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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.
Can I use Hunts tomato sauce. I only have about 10-12 pounds
If it is pure tomato sauce with no other added ingredients you should be find adding it without throwing off acidity levels. Hope this helps!
This is the best homemade spaghetti sauce recipe I have ever made.
I did add about 1/2 cup olive oil and a little thyme to the recipe.
Thanks for the 5-star rating! We are so glad you loved the recipe!
When do the red peppers go in?! With the green peppers and onions? Theres no direction for them
You add them with everything in step 4!
Most recipes for this call to strain , do u not do this step or did not mention
Strain what exactly? The seeds? You definitely can but it isn’t necessary.
Can I use red wine or balsamic vinegar in place of lemon juice?
It needs to be lemon juice to get the correct acidity levels. The only other substitution I know of that you can use is 1/2 teaspoon citric acid for quart jars. Hope this helps!
Is it 2 Tbs. of lemon juice per jar or divided among 9-10 jars? Can’t wait to try it!!!
Per jar!
what kind of tomatoes do you use? We have regular and romas, is it ok to use both?
Yep! You can use whatever combination you have available.
CAN sliced mushrooms be added to the sauce without issue?
If you are pressure canning, you should be fine. I can’t say for sure with water bath or steam canning. The acidity levels can easily be thrown off if any adjustments are made to the recipe as written. I would play it safe and add sautéed mushrooms when ready to serve. Hope this helps!
Can you use lime juice instead of lemon juice?
I think that should be fine!
How long should quart jars be processed in a pressure canner at 10psi?
25 minutes
Do you take the seeds out of the tomatoes?
We don’t usually, but you can if they bother you!
If I omitted the brown sugar, would it hugely affect the taste of the sauce?
Adding or omitting ingredients can mess with the chemistry of this recipe and make your sauce unsafe for the shelf. If you want to remove the brown sugar, I would recommend freezing the sauce instead of canning. Hope this helps!
Can I leave the garlic out and it’s still ok to can?
Adding or omitting ingredients can mess with the chemistry of this recipe and make your sauce unsafe for the shelf. If you want to omit the garlic, I would recommend freezing the sauce instead of canning. Hope this helps!
I only had 12.5 pounds of fresh tomatoes so did a half batch of this sauce. Hope it turns out. The sauce has been simmering for 2.5 hours and already smells so good.
How did your batch turn out? I have about 10-12 pounds of tomatoes out of my garden and am trying to find a good canned spaghetti sauce recipe.
I only had 12.5 pounds of tomatoes, so I halved the rest of the ingredients. It turned out great! I am planning on freezing it since I don’t have enough canning lids.
This is a delicious sauce, although not what I am used too. The soy sauce combined with the Worcestershire is too savory for my taste. I will definitely make it again without these two ingredients.
I never used soy sauce in a canned spaghetti recipe with home grown tomatoes. Does it make a big difference in the taste? Just making sure before I make it.
Thanks!
I think it does! It gives it a deeper savory flavor.
The sauce is very thick and tastes too sweet. Any way to safely thin it out and adjust the sweetness?
You could add some chicken broth or beef broth, but messing with the ingredients can make it unsafe for canning. So, if you do add more liquid, I would suggest freezing it instead of canning.
Can I add mushrooms to this recipes, or would it mess with the consistency?
Adding ingredients can mess with the chemistry of this recipe and make your sauce unsafe for the shelf. If you want to add mushrooms, I would recommend freezing the sauce instead of canning. Hope this helps!
Can you substitute or take out the brown sugar?
Be really careful when adding or omitting ingredients to a canning recipe. It could throw off the acidity levels, thus making unsafe for canning.
You list that this has 3288mg of sodium. Is this per the whole batch? I’m looking to make this and my daughter is on a low sodium diet. I figured with the tom. Paste, Worcestershire sauce and low sodium soy sauce it would be 395.5mg per quart jar.
Yes, that nutrition information is for the whole batch!
I don’t have enough tomatoes for 25 pds. If I were to cheat just a lil’ and buy a few cans of Hunts whole tomatoes, how do I know how much they weigh? Just go by what the can indicates? If so, I use the juice that is in the can?
I read all the questions and answers. How kind of you to answer so many questions. Thank you!
