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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!
Table of Contents
- 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
- How to Use a Pressure Canner
- Where to Buy Canning Jars
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Still Have a Question about Canning Spaghetti Sauce?
- More Delicious Pasta Recipes
- 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.
Canning is the way to go when you want to preserve fresh produce. See our guides for canning fresh tomatoes, canning peaches and canning pears for more ways to enjoy homegrown fruits and vegetables all year long.
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. Garden tomatoes work best. I have used Roma, Celebrity, Early Girl, Park’s Whopper, San Marzano, and Beefsteak with success. I have even thrown in handfuls of cherry tomatoes when I have excess!
- 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. I just use the bottled lemon juice from the store.
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 for growing tomatoes.
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!
A Quick Note About Acidity Levels in This Recipe
We’ve tested this recipe for safe water bath canning nine times, exactly as written, and it has always been in the safe range. A pH of 4.6 or lower is considered safe for canning, and this recipe consistently comes in between 3.7 and 4.2. We have used Roma tomatoes, Celebrity, Park’s Whopper, and other red garden varieties with success. Acidity can vary between tomato types and the soils they are grown in so you still should always can at your own discretion and follow the Home Food Preservation Guidelines.
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 at Walmart to start canning your own sauces.
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). For more information on pressure canning spaghetti sauce, check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.
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 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 (this isn’t necessary for pressure canning). 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.
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. When it comes to canning it’s best to stick with a tried and tested recipe and don’t deviate.
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!
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.
If pressure canning. Yes! 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried herbs. However, this recipe has not been tested for water bath canning with fresh herbs so we can’t say how it will affect the pH levels and we can’t recommend it.
We weigh our tomatoes before peeling.
Still Have a Question about Canning Spaghetti Sauce?
This recipe has been tried and LOVED by tens of thousands 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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More Delicious Pasta Recipes
Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce
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 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 (this is only needed for water bath and steam canning, if you are pressure canning this can be left out)
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. Do this over a large bowl so it catches all the juices when you slice them, you want to keep all those juices for the sauce. Note: I get a LOT of questions about if the tomatoes need to be peeled and seeded. 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 though. If you decide to leave the skins on, it won’t change the acidity but it will change the texture and appearance.
- In a food processor, cover and process 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, 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 each jar. This typically yields 8 to 10 hot 1-quart jars (depending on how much sauce you have and how much it is reduced when simmering). If using pint jars, use 1 tablespoon of lemon juice per jar.Ladle hot mixture into jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace at the top. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. 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 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. Use 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).
Notes
- This recipe makes 9-10 quart-sized jars. This can be more or less depending on how much the tomatoes simmer down and thicken.
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Thanks for sharing your recipe! I just had a quick question about the tomatoes. The instructions say to add 8–10 tomatoes to a pot of boiling water, but the recipe calls for 25 pounds. Does that mean I need to repeat that step multiple times to get through all the tomatoes?
Yes, I add the tomatoes in batches to get through all of them. Hope this helps!
Could I add carrots to this recipe?
It’s tricky with canning because I’m not sure how it would throw off the acidity. We haven’t tested it with carrots so I can’t say for sure.
We canned 4 1/2 gallons of spaghetti sauce yesterday. Not all of the jars sealed can you water bath them a second time?
Yes, you can water bath them again and hopefully they will seal. Did you make sure to wipe the rims of the jars? I’m trying to figure out why they didn’t seal.
Can I add more than just 10 cloves of garlic or will it change the acidity of the recipe?
You should be fine adding more garlic 🙂 A little extra garlic never hurt anyone, in fact I think it would be delicious!
Can I cook my spaghetti sauce in my canner I don’t have a big enough pot to use
Yes that is totally fine! Canning pots are huge and work well as cooking pots. Some have thinner bottoms so you have to be really careful when cooking tomatoes because they are more likely to burn. Just keep a close eye on it and you should be fine. Hope this helps!
Can you make this recipe in a smaller batch, like 1/2 or 1/3?
Yes, definitely
If you are directly freezing this recipe do you still use the lemon juice?
No, you don’t need to add lemon if you are freezing.
Can I use pint size jars? I’m in a household of 1 so the quart jars are a lot lol
And if I can, does that mean I should use 1 tablespoon of lemon juice per jar instead of two? And what would the canning time be for these?
Thank you in advance!
Yes, that would work great!
I’m making and pressure canning this recipe this weekend. Can I substitute store bought tomato sauce and paste for the tomatoes? Thank you!
Instead of tomato sauce, I would probably use canned whole tomatoes. There are usually less preservatives and have a better taste than straight-up tomato sauce from a can. Hope this helps!
I’m confused on the lemon juice. Do I add 2 tablespoons to each jar and then the sauce goes in, or do I add it to my sauce at the end before I put it in my jar. Sorry I’ve never canned sauce before. Thanks in advance!
It actually doesn’t matter when you add it as long as it makes it in– however I always add it in the empty jars first and then add the sauce. It’s just easier and it’s also easier to see that the lemon juice actually makes it in. I feel like I’m less likely to forget it if I just do it to begin with.
