Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce

Total Time

Prep: 1-1/2 hours + simmering Process: 40 min.

Makes

9 quarts

Updated: Nov. 02, 2023
DIY canning spaghetti sauce recipes are a tomato grower's dream come true! Use up your garden bounty and enjoy it later in the year. —Tonya Branham, Mt. Olive, Alabama

Ingredients

  • 25 pounds tomatoes (about 80 medium)
  • 4 large green peppers, seeded
  • 4 large onions, cut into wedges
  • 2 cans (12 ounces each) tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice

Directions

  1. In a Dutch oven, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, place tomatoes, 1 at a time, in boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Remove each tomato and immediately plunge into ice water. Peel and quarter tomatoes; place in a stockpot.
  2. Pulse green peppers and onions in batches in a food processor until finely chopped; transfer to stockpot. Stir in next 11 ingredients. Add water to cover; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.
  3. Discard bay leaves. Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to each of 9 hot 1-qt. jars. Ladle hot mixture into jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding or removing hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight.
  4. Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 40 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

Test Kitchen Tips
  • Worcestershire sauce was originally considered a mistake. In 1835, an English lord commissioned two chemists to duplicate a sauce he had tried in India. The pungent batch was disappointing and wound up in their cellar. When the pair stumbled upon the aged concoction 2 years later, they were pleasantly surprised by its unique taste.
  • Layer this delicious sauce over our best pasta recipes ever.
  • Canning Altitude
    The processing time listed is for altitudes of 1,000 feet or less. For altitudes up to 3,000 feet, add 5 minutes; 6,000 feet, add 10 minutes; 8,000 feet, add 15 minutes; 10,000 feet, add 20 minutes.

    Nutrition Facts

    3/4 cup: 118 calories, 5g fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 614mg sodium, 17g carbohydrate (11g sugars, 4g fiber), 3g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fat.