner needs enough water to cover the tops of the jars, and the water needs to stay boiling for the full processing time.
Pressure Canning uses higher temperatures than water bath canning and is required for low-acid foods like meat, vegetables, and sauces with meat. Some tested tomato recipes also include pressure-canning instructions, but that does not mean you can freely change the recipe. For tomato products, you still need to follow the tested recipe, use the correct jar size, process for the full time, adjust for altitude, and add bottled lemon juice or citric acid when the recipe calls for it. The National Center for Home Food Preservation lists spaghetti sauce without meat as a pressure-canning recipe with processing times of 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts, with pressure adjusted for altitude.
For this recipe, follow the processing instructions in the recipe card and do not guess on processing time. If you are new to canning, read through our Canning 101 post or your canner manual before starting and double-check your altitude.
Where to Find Canning Jars and Cookers
You can usually find canning jars at grocery stores, Walmart, Target, farm supply stores, hardware stores, and online. I like 1-quart canning jars from Ball for spaghetti sauce because one jar is a great amount for pasta night, lasagna, or a casserole. Pint jars are nice for smaller meals, pizza sauce, or recipes that only need a little sauce.
A few things to remember:
- Use jars made for home canning.
- Check jars for chips or cracks before filling.
- Use new lids each time for canning.
- Rings can be reused as long as they are not rusty or bent.
- If you find jars secondhand, inspect them carefully and buy new lids.
- You can use these jars for other recipes like canning fresh tomatoes, canning peaches, or canning pears.
For a weighted-gauge pressure canner, I like to use the Presto 16-Quart Pressure Canner, which is great for canning spaghetti sauce. I found mine at Walmart and it has worked great for me. You can also find good ones on Amazon.
Pairing Ideas
This canned spaghetti sauce is perfect over spaghetti, but I use it for so much more than pasta night. It is great in Lasagna with Cottage Cheese, Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Shells, Easy Chicken Cacciatore, Baked Ziti, Pasta e Fagioli Soup, Minestrone, and any recipe that calls for jarred marinara or spaghetti sauce. You can also simmer it a little longer after opening a jar and use it as pizza sauce. Any of these Italian dishes are amazing with our Homemade Breadsticks or Garlic Bread.
More Canning Recipes
- Canning Homemade Tomato Juice
- How to Can Peaches
- How to Can Pears
- Pickled Beets
- Virginia Chunk Sweet Pickles
- Jalapeño Jelly
This Canned Spaghetti Sauce Recipe is one of the best ways to turn fresh garden tomatoes into something you will use all year long. It is rich, savory, family-tested, and so convenient to have on the pantry shelf. Be sure to read through the tips and FAQs before you start, especially if you are new to canning spaghetti sauce.
Still have a question? Check the comments because we have answered lots of canning questions there over the years. If you do not see what you need, leave a comment and I will do my best to help. And if you make this recipe, please leave a rating and let me know how it turned out! 💛🍅🍝
Canned Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 25 pounds tomatoes, (Any garden variety. I have used Roma, Celebrity, Whopper, Early Girl, Beefsteak, San Marzano, and even handfuls of cherry tomatoes)
- 5 medium onions, (about 7-8 cups chopped)
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 green bell pepper
- 4 (6oz) cans tomato paste
- 1/4 cup 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 canning salt, also called pickling 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 adding small amounts to each jar
Instructions
- Fill a large pot or Dutch oven halfway with water and bring it to a boil. Working in batches, add tomatoes and boil for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the skins begin to split.
- Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and place them in an ice water bath. Peel and quarter the tomatoes over a large bowl so you save the juices. Remove the tough stem area. The tomatoes do not need to be seeded.
- In a food processor, pulse the onions and bell peppers in batches until finely chopped. For extra flavor, you can sauté the peppers and onions in a little oil with a pinch of salt before adding them to the sauce.