This recipe was amazing. First time canning spaghetti sauce so I wanted to sure to get the “chemistry” right. I was surprised with some of the ingredients being different from my regular homemade sauce. But, I actually think I like the flavor on this canned sauce better. Now I need to figure out if I can add a little more veggies to the recipe (like zucchini or mushrooms etc), but this one is definitely a keeper. I’m looking forward to doing this with home grown tomatoes from the garden. I used store bought Roma’s this time.
I am so glad you liked it! If you use extra veggies, just be sure to add them as you are preparing your dish. We haven’t tested this recipe using any other vegetables so I can’t tell you how it affects the pH balancing in the jars. But yes I LOVE sautéing mushrooms and then adding the canned sauce to them. It is SO GOOD.
Can I use citric acid instead of lemon juice for this recipe? Will it alter the taste or consistency at all?
Yes, citric acid can be used in place of the lemon juice. You will not notice a difference in taste. Hope this helps!
This recipe was amazing. First time canning spaghetti sauce so I wanted to sure to get the “chemistry” right. I was surprised with some of the ingredients being different from my regular homemade sauce. But, I actually think I like the flavor on this canned sauce better. Now I need to figure out if I can add a little more veggies to the recipe (like zucchini or mushrooms etc), but this one is definitely a keeper. I’m looking forward to doing this with home grown tomatoes from the garden. I used store bought Roma’s this time.
Are the two Tablespoons of lemon juice per jar or divided amongst the 10 jars? Thank you! ☺️
It is per jar. I know that seems like a lot but don’t worry, it doesn’t affect the taste at all. It is necessary to balance the acidity of the tomatoes for it to be safe for canning.
Can the recipe be refrigerated overnight and then cooked and canned the next day?
This is a great question, one that I literally had to call my mom to get the answer. She said that “YES” you can refrigerate it for up to 3-4 days actually and then re-heat and can if you need to. 🙂 Hope this helps!
I have been using this recipe for a couple of years now with our fresh tomatoes and it is a fantastic sauce. This morning I got a batch going with 13 quarts of my home canned tomatoes since our garden did not produce a whole lot this past summer. Your recipe calls for 24-25lbs of tomatoes and 13 quarts is about 26lbs so I figured that was a good amount. It is simmering and I am far enough into the process to say this absolutely works with home canned tomatoes! My house smells amazing and I will have a good batch of sauce to use in the coming year. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and tips with us!
Ooh I am so excited for you to try it! Your amounts sound just about right as far as the tomatoes go so you should be good as far as flavors go. Come back and let me know what you think!
Can I do 1 tablespoon of lemon juice on the bottom and 1 in the top?
Yes, just as long as each jar has the right amount of lemon juice. I just like adding it all in the bottom because it’s easier.
If I could give this recipe more than 5 stars, I would! I was very hesitant to use so many of my homegrown tomatoes in a recipe I hadn’t tried before. I usually practice new canning recipes with farmer market produce to make sure I like how it comes out before I sacrifice my own garden bounty. With this recipe, the number of 5 stars ratings was so impressive that I jumped in with both feet and used more than half of my spring tomato harvest- and I am SO GLAD I did!! This sauce…… just WOW! My family absolutely loves it. Wle had friends over for pasta dinner using this sauce and two of them went back for seconds, which I’d never seen them do before. You need to make this!
Thank you so much for this amazing comment! What a compliment! I am so glad you liked this sauce and that you can enjoy your homegrown tomatoes year round!
This is such a great review, thank you!
This will be the third year that I make your family recipe with my San Marzano tomatoes. The flavor is outstanding! What I would like is for it to be less watery. Is there anything in the canning process I can do? I add cornstarch when I’m preparing recipe, but it would be nice to have it come out of the jar less watery.
First of all, it shouldn’t be watery, even after canning. You may just need to simply simmer the tomatoes longer while you are cooking them down. Different tomatoes will have different textures and water ratios so just keep an eye on them and wait to can until it reaches your desired thickness. If it still isn’t getting thick enough you can always add tomato paste.
Tomatoes are not in season where I live. Could I use a quality canned tomato such as MUTTI which are 98% tomato instead?
You definitely can but essentially you would be spending a lot of time canning something that is already canned and preserved. You may just want to make our recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce. With good tomatoes like Mutti you can simply make the spaghetti sauce in batches as you need it. Hope this helps.
Can you make it from the can tomatoes and then jar and preserve it?
Yes you can. However it may be more work that way. If you are using tomatoes it’s almost easier just to add the cans and make the spaghetti fresh each time. Does that make sense?
Yes. I’ll have to wait for the tomatoes to come in season. Appreciate your help and look forward to trying. Thank you!!
I too grow my own tomatoes and have canned and frozen spaghetti sauce using your recipe for two years. It is absolutely amazing. I can eat a bowl of it just using a spoon. Thank you for sharing!
So glad you love it! Home grown tomatoes make all the difference.
Is this recipe 2 Tablespoons of lemon in each jar?
Yes. 2 tablespoons in each quart jar. It seems like a lot but it doesn’t alter the taste at all.
Can you use lemon juice from a bottle at the store or does it need to be fresh sneezed lemon juice?
I always just use lemon juice from the store. It’s 100% needed to being up the acidity of the tomatoes and not so much for the taste– whether it is fresh or bottled you won’t taste a difference so may as well just keep it easy!