Canning marinara sauce is incredibly easy! Learn how to safely and effectively can delicious marinara sauce, ensuring its freshness and taste for months to come.

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There’s nothing quite like the taste of fresh marinara sauce made from fresh tomatoes and herbs. And what better way to enjoy that delightful flavor year-round than by canning your own batch? Canning marinara sauce not only extends its shelf life but also ensures you have a ready-to-use condiment for quick weeknight dinners or impromptu pasta. In this article, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of canning marinara sauce safely and efficiently.

This marinara sauce recipe is completely customizable to you and your family. This is the best marinara sauce for canning because it is simple. This marinara sauce can be used in many different applications. It is thick so it is great for pizza, dipping Mozarella sticks, or using it on pasta. There are tons of canning recipes out there so you can use whatever recipe you want that is the benefit to home canning. For this recipe you do not need a pressure canner just a simple water bath canner. The processing time will be a little longer but that is to ensure it gets heated thoroughly. Pressure canning marinara sauce is an option if you prefer pressure canning but water bath canning is the method we will be using today.

Equipment

20 quart stock pot
6 quart mason jars or 12 pint mason jars with lids and rings
Water bath canner
knife
Blender or immersion blender
Fine mesh strainer
Large bowl
Jar lifter
Magnetic lid wand
Debubbler
Funnel
Ladle

Ingredients

25 lbs. of tomatoes – Depending on what kind of tomatoes you use will determine how much sauce you end up with. Paste tomatoes such as San Marzano are best to use because they contain less liquid. If you use sandwich tomatoes such as Beefsteak you will have more seeds and more juice. You can still use them you will just get less sauce and more juice.
2 Medium onions chopped
3 Cups of Sugar
3 cups Vinegar (half white half apple cider)
1 teaspoon Pepper
¼ cup Salt
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Celery seed
½ teaspoon mustard powder
2 teaspoons Basil
2 teaspoons Parsley
1 teaspoon Italian
1½ teaspoon Oregano
5 teaspoons Garlic powder (Added separately, instructions listed below.)
3 teaspoons Dried chopped onion
1 teaspoon Dried minced garlic
¼ teaspoon Citric acid

Before beginning it is important to know that when making homemade marinara sauce you will have excess juice from the tomatoes. After straining off the juice you can either reserve the juice to can or use for another recipe. I prefer to reserve the juice to make homemade ketchup with. Since the juice won’t be used in the marinara sauce it is important to put the ingredients in the sauce in two different steps as listed below so the juice can be used in other recipes. If you need a delicious homemade ketchup recipe you can get it here.

I prefer to not waste any of the tomatoes with this recipe so instead of blanching the tomatoes and removing the skins or running them through a food mill I use the entire tomato and blend in the skins but this is totally optional.

Homemade Marinara Sauce With Fresh Tomatoes For Canning

1. Prepare Your Tomatoes:
Wash the tomatoes thoroughly to remove any dirt. Using a knife remove the cores and roughly chop them. Add them to your stockpot.

2. Simmer & Reduce:
Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer while occasionally stirring it to prevent sticking on the bottom. Cook for 1-2 hours allowing the excess liquid to evaporate.

Tomatoes in a stockpot cooking down to remove the water.

3. Blend Tomatoes: Allow the tomatoes to cool about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes into the blender and blend on the low setting for 30 seconds to puree. Continue this process until all tomatoes have been blended. Add the blended tomatoes back into the stockpot.

4. Season Sauce: To the sauce add the vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, salt, pepper, celery seed, mustard powder, 2 teaspoons of the garlic powder, the rest of the garlic powder will be added later, and chopped onion. Stir until the seasonings are thoroughly mixed. Allow to cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.

5. Strain Sauce: Place the strainer over a large bowl and begin straining the sauce. You will be separating the juice. Do NOT throw away the juice reserve both the juice and the strained sauce. The strained sauce is what we are going to be using as Marinara. Depending on how thick you want your marinara sauce you can strain half the batch and leave some juice or strain all of it like I did. The juice can be used for so many things! I usually use the juice to make homemade ketchup. If you need a ketchup recipe you can get my recipe here.

Marinara sauce being ran through a fine mesh strainer to remove any juice.

6. Add Remaining Spices: Now that you have just the sauce in a bowl (It should still be hot at this point if its not add it back to the pot to return to a boil.) Add in the basil, parsley, Italian, garlic powder, dried minced garlic, and dried chopped onion. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated thoroughly.

Marinara sauce in a jar with all the seasonings added.

7. Fill Jars: Using a canning funnel, carefully ladle the hot marinara into clean mason jars, leaving about an inch of headspace at the top. This will allow for proper sealing and expansion during processing. To each jar add ¼ tsp of citric acid if your using quarts or ⅛ if your using pints. You can also use bottled lemon juice if you do not have citric acid. (You will have to adjust the measurement for lemon juice.)

Up close picture of marinara sauce in a mason jar.

8. Remove Air Bubbles: Using a debubbler remove any bubbles.

9. Wipe Rim, Add Lids, and Rings: Using a clean kitchen rag and vinegar wipe the rims of each jar to remove any food or water that may be on the rims that could prevent the jars from sealing. Using a magnetic lid wand place your clean lids on each jar and add a ring to each jar.

10. Process Jars: Place your filled jars into your water bath canner and process for 40 minutes for quarts or 35 minutes for pints once the water is at a rolling boil. Remove jars and place on a clean kitchen towel and let cool. Check each lid for a proper seal after 24 hours.

