BEST Marinara Sauce You won’t find a more flavorful marinara sauce – it’s easy to make and is absolutely PACKED with flavor! Canning instructions included so you can enjoy the fresh flavor of tomatoes all year long!
Marinara Sauce Recipe
It’s hard to beat a simple dish of fresh pasta topped with homemade marinara sauce. The key is using quality products and when you have those these simplest of dishes come to life.
The Italians have relied on the best of the best tomatoes for centuries: Sun-kissed San Marzano tomatoes. They’re stronger in flavor and much sweeter than most any other variety. And for that reason it’s hard to replicate the flavor of the marinara sauces you find in southern Italy. Our tomatoes require the help of a few flavor boosts, a dash of sugar being one of them.
This marinara sauce is slow-simmered with a variety of herbs and seasonings for 2 hours. The end result is a delicious sauce you can either eat right away, freeze or can for long-term storage so you can enjoy the vibrancy of Summer all year long! This is the BEST marinara sauce for canning!
The use of dehydrated onions is especially suited to canning as it provides a better flavor long-term.
Let’s get started!
Select the best tomatoes you can find. The ideal tomatoes are ones that are very meaty with few seeds. Roma tomatoes fall into that category and are the most readily available and they, like other paste tomatoes like San Marzano’s, develop the best flavor when cooked down into a sauce. That said, you can use whatever tomatoes you have available and if they’re grown in your own garden so much the better.
Blanch the tomatoes for a minute in boiling water to loosen the skins. Peel the tomatoes and squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the tomatoes.
Place the tomatoes in a large pot with all the ingredients (except for the citric acid/lemon juice). Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring every once in a while. Adjust seasonings to taste. Discard the bay leaves.
Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and puree until desired consistency.
I use and recommend Cuisinart’s Immersion Blender, I’ve been using mine for 8 years and it’s still going strong.
The sauce is ready but the flavor is even better after a day or two.
You can either enjoy the sauce now, freeze it, or can it for future use.
If you want to can your marinara for long-term storage, here’s how:
Before you fill the sterilized jars with the marinara sauce, add 1/4 tsp Citric Acid per pint or add 1 tbsp bottled lemon juice per pint (double those quantities for quarts). This is per USDA guidelines as a requirement for safe canning. Fill the hot marinara sauce into the jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth. Screw on the clean lids and rims.
Next you’ll use a water canner to process the jars. This complete canning set has everything you’ll need.
Place the jars in the boiling water canning and process for 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts (wait for the water to return to a boil before you start the time). Turn off the heat and let the jars rest for 5 minutes before removing.
Adjustments for canning at high altitude:
- At 1,001 to 3,000 feet (305 to 914 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 5 minutes.
- At 3,001 to 6,000 feet (914 to 1,829 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 10 minutes.
- Above 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) increase processing time by 15 minutes.
Carefully remove the jars from the water canner and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals. Stored in a dark, cool place the jars will keep for at least a year but for best flavor use within six months.
Enjoy!
For more fabulous canning recipes be sure to try our:
- Dill Pickle Relish
- Giardiniera
- Corn Relish
- Sweet Pickle Relish
- Sweet Pepper and Onion Relish
- Pickled Onions
- Dilly Beans
- Pickled Asparagus
- Pickled Turnips
- Pickled Peppers
- Pickled Beets
PIN ME!
BEST Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 pounds ripe tomatoes
- 1/2 cup dried/dehydrated minced onion (provides a great flavor boost and is especially suited to canning for long-term storage)
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 tablespoon dark balsamic vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ground sage
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- citric acid or bottled lemon juice, if canning (per USDA guidelines as a requirement for safe canning)
Instructions
- Blanch the tomatoes for about a minute in a pot of boiling water to loosen the skins. Peel the tomatoes, squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the tomatoes.
- Place the chopped tomatoes in a large pot along with the remaining ingredients (except for the citric acid). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 2 hours, stirring every now and then. Discard the bay leaves. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree until desired consistency is reached.
- You can use the sauce now (flavor gets better in a day or two), freeze it or can it for long-term storage.
- To can the sauce: Place 1/4 teaspoon citric acid or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice in the bottom of each sterilized pint-sized jar (double the quantity for quart jars). Ladle the hot marinara sauce into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth. Screw on the clean lids and rims. Place the jars in a boiling water canner and process 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts. Turn off the heat and let the jars sit for 5 minutes. Remove the jars and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals. Stored in a dark, cool place the jars will keep for at least a year but for best flavor use within six months.Makes approximately 6 pints.
Notes
- At 1,001 to 3,000 feet (305 to 914 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 5 minutes.
- At 3,001 to 6,000 feet (914 to 1,829 meters) above sea level: increase processing time by 10 minutes.
- Above 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) increase processing time by 15 minutes.
