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I don’t know about you, but in our house, we use a lot of tomato sauce. We use the sauce for spaghetti, pizza, lasagna, meatballs, and so much more!

Canning your own sauce gives you control over the flavors that go into it, keeping the good in, and the chemicals out. Many are intimidated with the process of canning your own food. But if you think about it, humans have been around for a long time. The way they’d survive seasons without harvest was through food preservation. Canning is the modern day food preservation.

I come to find, that over time as I continue honing in my culinary skills in the kitchen as I cook for my family, the food I find at a typical restaraunt doesn’t end up measuring up to the food I can create at home. I love this. I get to be health concious, yet choose the best ingredients for an amazing taste!

This tomato sauce can be used in many ways! It is thick enough for spaghetti, yet thin enough to incororate into recipes that need some extra flavor to them.

I hope you enjoy making this canned tomato sauce as much as I did.

Interested in buying supplies?

Ball Jars: https://amzn.to/3U2NWPR

Canning Supplies: https://amzn.to/3GkogeB

Canned Tomato Sauce

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 7 Pints

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Yellow Onion
• 17 Tomatoes (Or enough to fill a 6-liter pot)
• 1/2 Chili Pepper You choose what kind
• 2 tbsp Thyme
• 2 tbsp Basil
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Oregano
• 3 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4 tsp Paprika
• 1 tbsp Parsley
• 5 Garlic Cloves
• 4 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Equipment

• 6 Liter Pot
• 1 Immersion Blender

Method

 

1. Place your pot on the stove and turn the heat to low-medium. Add your olive oil.
2. Chop your onion and add it to your pot. Allow those to cook for about 7 minutes before adding your tomatoes.
3. Wash and cut your tomatoes. Then add them to the pot with the onions. Allow that to cook for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, trim the bottoms of your garlic and remove the skins. Then add those to the pot with the tomatoes and onions. Allow to cook for 2 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cut your chili pepper in half. And throw it into the pot with the rest of the mixture.
6. Add your seasonings to the mixture. (If you opted to use fresh herbs instead of dried, then this is the time to add those as well.)
7. Allow this to cook for 1 Hour. Stir the mixture occasionally.
8. Blend with your immersion blender. (Caution, it will be HOT)
9. Allow this to cook for another 4 hours, but turn down the temperature to one level lower. Stir occasionally.
10. Turn off the heat. Add your apple cider vinegar and mix.
11. Wash your jars and lids.
12. Place your jars into the oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. And place your lids into a bowl. Then pour boiled water into the bowl and allow it to sit as well.
13. Separately prepare your pot with water for the jars. Fill the water level decently so that when you place your cans inside, the water level will be about 1/2 inch higher than your closed jars.
14. Turn the heat on to a medium level with your new pot of water to get the water temperature relatively close to what your tomato sauce mixture will be. (Do your best.)
15. Fill your jars with your sauce, and allow some space at the top. Place the lids on the jar and tighten. You want to tighten them as usual. Don't overdo it.
16. Then, once you have those ready, place them into the pot of water one at a time. Get the water to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes for a pint, and 30 minutes for a quart jar.
17. Remove and allow to sit on a kitchen towel for about 2-6 hours to rest. Enjoy!

Notes

• You can cut parts of the tomatoes that are going bad off. As well as any calyx should be cut off. 
• I chop my tomatoes into fourths after removing any unwanted pieces. 
• When I say stir occasionally, it means that you can stir every 15 minutes, or you can stir every 30 minutes or so. You don’t want the mixture to burn at the bottom. Gauge it depending on your stovetop and the amount of heat it gives.
• I usually have my heat set at about a 4/10 heat level on the stove top. If I want it to cook faster, I’ll do a 5/10. But that means I’m stirring the mixture more often to prevent any burning. 
• You should not be able to taste the apple cider vinegar. This is just an additional step to help preserve the sauce. 
• The temperature of your water does not have to be the exact same as your sauce when you’re about to move the sauce to be boiled in the water bath. Just do your best, and be careful. 
• The amount of space you need to give for the jars at the top will vary depending on your size of the jars. Usually, there are markings if you’re using a brand like Ball. 
• This is my way of canning. I’ve had good results with the sealing process. And there are ways to check to see if your cans have sealed. If you want more info on headspace: https://www.healthycanning.com/the-role-of-headspace-in-home-canning/ 
• Caution: When adding your sauce to jars, everything will be HOT. Use mittens and anything else you might need to help protect yourself from burns. 
• How to know your jars have sealed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql_8EgcNPXs&t=105s