This post is all about how to can pasta sauce.
Pasta sauce is one of our favorite things to bottle. It makes for a quick tasty meal and is versatile and filling. Here is an AMAZING pasta sauce. It is simple and delicious with a little zip to spice things up.
Quick Navigation
- Tools Needed to Can Pasta Sauce
- 6 Ingredient Pasta Sauce
- How to Can Any Pasta Sauce
Tools Needed to Can Pasta Sauce
Liquid Measuring Cup
A liquid measuring cup is SO nice for all things canning. I like this liquid measuring cup from Amazon.
Jars and Lids
My favorite place to find jars is at local feed and hardware type stores, they seem to have the best price. Though amazon does in a pinch. Kerr jars are the best brand in my experience, they tend to last longer than the others, though Ball is a close second.
Water Bath Canner
This is the tool that is going to do the actual sealing and processing of your jars for you. You can also jerry rig a water bath canner with a large pot, if you don’t want to spend the money on this.
I really like this water bath canner from Amazon, because it comes with a lot of the other tools on this list, but if you are looking for a water bath canner alone here is another great option.
Pressure Canner
You can’t beat a pressure canner for speed. This is a must if you plan on canning a variety of foods.
For ease of use you can’t beat this canner from amazon, it is made from aluminum which isn’t great, but it is SUPER easy to use.
Bottle Lifter, Lid Magnet and Funnel
Go easy on yourself and get things that make bottling and clean up easier. This canning set from Amazon has everything you need to can this pasta sauce.
Pot
This is my go to pot for canning. It is large which is nice for those big batches, but still easy to move around when its full. It has a nice heavy bottom that helps prevent scorching. I LOVE this pot. Get it here on Amazon.
6 Ingriedient Pasta Sauce
The Ingriedients
The ingredients for this pasta sauce are what make it for me. Gone are the days of adding a bajillion ingredients to make a pasta sauce. With this recipe there are only 6 ingredients: tomatoes, dried basil, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and lemon juice. This recipe can be a bit spicy for some pallets so adjust the red pepper flakes as needed.
Here are specific amounts:
- 4 Cups of Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 tsp Basil
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 Tbs Lemon Juice
Instructions
The Set Up
This is a picture of the set up I find the most effective and efficient that I use. It is important when you start, especially if you are going to be canning in large quantities, to have a set up that is smooth and linear and efficient.
Blanche and Crush The Tomatoes
Drop the tomatoes in boiling water, and leave in until the skins start to crack and peel away. Remove from water. Peel the skins off the tomatoes and if necessary remove the place where the stem meets the tomato. Crush the tomatoes. I like to do this just squelching the tomato in my hand, though you can dice it with a knife if you prefer.
To make measuring out the tomatoes easier I crush the tomatoes right into a 4 cup liquid measuring cup. From there I just add it to another pot.
Add the REst of the Ingriedients and Can
Now I add all the other ingredients, and turn on the heat and warm the sauce. Time to can!
I like to water bath can this recipe, because of the lemon juice, though some say that if you use heirloom tomatoes you don’t need the lemon juice anyway. I like to add it just to play it safe.
Add the sauce to sterilized jars and put on warmed lids. Then process in the water bath canner for 1 hour and 25 minutes.
If you want to leave out the lemon juice you can process it in the pressure canner for 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure, adjusting for altitude.
Remove from canner. Store the jars with rings off until ready to eat.
How to Can Any Pasta Sauce
Acidity, Acidity, Acidity
In order to have food remain safe when canning you either need to have it reach a certain acidity, or can it in a pressure canner. To be technical you need to pressure can anything with a pH of 4.7 or higher. So you can test your pasta sauce you want to can and determine it that way, or just pressure can to be safe.
Pressure Canning
To can pasta sauce process them in your pressure canner for 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure, adjust for altitude.
Water Bath Canning
Water bath canning you process your quarts and pints 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Adjust for Altitude
Depending on how high your altitude is you need to adjust the pressure at which you run your canner and the time you boil your water bath canner. Here is a fabulous article with amazing information on how to adjust for altitude.
5 Ingreidient Canned Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 Cups peeled and crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp Dried Basil
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice (omit this if you plan on pressure canning as opposed to water bath canning)
Directions
- Start by boiling water in a large pot. Drop tomatoes in the pot and leave in hot water until the skins crack and start to peel away on their own. Remove tomatoes and peel.
- Crush the peeled tomatoes, you can either do this by quartering them and then cut them in half, or literally squeezing them in your hand.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Sterilize your canning jars and warm your canning lids.
- Ladle the pasta sauce into your canning jars wipe the jar rim and secure lid.
- If you added the lemon juice process in a water bath canner for 1 hour and 25 minutes for quarts and pints.
- If you omitted the lemon juice process the pasta sauce in a pressure canner, at 10 pounds of pressure for 25 minutes, adjust for altitude.
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