- In a large stockpot, combine the tomatoes, onion and pepper mixture, tomato paste, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, salt, garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 4 to 5 hours, stirring every 15 minutes or so to prevent scorching. Remove and discard the bay leaves. For a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
- Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each hot quart jar, or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each hot pint jar. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims clean, and add lids and rings.Do not forget the lemon juice! If you forget to add the lemon juice you will need to open the jars, add the juice, replace with new lids, and reprocess.
For Water Bath Canning:
- Process quart jars for 40 minutes in a boiling-water canner for altitudes of 1,000 feet or less. Adjust processing time for higher altitudes:1,001 to 3,000 feet: add 5 minutes3,001 to 6,000 feet: add 10 minutes6,001 to 8,000 feet: add 15 minutes8,001 to 10,000 feet: add 20 minutes
Notes
- This recipe usually makes 9 to 10 quart jars, but yield can vary depending on the water content of your tomatoes and how long you simmer the sauce.
- Weigh tomatoes before peeling.
- Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid directly to each jar, not to the pot of sauce.
- If using citric acid instead of bottled lemon juice, use ½ teaspoon per quart jar or ¼ teaspoon per pint jar.
- Do not skip the acid for water bath or steam canning.
- Do not add meat if you are water bath canning this recipe.
- Do not increase the onions, peppers, garlic, or other low-acid ingredients for canning.
- Frozen tomatoes can be used. Thaw and drain them first for a thicker sauce.
- Stir the sauce often while simmering so it does not burn on the bottom.
- Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place and use within a year for best quality.
- Refrigerate any jar that does not seal and use it soon.
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I was wondering if anyone has had success replacing the brown sugar with Sukrin Gold Brown sugar alternative and the soy sauce with coconut aminos?
If you elect to freeze the sauce would you eliminate the lemon juice? Thanks!
Yes! You don’t need the lemon juice if you are freezing.
Does this recipe use canning salt or just regular salt?
We just use regular salt, but I’m sure canning salt would work too!
Can you use citric acid instead of lemon juice?
Sure!
Can you add garlic? My man loves it?
Yes, you should be fine adding garlic. 🙂
Can I use sliced peppers and onions instead of chopping them?
Sure!
If pressure canning do you need the lemon juice?
Yes. The tomatoes don’t add enough acidity by themselves.
I forgot to add the lemon juice!!! The jars are already boiling. What do I do? Is it all ruined now?
Unfortunately, I would not continue with the canning. I would freeze it instead. The acidity level won’t be right and it will be unsafe.
How many cups of tomato’s would this be?
One pound of tomatoes is about 1.5 cups chopped. Hope this helps!
I accidently added the lemon juice to tomatoe sauce instead of jars. Should I still add the lemon juice in jars before I pressure cook them?
I don’t like green peppers. Can I leave those out of the recipe? Or is it not a noticeable taste in the finished recipe?
I don’t think its very noticeable, especially because it is pureed. However, if you are worried about it you can substitute more of another pepper.
Could I cut the peppers down to 2 green and 1 red? I will be pressure canning. Also if I’m doing multiple batches would it be okay to make the sauce and leave it in the fridge a day or two before heating back up to can?
Yes to both of your questions!
I made this recipe last year, it was amazing! Just wondering if I use more green peppers than red, will it mess with the acidity level?
I think that should be fine!
This is the third year we are making this sauce. It is delicious and the only spaghetti sauce my granddaughter wants to eat anymore. We use a Victoria Strainer to put the tomatoes through. It removes the skin and seeds and produces the maximum amount of pulp. It makes it so easy and quick to prepare the tomatoes for cooking. We use 2 – 18 ounce cans of tomato paste, fresh basil and Italian parsley from my herb garden, only 1 tsp of red pepper and 1 cup of dry red wine. Perfecto! We also pressure can the sauce per the recipe. We make 2 batches so we can give some as Christmas gifts.
Making the sauce tomorrow. Can I use a Nesco roaster to simmer the sauce for the 4 hours?
I’m not sure what a Nesco Roaster is, but as long as it heats the sauce to a simmer you should be fine!
Making the recipe now and it tastes great! I want to make a second batch but don’t have enough bell peppers. What do you think about using Italian peppers instead of bell peppers?
