The Best Homemade Canned Pizza Sauce -

Pizza sauce in jars sitting on a white towel.

Equipment

Large Stockpot - I used a 16 quart stockpot. This allows room for the sauce to boil without boiling over.
Water bath canner
Jars
Lids and rings
Jar lifter
Magnetic lid wand
Vinegar - This does not go in the recipe. Vinegar will be used to clean the rims of the jars.
Tomato strainer
Knife
Ladle
Funnel

Ingredients

20 pounds of Roma tomatoes - Any meaty tomatoes will work such as Santos or Celebrities.
1⅓ cup granulated sugar
9 tsp dried basil
4 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp onion powder
3 tsp dried parsley
4½ tsp salt
3 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
½ tsp bottled lemon juice for pints. (If you are using quart jars you will need to use 1 teaspoon.)

Instructions

Start by prepping the tomatoes by removing stems, bad spots, washing, and drying them.
Cut the tomatoes small enough to fit through the hopper of the electric tomato strainer. Process all of the tomatoes until the seeds and skins have been separated and you have tomato sauce.
Preheat your stockpot properly to ensure your sauce does not stick or burn. Pour the tomato sauce into the stockpot. Set the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling turn the heat down to medium high. Add in all of the spices.
Let the pizza sauce simmer for a minimum of 4 hours. It needs to cook down until it has lost about half of its volume. This will ensure you get a thick sauce. If you do not let it simmer and cook down enough you will get a watery sauce. It will also be much darker in color. This is normal.
Preheat your stockpot properly to ensure your sauce does not stick or burn. Pour the tomato sauce into the stockpot. Set the heat to high and bring to a After the pizza sauce has cooked down at least half way remove the sauce from the heat and set to the side.
Fill your water bath canner with water and allow to begin preheating.
Wash and sterilize your jars, lids, and rings.
Ladle the sauce into your jars add the lemon juice to each jar. Debubble. Wipe the rims of the jars using vinegar. This will remove any water or sauce that may prevent a good seal. Place your lids onto the jars and place the rings on finger tight.
Using the jar lifter place the jars into the canner. Ensure that the water is 1 inch above the jars. Once the water is brought to a rolling boil start the timer. Process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes.

Notes

Storage

As all other canned food it should be stored in a cool dark area. Exposure to sunlight will cause the food to lose its color as well as its nutritional value. It is recommended by the National Center for Home Food Preservation that all food be eaten within one year. If stored properly it can and does last longer. Although the longer food is canned it slowly begins to lose nutritional value.