Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Makes 7 quarts
- 14 pounds of tomatoes run through a strainer (weigh them before straining)
- 1 cup of olive oil
- 1/2 garlic bulb chopped very fine
- 4 onions chopped fine
- 2 bell peppers chopped fine (remove seeds and membrane from inside)
- 2 jalapeño peppers chopped fine (remove seeds and membrane from inside)
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 2 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup of Italian seasoning (marjoram, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, savory, and sage). Buy mixed spice or grow your own.
You’ll need a pot that holds about 2 gallons for this. If you have nothing else, use your pressure canner as the pot and then clean it before you need it as a canner.
Sauté the peppers, onions, and garlic in the oil until tender. Then stir in the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and salt and bring to a medium boil. Continue to stir occasionally for about an hour holding at a low to medium boil to reduce the liquid. Add your Italian spices the last 15 minutes of cooking. Once it is as thick as you want, it is ready to can.
Have seven clean quart jars ready with rings and new lids. Ladle the sauce in the jars leaving one inch headspace. Wipe the top of the jars clean with a paper towel and top with the lid and ring. Tighten it but don’t crank it down.
To get your canner ready, fill the bottom with three quarts of water (check your instructions with your cooker in case it is a different size). Add the round rack that fits inside to hold the jars off the floor of the cooker. Since your sauce is going to be hot, go ahead and heat the water in the cooker to just below boiling. Place the filled closed jars inside, check the seal on the cooker lid (they can stretch out of shape over time) and close it up. Turn the heat on high and watch for the steam to start coming out of the vent pipe. Once it does, time it for 10 minutes (I use the timer on the microwave). This lets the air out which is important.
After the 10 minutes, place the weight/pressure regulator over the vent pipe. Now the pressure will start building and you should be able to hear the jars boiling inside. Watch the dial as the pressure starts to build. You want to let it rise to 11 pounds of pressure and then hold it there for 30 minutes by adjusting the heat. It is alright for it to go over some but don’t let it go under. You’ll be tempted to go do something else while it is boiling but don’t. You need to watch the pressure closely.
Once your 30 minutes are up, turn off the heat and leave the cooker alone until it is completely cool. When it is, open it and remove your canned spaghetti sauce. Write the date and contents on the lid and store in the pantry. You’re done!