FAQ’s

How to can marinara sauce without a pressure cooker or canner?

You can can marinara sauce at home using a water bath canner and the step by step instructions above.

Do you have to use lemon juice when canning pasta sauce?

Yes, even though tomatoes do contain acidity they do not contain enough when canning. So citric acid or bottled lemon juice needs to be added to bring acidity levels up so it is safe for water bath canning.

Is canning marinara sauce safe?

Yes, as long as you follow safe practices canning marinara sauce at home is safe.

How long do you water bath marinara sauce?

When canning marinara sauce quarts need to be processed in a boiling water bath canner for 40 minutes or pints for 35 minutes.

How long does canned marinara sauce last?

It is recommended by the National Center for Home Food Preservation that all home canned food be eaten within 1 year. As long as the home canned marinara sauce is stored properly in a cool dark space then it will last much longer. It is important to note that as time goes on the food will slowly begin losing color and nutritional value.

Canning Marinara Sauce: Step By Step With Fresh Tomatoes

Learn how to safely and effectively can your delicious marinara sauce, ensuring its freshness and taste for months to come.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 2 30

Processing Time:: 40

Total Time: 3 30

Yield: quarts

Calories: 220kcal

Equipment

20 quart stockpot
6 quart mason jars or 12 pint mason jars with lids and rings
Water bath canner
Knife
Blender
Fine mesh strainer
Large bowl
Jar lifter
Magnetic lid wand
Debubbler
Funnel
Ladle

Ingredients

25 lbs of tomatoes
2 medium onions chopped
3 Cups Sugar
3 Cups Vinegar (half white and half apple cider)
1 tsp Pepper
¼ Cup Salt
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp Celery seed
½ tsp Mustard powder
2 tsp Basil
2 tsp Parsley
1 tsp Italian
1½ tsp Oregano
5 tsp Garlic powder (added separately, instructions below)
3 tsp Dried chopped onion
1 tsp Dried minced garlic

Instructions

Prepare Your Tomatoes:Wash the tomatoes thoroughly to remove any dirt. Using a knife remove the cores and roughly chop them. Add them to your stockpot.
Simmer & Reduce:Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer while occasionally stirring it to prevent sticking on the bottom. Cook for 1-2 hours allowing the excess liquid to evaporate.
Blend Tomatoes: Allow the tomatoes to cool about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes into the blender and blend on the low setting for 30 seconds. Continue this process until all tomatoes have been blended. Add the blended tomatoes back into the stockpot.
Season Sauce: To the sauce add the vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, salt, pepper, celery seed, mustard powder, 2 teaspoons of the garlic powder, the rest of the garlic powder will be added later, and chopped onion. Stir until the seasonings are thoroughly mixed. Allow to cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.
Strain Sauce: Place the strainer over a large bowl and begin straining the sauce. You will be separating the juice. Do NOT throw away the juice reserve both the juice and the strained sauce. The strained sauce is what we are going to be using as Marinara. Depending on how thick you want your marinara sauce you can strain half the batch and leave some juice or strain all of it like I did. The juice can be used for so many things! I usually use the juice to make homemade ketchup. If you need a ketchup recipe you can get my recipe here.
Add Remaining Spices: Now that you have just the sauce in a bowl (It should still be hot at this point if its not add it back to the pot to reheat.) Add in the basil, parsley, Italian, garlic powder, dried minced garlic, and dried chopped onion. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated thoroughly.
Fill Jars: Using a canning funnel, carefully ladle the hot marinara into clean mason jars, leaving about an inch of headspace at the top. This will allow for proper sealing and expansion during processing. To each jar add ¼ tsp of citric acid if your using quarts or ⅛ if your using pints. You can also use bottled lemon juice if you do not have citric acid. (You will have to adjust the measurement for lemon juice.)
Remove Air Bubbles: Using a debubbler remove any bubbles.
Wipe Rim, Add Lids, and Rings: Using a clean kitchen rag and vinegar wipe the rims of each jar to remove any food or water that may be on the rims that could prevent the jars from sealing. Using a magnetic lid wand place your clean lids on each jar and add a ring to each jar.
Process Jars: Place your filled jars into your water bath canner and process for 40 minutes for quarts or 35 minutes for pints once the water is at a rolling boil. Remove jars and place on a clean kitchen towel and let cool. Check each lid for a proper seal after 24 hours.

Notes

Depending on what kind of tomatoes you use will determine how much sauce you end up with. Paste tomatoes such as San Marzano are best to use because they contain less liquid. If you use sandwich tomatoes such as Beefsteak you will have more seeds and more juice. You can still use them you will just get less sauce and more juice.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 220kcal

In conclusion, canning marinara sauce offers a multitude of benefits for both convenience and taste. By preserving fresh tomatoes at the peak of their ripeness, we ensure a rich and flavorful base for our sauces year-round. Canning also allows you to control the ingredients that go into your marinara, avoiding preservatives and unnecessary additives. Additionally, having jars of homemade sauce readily available in your pantry saves time and effort when preparing meals. Whether you are a seasoned canner or just starting out, learning how to preserve your own marinara sauce is a valuable skill that will enhance your culinary experience and provide satisfaction knowing that you have created something delicious from scratch. So why not give it a try? Start canning your own marinara sauce today and enjoy the flavors of summer all year long!