BEST Marinara SauceĀ You won’t find a more flavorful marinara sauce – it’s easy to make and is absolutely PACKED with flavor!Ā 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. Ā 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: Ā Sun-kissed San Marzano tomatoes. Ā They’re stronger in flavor and much sweeter than most any other variety. Ā And for that reason it’s hard to replicate the flavor of the marinara sauces you find in southern Italy. Ā 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. Ā 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!Ā 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. Ā 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. Ā 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. Ā Peel the tomatoes and squeeze out and discard the seeds. Ā Chop the tomatoes.
Place the tomatoes in a large pot with all the ingredients (except for the citric acid/lemon juice). Ā 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. Ā 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. Ā Fill the hot marinara sauce into the jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Ā Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth. Ā Screw on the clean lids and rims.
Next you’ll use a water canner to process the jars. Ā 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). Ā Turn off the heat and let the jars rest for 5 minutes before removing.
Adjustments for canning at high altitude:Ā
- 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. Ā Check the seals.Ā 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.
Tye Baker says
Perhaps I missed it, but how many ounces of crushed tomatoes or tomato puree would I use instead of the fresh tomatoes?
Karey Jensen says
Just made Best Marinera recipe. I was impressed with the flavor of this sauce. I didn’t add anything extra to it. The recipe was easy to follow. I was surprised at how many tomatoes it took to get 12#. The canning directions were helpful. Can’t wait for next year’s harvest to do it again.
Kimberly Killebrew says
Fantastic, Karey, thank you so much!
Judy kelow says
Was wondering if this recipe can be canned in a pressure canner? Nervous about canning tomatoes in high altitudeā¦.
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Judy, yes it can be canned in a pressure canner. No need to add the lemon juice or citric acid when you’re pressure canning.
Tammy says
How long for pints and quarts for pressure canning? Thank you
Mike says
Just made a double batch of sauce. Seemed quite good when I tasted it before putting into jars for water bath canning. They’re cooling now on the counter but I noticed the lemon juice on the bottom didn’t mix w the rest of the sauce. Is this an issue?
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Mike, once the jars have sat for at least 24 hours you can give them a little shake to mix in the lemon juice.
Michael says
Looks great. I have 40lbs of tomatoes from my garden and am looking forward to tripling this recipe. I’d love to minced 2 green peppers to add to the sauce before canning. Wondering if that would goof up the acidity though. Thoughts?
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Michael, it shouldn’t but not having tested the pH level after the addition of the bell peppers I cannot say for sure. If you want to be absolutely certain that the sauce is safely canned with those additions you can pressure can it. Alternatively you can freeze the sauce. That’s what I do more often than canning because I use the sauce regularly. I put the sauce in ziplock gallon bags and lay them flat in the freezer. They stack up nicely and I just pull them out and thaw them when I need them.
Kim says
Best! Pasta sauce recipe ever!!!! I harvested my garden tomatoes 3 times and canned over 20 pints!
Kimberly Killebrew says
So awesome, Kim!!! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the feedback!
Jennifer says
The sauce is perfect! Your recipes are always full of flavour, never lacking any spice. Thank you again, Kimberly.
Kimberly Killebrew says
Thank you so much, Jennifer! As always, I so very much appreciate your support and your taking time to leave feedback. Hugs, Kimberly
Kate says
Can u use a different vinegar?
Kimberly Killebrew says
Hi Kate, the addition of the vinegar is specifically for the deep, caramelized, complex flavors in balsamic vinegar. Using a different vinegar will just add an unpleasant tang without contributing flavor and complexity. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar just omit it.
Veronica Elenore Dagenais says
I like to use a pressure canner. How many Pounds presure and for how long.
Laura says
Just wondering if any one has figured out how many cups of diced tomatoes is equal to 12 pounds of tomatoes?