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Why I Love This Spaghetti Sauce
It’s spaghetti sauce time! This is a Midwest version of marinara sauce. Originally from local church cookbooks, the flavors are homey with a little zip. I’ve changed up and added to the recipe to make it even better. Personally, I use this for pasta, pizza, and some soups.
Food safety tip – Home canning is safest when you follow research-tested recipes and proper processing times. Improper canning can risk botulism. New to canning? See my Canning 101 Guide and consult the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.
More Canning Recipes
- How to can bread and butter pickles
- How to can hot pepper mustard
- How to can pickled curry cauliflower
- How to can dilly beans
- Three canned beet recipes
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Make sure to check out my canning 101 guide for more.
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!
Canned Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 25 lbs tomatoes weighed then cored and seeded
- 8 cups finely chopped onion
- 4 cups finely chopped fennel bulb
- 2 cups loosely packed basil leaves finely chopped
- 1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves finely chopped
- 10 sage leaves finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh oregano leaves stripped and chopped
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 1 tsp anise seed
- 4 tbsp kosher salt
- 12 oz tomato paste
- ½ cup bottled lemon juice or citric acid (recommended by the USDA canning guide)
Instructions
- Make a tomato juice by running the tomatoes through a tomato strainer, juicer attachment, or by peeling them and blending them.25 lbs tomatoes
- Add the tomato purée to an extra-large heavy-bottomed kettle.
- Stir in the prepared onion, herbs, fennel, spices, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low boil, and cook until reduced at least ¼ or until thick like a sauce, about 2-4 hours.8 cups finely chopped onion, 4 cups finely chopped fennel bulb, 2 cups loosely packed basil leaves, 1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, 10 sage leaves, 2 sprigs fresh oregano, 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 5 bay leaves, 1 tsp fennel seed, 4 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tsp anise seed
- Add tomato paste, if using, and cook an additional 5 minutes, ensuring the paste is worked into the sauce.12 oz tomato paste
- Add the bottled lemon juice (or citric acid) and stir to combine.½ cup bottled lemon juice or citric acid (recommended by the USDA canning guide)
- Pour prepared sauce into sterilized jars. Fit with lid and ring and process in a water bath, adjusting for altitude according to the USDA canning guide, as follows:For quarts: 40 minutesPints: 30 minutes8 ounces: 25 minutes
- Remove from the canner and allow to rest for 12 hours.
- Store sealed jars in a dark area.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
Our second year making and canning this AMAZING sauce! Definitely watch the video for all of Kaleb’s great tips (my fave is processing the onions and fennel with the fresh herbs. A HUGE time saver). Only change I make is adding in about 5 large cloves of garlic which I process along with the onions. Then we can in pint jars and enjoy all fall and winter long. <3
If I added meat to this recipe would processing be different?
I love watching you because you explain canning so well. Please keep teaching me!
I want to make your Spaghetti sauce but I don’t like the taste of fennel. I want to replace it with garlic. How much should I use?
LOVE your videos!
Made you spaghetti sauce today! …Fantastic
Kaleb,
Wanted to make your spaghetti sauce today but it didn’t say when to add the lemon juice please clarify?
Thank you,
This spaghetti sauce is fabulous!! My husband and son were a bit skeptical about the fennel and anise. Let me just say that this is the only spaghetti sauce that will ever be made in our household. It is a wonderful use of produce from our vegetable and herb gardens.
It looks fantastic, I am very surprised you did not add garlic.
I do love the use of fresh herbs in recipes.One of my favorite recipes thus far is your eggplant parmesan, I have made it several times.
Hi Kaleb, I’m going to try this! The video doesn’t show adding lemon juice, but the written recipe mentions it. Could you clarify, please.
Thanks and love all of your recipes and videos.
This sauce is AMAZING! We canned 7 pints last weekend and will probably double that amount this weekend, with a bumper crop of tomatoes. Love the technique and the concentration of flavors is crazy good. Since we are not using sauce/plum tomatoes, ours did take a while to reduce to the thick consistency (around 3 1/2 hrs). SO WORTH IT!!
Does anyone know if I could just through the entire tomato In a blender, peel and all, and call it good? I do not have a juicer. He says something very quick that that might be ok, but I’m just wondering if there is more prep than that? I obviously don’t want to ruin a huge batch of this.