Homemade marinara sauce is made with a few simple pantry ingredients. This marinara sauce for canning is made with diced onion, garlic, tomato puree, and spices.
Home canned marinara sauce is easier to make than you think! It gives you fresh, preservative free sauce all-year long.
Not everyone waits for perfectly ripe tomatoes to make homemade spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce. Quality canned tomato puree, onions, garlic, brown sugar, water, and spices will achieve the perfect consistency for this tomato sauce.
Nearly each day we harvested tomatoes from our vegetable garden. They were washed with cold water, stems removed, and most finished ripening on our kitchen counter near the window. When they were perfectly ripe, cut into quarters, and placed into freezer zip-style bags.
Freeze the bags of tomatoes until you have enough to process. With this many tomatoes to process, we want to work smarter- not harder.
For processing all of the fresh tomatoes, we used a Squeezo food mill and an outdoor burner to cook them in a large stockpot. Cook the tomatoes until softened and it’s easier for them to go through the food mill.
With the Squeezo food mill, tomato juice and pulp comes down the drip tray and collected in a large pot. While, skins and seeds get discarded.
Step 1: Steam fresh tomato slices in a large pot with a few inches of water. Cook until softened.
Step 2: Process the softened tomatoes through a Squeezo or food mill.
Step 3: Collect the tomato juice and puree in a large pot. Discard the skins and seeds.
We grew about 15 tomato plants this year in our vegetable garden. The two varieties we planted were Beef Steak and Better Boy. Both varieties are heirlooms our grandparents planted and make great homemade pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes!
Sealed Mason jars of homemade pasta sauce will last 18 to 24 months in a cool and dry environment.
How to make Homemade Marinara Sauce:
Step 1: In a 12 to 14-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are softened. Stir occasionally with a spoon. Add the garlic, stir and cook for a few minutes.
Step 2: Add the water, tomato puree, tomato paste, brown sugar, oregano, fennel, basil, salt, and black pepper. Use a metal whisk to mix well and remove any lumps.
Step 3: Adjust the salt and pepper as desired. Simmer over low to medium heat until desired thickness is reached, stirring occasionally to keep it from scorching.
To make homemade pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes:
Step 1: Follow the sauce recipe below.
Step 2: In addition to those ingredients, add 8 cups fresh tomato juice/puree mixture. Add 2 additional cups of water. 1 additional cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon additional each of salt, black pepper, ground fennel, basil, and oregano.
Step 3: Whisk together ingredients and let simmer over medium to low heat until desired thickness is achieved. (Follow directions below for canning tomato sauce)
This will give you about 20-22 pints of tomato sauce, depending on the thickness.
One of the secret ingredients to my mom’s marinara sauce is ground fennel. Which is often difficult to find in your local grocery store. Order it here!
For more great Home Canning Recipes be sure and try Pickled Peppers Recipe, Bread & Butter Pickles, Mixed Berry Jam, and Raspberry Rhubarb Jam.
To make a meat sauce, simply brown one-pound of ground beef, pork, or turkey. Add a jar of sauce to the sauce over low heat to warm it up.
Be sure to try this easy to make tomato sauce on Cast Iron Pizza, Italian Pizza, Goulash, and Stuffed Cabbage.
Did you make one of my recipes? Please take a moment to leave a star rating. Also, if you are on Pinterest, please feel free to leave a comment there and a photo if you have one! Follow A Farmgirl’s Kitchen on FACEBOOK and PINTEREST and subscribe my mailing list for ALL the latest recipes!
Homemade Marinara Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large yellow or sweet onions, chopped
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups water
- 12 cups tomato puree (canned)
- 3 (12-ounce) cans tomato paste
- 3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons ground fennel
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Instructions
Marinara Sauce
- In a 12 to 14-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are softened. Stir occasionally with a spoon. Add the garlic, stir and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the water, tomato puree, tomato paste, brown sugar, oregano, fennel, basil, salt, and black pepper. Use a metal whisk to mix well and remove any lumps.
- Adjust the salt and pepper as desired. Simmer over low to medium heat until desired thickness is reached, stirring occasionally to keep it from scorching.
To Freeze Marinara Sauce
- Ladle sauce into plastic quart deli containers, let cool, cover and place in the freezer.
Canning Marinara Sauce
- Ladle into sterilized glass Mason jars, leaving a ½-inch head space. Use a canning funnel to make it easier to ladle sauce into jars.
- Wipe the rims clean with a clean, damp paper towel. Place lids on fingertip tight. Process jars in a water bath canner for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
- Carefully remove the jars from the water bath and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
Video
Recipe Notes
Important details for Canning Homemade Marinara Sauce:
•Wipe the rims of sterile jars clean with a clean, damp paper towel. Jars will NOT seal if the rims of jars are not clean! •As jars cool, the bubble in the center of Mason jars will be sucked down naturally. Do NOT ever touch the bubble to push it down. If you do, you’ll never know if they seal or not. •Let jars sit for 24 hours. Then use a clean damp kitchen cloth to clean jars. Unscrew the band a little to let air under it. •Store the sealed jars in a cool, dry place for up to 18-24 months. Store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator. •You can reuse the jars and bands. But, you cannot reuse the seals. You can buy new seals for jars easily.Nutrition
Disclosure: As an Affiliate Marketer, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a product affiliate link on A Farmgirl’s Kitchen and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you! I own every cooking product I recommend and love how they perform.
Amy Engberson says
My garden is bursting with tomatoes and this is the perfect way to use them up! Can’t wait to use it during the winter! Thanks
Laura says
Thanks Jessica! I can’t imagine ever making this much marinara sauce but I’m definitely going to try this on a smaller scale. I love the tip about freezing the tomatoes. Mine were coming in randomly this year.
Beth says
Quick question. I made my puree/juice last night from my cooked down, fresh tomatoes. I am a little confused at the recipe as to whether I am adding 12 cups of puree and 6 cups of water, or 8 cups of puree and 2 cups of water. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much!
Jessica Robinson says
Hi Beth,
Sorry for any confusion. For the recipe. I posted my mom’s original recipe (in the recipe card). Which calls for “canned” tomato puree. If you are using fresh tomato puree from your own tomatoes, I have those directions in the post. I added our tomato juice/puree mixture in ADDITION to the original recipe. So you’ll get a bigger batch- and can more jars.
I used a really big stock pot and added: —> In addition to those ingredients, add 8 cups fresh tomato juice/puree mixture. Add 2 additional cups of water. 1 additional cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon additional each of salt, black pepper, ground fennel, basil, and oregano. (Canned tomato puree is usually more concentrate than that from your own tomatoes) Let me know if you have any further questions.
Lisa Hatfield says
Another great post Jessica! I have so many tomatoes in my garden this year and was looking for a way to use them up. Love that you can freeze them, so many great tips and your video is so helpful. Your son is adorable helping you….
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks so much Lisa!! This is such a delicious sauce and my mom would be proud that we’re all making it! Let’s celebrate her life with homemade marinara sauce this season!