Canning Your Own Spaghetti Sauce

Have you noticed the price of spaghetti sauce lately?  The excellent kind is nearly $10 a jar.  Wouldn’t you know, it’s the kind we like.  So, I did something I haven’t done in a very long time: I made canned spaghetti sauce. I added photos so you can see what I actually used and how I made it.

First, if you do not have a big roaster like mine (18 quart), you can possibly borrow one from family or friends.  You can also try something that most people do not think of:  Call your local library and see if they have one you can borrow, using your library card.  Don’t have a card?  No worries – it’s easy to get one.  You can also ask if they have an Immersion Blender or regular blender you can check out.  I used the immersion blender but a pitcher style one will also work.  I bought the tomatoes at Aldi around Cinco De Mayo (May 5^th) then roasted, peeled, deseeded and put in the freezer until a more convenient time.  Roma tomatoes were 50 Cent US per pound during that time.  They were great too!  Very meaty and few seeds.

Canning Your Own Spaghetti Sauce

Here’s what you’ll need:

45 pounds of tomatoes, roasted, peeled and deseeded.

6 Cups of chopped onions – which I puree after chopping because the family likes smooth, not chunky

I jar of minced garlic in olive oil

½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 container of fresh Oregano – see photo – chop it up or don’t.  It doesn’t really matter.

6 Fresh Bay Leaves.  Fresh really matters in this

1 full bag of Parsley, chopped.

1 Tablespoon of black pepper

1 ½ Tablespoons sugar (it will NOT make the sauce sweet)

¼ Cup Salt, optional

3 Tablespoons dried basil

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper, also optional

Citric Acid, Lemon Juice Powder, or bottled lemon juice – choose one, you will need it later.

Directions:

Put everything, except the citric acid or lemon juice, in the roaster and stir it around.

Set the temperature to 300 F.

Put the lid on and cook for several hours, stirring occasionally.

After about two hours, use the immersion blender and blend everything up.

Be careful if you use a regular blender because hot liquid in there can make it explode in the blender and go everywhere, including the ceiling!  Red is hard to get out!

Now, this will make 14 pints.  That will be two less than a case.  So, you can just make 12 pints and put the rest in the fridge and use in the next three days.  It’s good as pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, with about ½ Cup whipping cream added before serving to make pink sauce.

Sterilize your jars and flats.

Put one Tablespoon of Citric Acid, Powdered Lemon Juice, or bottled lemon juice in the bottom of every single jar.

Ladle in the sauce, leaving ½ headspace.  Make sure it’s only ½ inch!

Clean the jar rim, put on the flat and screw the lid on finger tip tight

Heat up the water in your water bath canner –you can ask if the library will loan you one

If you don’t have a water bath canner basket, make sure you put a towel in the bottom of the canner so the jars have less of a chance to break.

Make sure there is 1 full inch of water over the jars and process for 35 minutes.  Take those jars out and put some more in.  Placing the process jars on doubled towel on the counter in a non-drafty place for 12 -24 hours.

Make sure all the lids sealed.  Take off the screw lids and place on the shelf and use whenever you need it.  It makes such a difference!

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Canning Your Own Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

• 45 pounds of tomatoes roasted, peeled and deseeded.
• 6 Cups of chopped onions – which I puree after chopping because the family likes smooth not chunky
• I jar of minced garlic in olive oil
• ½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 container of fresh Oregano – see photo – chop it up or don’t. It doesn’t really matter.
• 6 Fresh Bay Leaves. Fresh really matters in this
• 1 full bag of Parsley chopped.
• 1 Tablespoon of black pepper
• 1 ½ Tablespoons sugar it will NOT make the sauce sweet
• ¼ Cup Salt optional
• 3 Tablespoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper also optional
• Citric Acid Lemon Juice Powder, or bottled lemon juice – choose one, you will need it later.

Instructions

1. Put everything, except the citric acid or lemon juice, in the roaster and stir it around.
2. Set the temperature to 300 F.
3. Put the lid on and cook for several hours, stirring occasionally.
4. After about two hours, use the immersion blender and blend everything up.
5. Be careful if you use a regular blender because hot liquid in there can make it explode in the blender and go everywhere, including the ceiling!  Red is hard to get out!
6. Now, this will make 14 pints.  That will be two less than a case.  So, you can just make 12 pints and put the rest in the fridge and use in the next three days.  It’s good as pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, with about ½ Cup whipping cream added before serving to make pink sauce.
7. Sterilize your jars and flats.
8. Put one Tablespoon of Citric Acid, Powdered Lemon Juice, or bottled lemon juice in the bottom of every single jar.
9. Ladle in the sauce, leaving ½ headspace.  Make sure it’s only ½ inch!
10. Clean the jar rim, put on the flat and screw the lid on finger tip tight
11. Heat up the water in your water bath canner –you can ask if the library will loan you one
12. If you don’t have a water bath canner basket, make sure you put a towel in the bottom of the canner so the jars have less of a chance to break.
13. Make sure there is 1 full inch of water over the jars and process for 35 minutes.  Take those jars out and put some more in.  Placing the process jars on doubled towel on the counter in a non-drafty place for 12 -24 hours.
14. Make sure all the lids sealed.  Take off the screw lids and place on the shelf and use whenever you need it.  It makes such a difference!