Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes
A classic preserves-friendly tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes, roasted garlic, and sautéed onions, simmered and pureed until smooth then water-bath canned. This recipe yields a thick, flavorful sauce suitable for pasta, pizza, or other Italian dishes, with adjustable salt and sugar to taste.
Ingredients
- 18 lbs fresh tomatoes, washed, peeled, and choppedcanned crushed tomatoes1 lbs fresh = 15 oz cannedproduces slightly different texture and flavor
tomato-based
- 3 cups onions, chopped
- 4 clove garlic, roasted
- 8 clove garlic, roasted
- 1 teaspoon olive oil, for roasting garlic
- 4 teaspoon olive oil, for roasting garlic
- ⅛ cup canning salt, start with less and add more
- ¼ cup canning salt, start with less and add more
- 6 tablespoon sugar, start with less and add more
- 8 tablespoon sugar, start with less and add more
- 2 tablespoon dried oregano leavesfresh oregano1 tablespoon dried = 1 tablespoon fresh if added at endadds freshness
herb
- 1 tablespoon dried basil leavesfresh basil1 tablespoon dried = 2-3 tablespoons fresh if added at endadds freshness
herb
- 2 can (6 ounce) tomato paste
Instructions
- 1
Wash, peel, and chop tomatoes; reserve 4 cups of chopped tomatoes.
- 2
Place garlic cloves on aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, wrap foil sealing edges, and roast until tender; cool and remove papery skins.
- 3
Sauté chopped onions until translucent; reserve 1 cup of cooked onions.
- 4
Combine all ingredients except reserved tomatoes and onions; cook over medium heat until heated through, then simmer for 30 minutes.
- 5
Using a food processor or immersion blender, purée tomato mixture until smooth.
- 6
Continue simmering for 1 to 1.5 hours until sauce thickens.
- 7
Stir in reserved tomatoes and onions.
- 8
Adjust seasonings to taste.
- 9
Heat sauce thoroughly.
- 10
Ladle into hot jars leaving 1 inch headspace; process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes at 10 lbs pressure in a steam-pressure canner.
Tips
Start with the minimum amounts of salt and sugar (1/8 cup and 6 tablespoons respectively), then taste and add more as needed to achieve desired flavor balance.
Roasting garlic mellows its sharpness and makes it easy to remove the papery skin.
Reserve some fresh tomatoes and cooked onions to add at the end for texture and brightness after pureeing.
Good to Know
Store sealed canned jars at room temperature in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Refrigerate opened jars and use within 3-4 weeks.
Prepare and process sauce for canning up to 1 day in advance. Sealed jars keep for 1 year without refrigeration.
Use as a base for pasta, pizza, lasagna, or other Italian dishes. Serve over cooked spaghetti or other pasta varieties.
Common Mistakes
Do not skip the roasting and cooling step for garlic to avoid adding raw, harsh garlic flavor.
Do not omit the reserved fresh tomatoes and onions to avoid losing texture and fresh flavor in the final sauce.
Do not underestimate simmering time to avoid sauce that is too thin and watery.
Do not skip proper canning procedures and pressure settings to avoid unsafe food preservation.
Substitutions
tomato-based