Yes you can totally cheat (we have done this with San Marzano tomatoes and it’s awesome). Yes, go by the weight on the can, juice and all. We are always happy to answer questions 🙂 We want you to have success with our recipes so ask away! We are happy to help!
Can I pressure can this?
Absolutely!
Any kind of tomatoes or a combination of Roma’s and others?
I like using mostly Roma’s for sauce, but you can mix and match whatever you have on hand!
How many cups does 25 pounds equal?
We don’t measure our tomatoes in cups, but typically 2 average sized tomatoes equal one pound. Hope this helps!
I have done some recipes using variety of cherry, slicing and Roma tomatoes. The recipes I have used just core tomatoes, quarter and blend in processor, skins and all. Would this affect this recipe?
No, that should be fine! As long as its about the same amount of tomatoes.
Can u add parmazon cheese ?
Adding cheese makes it not safe to can. If you decide to add cheese (which it might make it a bit grainy) I would try to freeze it instead of canning.
Love this recipe. 2nd year using it and my family loves it. Plus you can’t beat fresh spaghetti sauce in the middle of winter!
How much red wine vinegar should you add to this recipe to make it safe for water bath canning? This is my first time and I don’t have a pressure cooker.
We use about 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar or lemon juice in each can. Hope this helps!
Worcestershire sauce isn’t gluten free. Any suggestions for substitutes while keeping it at safe levels? We’ve got tons of tomatoes ready for cooking and we’re so excited to try out this recipe!
We use the brand Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce from the store and that one is gluten free!
I forgot the lemon juice is my recipe still going to be okay to eat?
Honestly I wouldn’t risk it. If you don’t want to re-can the sauce with the lemon juice you can always freeze it. You can freeze it right in the jars, just make sure to leave a little room from expansion so the jars don’t break.
Do you have to deseed the tomatoes after peeling or do you leave the seeds in the sauce? If so, are they noticeable?
No need to de-seed. They aren’t really noticeable but if it bothers you, you can definitely leave them out. Hope this helps!
Do you remove the seed pods from the tomatoes (in addition to the skins and hard core)?
We don’t remove the seed pods but you definitely can if you don’t prefer them.
Do you put the red peppers in the food processor with the green peppers and onions. I can’t find the red peppers in the instructions?
Yes, you can process all the peppers and onions together. Green and red 🙂 Hope this helps!
Looks good
When using a stove top pressure cooker to can how long do I leave it in the pressure cooker?
If you are pressure canning, you will want to process for 25 minutes for quart jars. Hope this helps!
I recently retired and decided to do a vegetable garden. The whole time all I could think about was making home made spaghetti sauce but was very nervous about my lack of skills. Your recipe and instructions were my saving grace. This is the best sauce I have ever eaten and my husband is planning a larger garden for next year. LOL The one suggestion I have is if you have an outside kitchen you might want to mix the onions and peppers out side to avoid death by onion. LOL
Thank you and everyone who commented with helpful hints you made my experience so enjoyable that I am now moving on to other recipes with confidence.
Wow thank you so much for this comment! I am so glad to hear your garden has been a success. Gardening is actually something I have found to be very therapeutic. I have been surprised how invested my kids are in it too. I am glad that it is something you are enjoying! The spaghetti sauce is our favorite but we also use the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, and salsa recipes a lot as well (you can do a search for any of these on our site and they will come up). Let us know if you try any other recipes and how it goes! – Erica
Has anyone used balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice? Also, we have been roasting, skinning, pureeing and freezing our tomatoes for 3 weeks, and are planning to make sauce tomorrow. If we are weighing the tomatoes now, after processing, does anyone have an estimate on how much to use? Thank you! We are so excited to try this recipe.
Tried this recipe last year and it was great! I froze instead of canning worked great. My neighbor had an abundance of tomatoes too so combined several types of tomatoes and gave them them a quart. They rated it a 5 too and they’re a tough crowd. Thanks for the recipe plan on repeating this year!
Thanks for the 5-star rating! We are so glad you guys loved the recipe!
If I use pint jars, how much lemon juice per jar do I use, and do I still process for 40 minutes?
1 tablespoon of lemon juice should work!
Can I add mushrooms to this?
This is our general advice for additions to canning recipes, as mentioned in the post: “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.”
Has anyone cooked this in a crockpot?