I think that would work!
This was delicious! Best recipe I have tried so far! I did NOT blanch and peel my tomatoes because that is a lot of work. It was not a necessary step! I just rough chopped up everything, threw it in the pot together with the other ingredients and cooked on the stove for 4 hours. I also used about 3 T of fresh chopped basil from my garden as I do not have dehydrated basil but once my tomatoes are bursting out of my garden so is my basil:) I then used an immersion blender to make it nice and smooth, but that isn’t needed if you prefer a chunky sauce. I added lemon juice to the jars to ensure acidity was there for long term storage.
We are making this now but unless I’m missing it, the recipe doesn’t say when to use the red bell peppers. We are just going to use the food processor on them along with the green bell pepper and onions. Thanks!
That works!
This is absolutely delicious! We’re going to try using some of it as pizza sauce. In the nutrition info, how much is a serving? Thanks!
The nutrition info is for one quart jar! Hope this helps!
So one quart jar is 332 calories? Just want to make sure I’m calculating correctly 😊
Yep! That’s right.
I changed red pepper flakes to cayenne powder. Reduced to 8 huge cloves. Still a strong garlic taste. The bell peppers used were 3 green, 1 red.
These changes were due to on hand and personal preference.
It turned out amazing! A spicy yet sweet sauce with a deep flavor.
I followed the recipe to the T and I must say it is so delicious. Reminds me of my Mom’s sauce she use to make and she was very much Italian. I boiled all the tomatoes for about 10 minutes after cutting into quarters and then put through a mill removing all but the juice Leaving behind skins and seeds. Pressure canned. Can’t wait to make sourdough bread to dip into a warm cup of it. My Levain is fermenting for the bread tomorrow. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
As my tomatoes are ripening, I’m processing them (taking the skins off) and chopping and putting in the freezer to later make my sauce. I didn’t actually weigh the tomatoes first.
If I weigh the finished chopped up tomatoes, 25# should still be fine for the recipe, shouldn’t it??
Yes! That should work!
This is amazing and I took a shortcut by pressure cooking it. I used to make passatta with my toms, this is far better
Is it ok to add fresh basil instead of dried? Do I need to adjust anything?
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.
I want to add dry red wine to this recipe. Problem?
We haven’t tried it with wine before, so I can’t say whether or not it will be safe for canning.
Love the sauce! First time I did the water bath method but thinking of using my pressure canner next time (tomorrow)Does one come out tasting better than the other?
I haven’t noticed a difference between methods, but let us know how it turns out!
I used a tiny flour/water mixture in this sauce while simmering. I have read on multiple sites it is not safe- is this true?
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.
This sauce is delicious! It is now my favourite spaghetti sauce. I used a stick blender to smooth the sauce a bit and I think accidentally ground up the bay leaf. Oh well. Still tasted great!!!!
Great sauce!! I added celery and charcoal grilled the onions and peppers for that something extra👍✅
Wondering about type of tomatoes used? Roma/paste tomatoes or can you get good results with juicier tomatos too?
We usually use Romas but we have readers who have had success with pretty much every type!
We are currently making this recipe and we are just wondering how much this recipe makes? Just so we can have the proper amount of jars ready to go.
Also, Have you ever added fresh parsley to this recipe? If so, how did it fair? If not, do you see this being an issue?
We usually get about 10 quart jars. As for the parsley, I haven’t tried adding fresh parsley before. 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.
I made this and its currently in the water bath. I felt like it was not as thick as spaghetti sauce normally is. Is that how it is supposed to be? When I use it down the road should I just use some tomato paste to thicken it?
Ours is usually thick, but you can definitely use tomato paste to thicken it up when you are preparing to serve it!
Can this recipe be simmered in a crock pot overnight?
I haven’t tried it that way before, so I am not sure! Let us know how it goes if you try it!
Can you use fresh basil…how much would you suggest if can be substituted? Thanks
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.
I have basil in my freezer from an earlier harvest- did you use fresh? How did it turn out?