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Canning Spaghetti Sauce
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4.50 from 8 votes

Canning Spaghetti Sauce (Basic Recipe without Meat)

Home canned spaghetti sauce can be a lifesaver on a busy weeknight. This basic canning recipe for spaghetti sauce is popular with the whole family.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Additional Time25 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Author: Ashley Adamant

Ingredients

  • 30 lbs tomatoes
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1 cup chopped red/green pepper or celery
  • 1 lb fresh sliced mushrooms
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • 4 tbsp parsley
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 4 ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup brown sugar

Instructions

  • Wash the tomatoes. Dip them in boiling water for 30-40 seconds, or until the skins split and pucker. Then, dip in cold water or a bucket of ice and remove the skins.
  • Core and quarter the tomatoes. Then, boil them for 20 minutes in a large, uncovered saucepan. Run the tomatoes through a sieve or food mill.
  • Saute the onions, celery, peppers, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil (or vegetable oil) until they are tender. 
  • Combine the vegetables with the tomatoes, then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring everything to a boil, then simmer uncovered until the sauce is thick enough for serving. Stir often to prevent burning. The sauce should reduce by about half.
  • While the sauce cooks, prepare a pressure canner for hot pack, along with jars, lids and rings.
  • Once your sauce is ready, fill hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1'' headspace.
  • Wipe the rims of the jars to remove food particles. Add the lids and bands to the jars, then tighten until they are fingertip tips. 
  • Load the jars into the canner.
  • Turn heat to high, then allow the canner to vent steam for 10 minutes.
  • Add the weight, then process the jars at 11 lbs pressure for a dial gauge canner or 10 lbs pressure for a weighted gauge scanner. You will process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes. Adjust for altitude as needed.
  • When the processing time has finished, allow the canner to depressurize on its own.
  • Remove the jars, then allow them to cool for 12 hours. Check the seals before storing. 

Notes

This is a pressure canning recipe, and it's not safe for water bath canning due to multiple low acid ingredients (mushrooms, onions, etc).
In this recipe, the onions, peppers, mushrooms and sugar are optional. You can omit them if your family doesn't like any particular ingredient, but you cannot substitute another ingredient in its place.
For spices, you can substitute any dry spice (or add other dry spices) to suit your tastes. Do not add fresh spices (ie. fresh basil).
The canning times for this spaghetti sauce recipe are always the same, but the pressure changes with altitude.
Here are the altitude adjustments for canning spaghetti sauce:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

  • 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
  • 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
  • 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
  • 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

  • 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
  • Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure