Home Canning: Seasoned Tomato Sauce Recipe

Twenty years ago my father-in-law gave me my first home canning lesson and I’ve been hooked on canning ever since. The first thing that I learned to preserve and home can was pickled red beets. Over the years, I’ve expanded my home canning experience to include all kinds of sauces, jams, jellies, vegetables, fruits, soups, condiments and more!

When I make homemade seasoned tomato sauce I always follow the recipe in the Ball Blue Book – Guide to Preserving. It’s the most versatile tomato sauce recipe and can be used in any recipe that calls for seasoned tomato sauce. I like using it in my meatloaf, chili, spaghetti, vegetable soups, lasagna, baked ziti, manicotti,  etc.

Not interested in home canning? Well, you can opt to freeze this sauce in your freezer too. When I freeze it…I will spoon the sauce into pint-size mason jars and freeze. It will keep for up to 1 year that way too! When needed, just take it out of the freezer and thaw overnight in your refrigerator. It’s then ready to use!

* Recipe is courtesy of Ball Blue Book.
It will make about 14 pint jars or 7 quart jars of sauce.

Seasoned Tomato Sauce Recipe for Home Canning

45 lbs. tomatoes (about 125-135 medium fresh tomatoes)
6 cups chopped onions (about 5-6 large onions)
12 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. oregano
6 bay leaves
1 tbsp. ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 cup salt (optional)
2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Ball Citric Acid or bottled lemon juice

Prep: Wash tomatoes under cold running water, drain. Remove core and blossom ends. Cut tomatoes into quarters. Peel onions, chop onions. Peel garlic and mince.

Cook: Saute onion & garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, black pepper & sugar. Stir in salt and crushed red pepper. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves. Puree tomato mixture using an electric food strainer or food mill to remove peels and seeds. Return puree to saucepan. Cook puree, uncovered over medium-high heat until puree thickens, stirring to prevent sticking. Cook until volume is reduced by one-half.

Fill: Add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid or 1 tbsp. bottled lemon juice to a hot pint jar, 1/2 tsp. citric acid or 2 tbsp. bottled lemon juice to a hot quart jar. Ladle hot sauce into jar, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim, center lid on jar and adjust band to finger-tip tight. Place jar on the rack elevated over simmering water (180 degrees F) in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Process: Lower the rack into the simmering water. The water must cover the jars by 1″. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner and bring water to a full boil. Process pint jars for 35 minutes or quart jars for 40 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool for 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner, do not retighten bands if loose. Cool for 12 hours. Test seals, label and store jars.

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