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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!
Featured with this recipe
- Ingredients in Canned Spaghetti Sauce
- Why Can Spaghetti Sauce?
- Tomatoes: A Family Tradition
- Family Tested, Dad Approved
- How Can I Use Canned Spaghetti Sauce?
- Water Bath Canning Spaghetti Sauce
- Pressure Canning Spaghetti Sauce
- Frequently Asked Questions about Canned Spaghetti Sauce
- More Delicious Pasta Recipes
- How to Make Canned Spaghetti Sauce
- Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
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.
- Salt – a quarter cup, plus more to taste.
- Garlic – you’ll need a LOT of garlic, chopped or minced. Start with ten cloves.
- Oregano – I usually use dried herbs for this recipe.
- Basil – again, dried works great!
- Red pepper flakes – a little goes a long way with these spicy flakes. Start with a teaspoon and add more depending on your tastes.
- Bay leaves – two leaves give such delicious flavor.
- 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
This particular recipe for canned spaghetti sauce hasn’t been “officially” tested for a water-bath canner. However, after MUCH research, we’ve found that if you add lemon juice to the jars, this recipe is acidic enough for canning. 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.
Pressure Canning Spaghetti Sauce
For a weighted-gauge pressure canner, you will want to process 20 minutes for pint jars and 25 minutes for quart jars. 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.
Frequently Asked Questions about Canned Spaghetti Sauce
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!
READ NEXT: Ravioli Sauce
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
- One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles
- Nick’s Authentic Italian Spaghetti
- Old Spaghetti Factory’s Mizithra Pasta
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.
I have to say I was skeptical about the soy sauce but it indeed deepened the flavor. Making it again this year. 🤯
The salt in this recipe is it regular table salt or pickling salt? Have not canned spaghetti sauce yet but am excited to try it. Thanks
Regular salt works just fine!
Absolutely love this sauce recipe! I’ve used it throughout my canning season and have gotten so many compliments! My husband is definitely a fan!! I had some left over from my last batch and used it as pizza sauce – didn’t alter it at all and he said it was the best pizza I’ve ever made! Thanks so much for sharing!
Can the filled jars really be frozen?
Thanks
Yes! Jars can be frozen if you leave about a half inch of space at the top for expansion.
I would like to run my tomatoes through a kitchen aid fruit and vegetable strainer that removes the seeds and pulp turning the tomatoes into a liquid. I imagine this would affect the recipe as 25lbs of tomatoes with pulp being cooked down is different than a liquid base to start with. Would I need more tomatoes and how much? Thanks.
It should be about 40-45 cups of pureed tomatoes!
This recipe is absolutely delicious. I don’t agree with the prep time of 20 minutes though. I don’t even blanch my tomatoes and it takes me over an hour to cut everything and get it into the pan. Either way, the end result is totally worth it to have cans of this sauce waiting for future spaghetti and lasagna recipes
Why do you boil the tomatoes? Could you just quarter them and cook?
Also, I saw a video of someone making their sauce in a slow cooker. Could this be done with this recipe and then process as stated in the recipe.
Sorry for all the questions. I’m new to this. Thank you!
Boiling the tomatoes helps the skin peel off much better! Yes, you can make the sauce in a slow cooker as well. Just make sure to leave the lid off so the extra liquid can evaporate.
What serving size is the nutrition information for?
It is for 1 quart jar!
Delicious. I skip the peppers. But it’s great!
I will be making the sauce tomorrow I do not have lemon juice but I will be using citric acid is that acceptable in place of the lemon juice for the water bath canning? Thank you!! I know it is with tomatoes but I want to know if it is acceptable in making the sauce?
That is totally fine!
I just wondering if I could a add more peppers than what you have as in yellow and orange as I have alot of peppers I would like to use up.
When canning, you just want to make sure your acidity levels are correct. The recipe we have here has the correct acidity levels but I can’t vouch for the correct acidity if the recipe is changed. If you use more peppers, I would add a little more lemon juice to each jar just in case. Hope this helps!
Is there a way to make a smaller amount? Would the simmering time be the same, etc? What are your suggestions??
If you use a smaller amount you may not need to simmer as long. You can just simmer until you get the consistency you are looking for. Hope this helps!
This tastes amazing but after I finished I realized I forgot to put the lemon juice in the jars😭. Should I dump them out you think? So sad right now and like I said I did 13 quarts and had a little leftover so we ate it and this recipe is very good. Will definitely do this one again, only the right way next time.
You probably don’t need to throw them out but to be safe, I would add the lemon juice to the jars and re-process them. To be safe, I would check the National Center for Home Food Preservation for guidance on how to do this properly. Another option would be to freeze them. Make sure there is room in each jar for expansion before freezing or your jars will break. Hope this helps!
We just finished a batch ended up with about 12 quarts . If the sauce a little watery can we just cook it down a little before we use it on our spaghetti or pasta.
Yep! That is the best way to do it. Just simmer it down until it thickens. It shouldn’t take too long. You can also add a little tomato paste if you want to thicken it faster.
Just did a 50 pound batch of roma tomatoes from our family garden using this recipe. We have it in the fridge right now to keep overnight and will start stewing them up tomorrow.
I’ll report back how well it went but if the initial taste tests are any indication, we found us a great large batch recipe. Now we just need the heat and time to the bring the flavours together.
I’ll report back tomorrow.
I did this with the tomatoes I froze last week and it turned out amazing! My only addition was 3 habanero peppers because we like it spicy. I will now be using this recipe for all my spaghetti sauces.
Can I use a mix of tomato types? Such as Roma and heirloom!
Sure!
Do I need to water bath after adding lemon juice/ wine vinegar? How long will the sauce keep for? Thanks!
Yes, you definitely want to process any canned foods including this recipe if you are wanting to use for long term storage. We always try to use all of our shelved canned foods within a year. Hope this helps!
Sounds excellent and will make tomorrow but before I do so, I have a question.
Forget the recipe, can someone explain to me just why we can use fresh peppers, onions, tomatoes without being dried or dehydrated but you“cannot” OK using fresh basil? I don’t understand. It all simmers for 5 hrs. So just WHAT Is the reason for only using dried basil?
I would like to know that too. I have a lot of fresh herbs in the garden.
If I will be freezing the sauce, do I still need the lemon juice?
No, if you freeze the sauce you don’t need the lemon juice.