Canning Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Yesterday and today I canned 28 quarts of spaghetti sauce.  And I'll probably make another 28 quarts tomorrow.  I spent the summer of 1997 discovering this recipe by trial and error. I have used it ever since.  It seems like everyone has too many tomatoes this time of year. Recipes like this are a good way to reduce the waste. I hope you enjoy it!

I'll be making Salsa in the next day or so, so look for that recipe as well.  

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Canning Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

30 diced tomatoes, peeled
2 medium green peppers, diced
1 large white or yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 TBSP salt
3 TBSP garlic powder (or substitute whole crushed garlic to taste)
2 TBSP parsley, chopped
2 TBSP Italian Seasoning OR
      1/2 TBSP Basil and 1/2 TBSP Oregano, ground or chopped
1 tsp black pepper
Tomato paste to thicken or cook down slowly to thicken

* I have done the herbs both ways and both are good. The herbs are just to taste for your family so experiment with the amounts. Try growing the herbs you will use. It gives them a more vibrant smell and taste.

This is how I put this together.  I de-stem and rinse the tomatoes and cut all the bad spots out. And then I freeze them whole. Sometimes I freeze them for a while as I'm waiting for enough tomatoes to be ready to make a first batch, and sometimes I just don't have time to make spaghetti sauce right away, but even if I'm making the batch the next day or even later that evening I still freeze the tomatoes because it makes getting the skin off super easy and doesn't burn your fingers like boiling water does.
 
Take frozen tomatoes and run tap water over them. the difference in temperature from the freezer and the tap water will loosen the skin and they should slip right off.  I use luke warm to slightly hot tap water, but it should still be comfortable to your touch.

Quarter the tomatoes and dump all ingredients in a large cooking pot and cook. When tomatoes are soft and falling apart I put the mixture through the blender (because my family likes smooth sauce...teenagers!:) But I prefer it chunky, so this part is up to you. After blending, Return to cooking pot and bring to a boil. I used to cook it down to thicken but I get a lot more spaghetti sauce if I just use tomato paste to thicken it. Plus it takes hours to get it thick by simmering it down. Thicken to how your family likes it. Remember it will thicken more in the canning process as well.

While hot, put in jars (I use quarts) and seal using the hot water bath method. I boil for 45 minutes for my spaghetti sauce. This makes about 5 quarts of sauce per batch.

Let me know how you like it.

 
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