Suzi says
Hi Gina! This sounds marvelous & It’s hard to wait to make some. The wait is only because I need to ask if there are any specific instructions for freezing? Should lemon juice also be added for freezing? And, how much expansion space would a frozen quart of tomato sauce need? Thank you so much for gifting us with so many wonderful recipes!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Suzi, no you don’t need the lemon juice if you’re freezing it. And it also doesn’t require much in the way of expansion room; I fill my freezer containers up to about 1/4 inch from the top. Happy cooking! :)
Lisa Martin says
@daringgourmet.com I made some chili sauce and tomato juice with some Fresh tomatoes and I would like to make this sauce with some of the leftover tomato purée I have. Do you have any ideal how many cups of purée 12 pounds of tomatoes make? I don’t want to take any chances of the sauce getting bad but I also don’t want to work up any more fresh tomatoes. Is it possible to use the purée I have?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Lisa, you can use the puree, yes, but I don’t know what the equivalent is. I Googled that question and it says that 10 pounds of tomatoes produces 19 cups of tomato puree so provided that’s accurate, you can use that as a gauge: https://www.howmany.wiki/wv/How-many–cup–of–tomato+puree–in–10–pound
Cindy says
My daughter and I are using this recipe to can, several batches, of her garden tomatoes. We’re saving the batch of her San Marzano tomatoes for last. We froze the tomatoes as they ripened. The skin comes off as they thaw. We put everything, but lemon juice, in a crockpot and let it cook all day. We pressure canned ours. We did cut the salt down to almost 1 tablespoons. Delicious sauce!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad it was a hit, Cindy, and thank you for that info and feedback!
Christina says
I haven’t canned it yet as I want to let it refrigerate and meld flavors first. However it is yummy now. Things I did that were different:
1. I used leftover sauce from canning my roasted San Marzano sauce the other day, which is already very thick.
2. I sauteed the garlic in the oil first to bring out the flavor
3. I added about a teaspoon of molasses instead of brown sugar for a richer flavor profile and less sweetness – figure the Balsamic was already sweet.
4. I only used about 1/4+ tsp. of fennel seeds as they have such a strong flavor.
5 I added 1/4 tsp. each of savory and marjoram
6. I didn’t blend it down as I like texture in a marinara.
Looking forward to making lasagna, spaghetti, and pizza with it this winter.
Chantelle says
Can we just add the lemon juice to the entire sauce batch instead of individually adding it to each jar?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Chantelle, this is per official canning guidelines which states that the lemon juice must be added to each individual jar, not the whole pot, and that bottled lemon juice (not fresh) must be used.
Joanne C Toft says
I am planning on using a slow cooker for this recipe then freezing. Any changes you think I should make.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Joanne, no changes, just be sure to leave the lid off while it’s simmering so that the excess liquid can evaporate.
Dayna says
I’m just getting ready to make this sauce, it sounds amazing and I can’t wait!
My question is; if dried onion is superior to fresh onion for long term storage, would it follow that dried garlic would be preferable to fresh garlic? And if so, how much dried garlic is equal to 6 cloves?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Dayna, I prefer dried onion for this recipe because of its flavor; in the case of garlic fresh is the winner.
Suzi says
I have the SAME question!!! Does anyone have the amount of chopped tomatoes needed for this recipe ina CUPS MEASUREMENT?? That would be a GREAT help!
WYATT says
Usually it’s 4-1 with fresh to dried. so 2 cups
Sonali says
Is it 12 lbs of tomatoes before or after skinning/peeling? I ask because I freeze my tomatoes without seeds and stems until September when I can process my entire summer harvest into tomato sauce/marinara sauce and I want to know how much to use/measure out for this recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sonali, that’s 12 pounds before skinning. Happy cooking!
Suzi says
I have the SAME question!!! Does anyone have the amount of chopped tomatoes needed for this recipe ina CUPS MEASUREMENT?? That would be a GREAT help!
Sorry, Didn’t mean to ask this question on the “dried onions” question.
Jessica says
This is the best marinara sauce! My mom dropped off several pounds of tomatoes from her garden and I had to figure out what to do with them. Husband says the marinara is way better than the store bought stuff 😊. Now have to hunt down more tomatoes so I can make more to get us through the winter months. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Yay, I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it, Jessica, thank you! :)
tina says
This really is the best. My kitchen smells like an italian restaurant. Thanks so much for the recipe this one is a keeper.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Tina! :)
Kim says
Sounds delicious! Could you use fresh sautéed onions instead of fried?
Monique Sparks says
Can’t wait to try this! This recipe is exactly what I was looking for to can for the cooler weather coming up. Do you have any idea how to convert the fresh tomatoes to canned puree/sauce/paste? I know it won’t be a popular question, but I didn’t grow any tomatoes and would like to try this recipe with organic tomato options at the grocery store. (Although I know the fresh tomatoes are a main component, I’m willing to take the chance!)
Maryt says
I made this yesterday and it is delish! My 2 adult families love it too!! Dipping warm French bread…so yummy! I also got your info from Laura at Garden Answer. I will be making this again even during the winter in smaller batches using fresh or canned tomatoes! Many thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s wonderful, Maryt, thank you so much and I hope you come back and try some other recipes! <3
Gina Swanson says
Is this a tested recipe for water bath canning? I have heard oil can be an issue?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Gina, yes, the recommendation for water bath canning is generally to avoid oil. However when it comes to pickled vegetables specifically, because of the high acidity content the guidelines permit a small of oil.
Beth says
I completely agree with Laura, from the Garden Answer YouTube channel. This is the best marinara I have ever made. I put my tomatoes thru an attachment to my kitchen aide mixer that removes the seeds and skins. Then I put them in a roaster overnight to evaporate some of the extra liquid. I added all the herbs and such this morning and the house smells amazing – time to can. Thanks for the recipe. I will be checking out some of your other posts.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much for the feedback, Beth, and I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the sauce! I hope you’ll visit often for more recipes! <3