Heidi’s Canned Spaghetti Sauce

As much as I hate to see summer coming to an end, I was excited to get my spaghetti sauce canned and back on my shelves! I didn’t do as much as I should have last year and we have missed it! Here is the recipe I use and love, I got it from a friend who taught me the canning basics years ago and have tweaked it a bit here and there. I am also including step by step instructions.

*NOTE – This is how I have done it for years with no problems, however I do not claim to have any professional experience in food handling.

You want to start with the freshest ingredients possible. My tomatoes didn’t do well this year so I had to supplement with a few boxes from a local farm. Luckily though, my peppers have done amazing and I was able to use my own red and green bell peppers.

Here is my ingredient list –

• 20 lbs Tomatoes (Approximately 70 medium)

• 3 – 4 Bell Peppers (Whatever variety you prefer)

• 3 Large Onions

• 2 (12oz) Cans Tomato Paste

• 1/2 Cup Sugar

• 6 – 8 Garlic Cloves

• 3 tsp Dried Oregano

• 2 tsp Dried Basil

• 1 – 2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

• 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

• 2 Bay Leaves

• Bottled Lemon Juice (Enough to add 2 TBSP to each quart jar or 1 TBSP to each pint jar)

I bring a large pot of water to boil and use a slotted spoon to add 4 -5 tomatoes (one at a time) to the boiling water. Wait about 1 minute and take tomatoes out, placing them in a bowl of ice water. I then core and peel, and squeeze the excess water into the sink (this also gets rid of some of the seeds). I then place the tomatoes into my food processor just long enough to get a smoother consistency and pour right into my stock pot. https://amzn.to/2Q5takM

After all the tomatoes are in the stock pot, I put the garlic cloves, peppers and onions in the food processor. I like to almost liquify them (I don’t like a chunky sauce, but if you do you can process your vegetables less).

Add these to your stock pot and stir in all other ingredients.

Add just enough water to cover.

Simmer uncovered for 4 – 5 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

At this point, I put all of my jars and rings into the dishwasher and make sure the heat dry is turned on.

About 30 minutes before sauce is ready, fill your canning pot with water and get it on the stove so that is is boiling and ready to go . I also boil some water in a smaller pot to sterilize the flat lids.

Once the sauce is ready, use a slotted spoon to take the bay leaves out.

Put 2 TBSP of lemon juice to each quart jar as you remove it from the dishwasher or 1 TBSP if you are using pint jars.

Decide how many jars you will be water bathing at a time and place that many flat lids in to the small pan of boiling water. (Repeat this with each batch).

Using a funnel, fill each jar with sauce, leaving about 1/2 inch headspace.

Using the small spatula that comes with your canning kit, remove any air bubbles. https://amzn.to/32zYk4V

Wipe the rim of each jar with a soft, damp rag.

Then you will use the magnet (included in the kit I suggested above) to get a lid out of boiling water, tap the excess water off onto a clean dishtowel, place lid on the bottle, and screw ring on so it’s just snug, not super tight.

Once your jars are filled and lids are one, carefully place them in the water bath and make sure they are completely submerged (keep an eye on them to make sure the water is always over the top of the jars. This is another reason I like to have a small pot of boiling water at all times, this way I can add to the water bath if the water boils down too much.

Process for 40 minutes and remove. Do not touch the lids until jars are completely cooled. I leave mine overnight, then I wipe them off and write the contents and date on each lid.

I read a tip recently that suggested not storing with the ring lids on, this is supposed to help you see if any bottles did not seal properly as the lid will start to lift. I am going to try that this year, although so far (knock on wood) I have never had an issue yet.

If you try this out, I’d love to hear your thoughts! I’m also always open to suggestions so if you see something you do different, or something that make this yummy sauce even better, please leave me a comment!