Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This easy homemade spaghetti sauce is one of my favorite ways to preserve a big tomato harvest. Made with fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs, and tomato paste, it has a rich, savory flavor that makes it perfect for serving over pasta with my simple mozzarella recipe or using in homemade pizza on my sourdough discard pizza crust recipe, baked spaghetti, and other Italian-inspired meals. The best part is that you can enjoy it fresh, or you can water-bath can it, which is perfect for stocking your pantry for the months ahead.
Quick Look: Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 30 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 50 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 32 cups
- 📊 Calories: ~ 123 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: Oven-baked in bread pans.
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Rich and savory with robust tomato flavor, aromatic herbs, and a slightly sweet, well-balanced sauce.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy – straightforward steps for a flavorful homemade sauce.
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Why You'll Love This Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Made with simple ingredients. Fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs, and tomato paste create a flavorful homemade sauce without a long list of ingredients. If you're into gardening, be sure to check out my post on how to grow tomatoes for beginners.
- Great way to preserve tomatoes. This recipe turns a big garden harvest into homemade spaghetti sauce that you can enjoy throughout the year. If you don’t have garden-fresh tomatoes, you can certainly use canned tomatoes or tomato sauce. If you want to stock your pantry with tomatoes that can be used in recipes like this throughout the year, learn how to can whole tomatoes.
- Make it fresh or can it. You can serve the sauce right away or water-bath can it for long-term pantry storage.
- No peeling or seeding required. The tomatoes are cooked whole and blended smooth, which saves a lot of preparation time.
- Easy to make in large batches. It's perfect for using up a lot of tomatoes at once during canning season.
- So many ways to use it. Serve it over my sourdough pasta recipe, homemade pizza pockets, pizza, lasagna, or keep a jar on hand for quick weeknight meals.
Ingredients
- Salt - Redmond salt is best, but use whatever you have. It can be purchased from Redmond Salt.
For a full list of ingredients needed to make this recipe, see the recipe card below.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
How To Make This Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Step 1: Add the tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, core them and place the whole tomatoes in a roaster, large heavy-bottomed stockpot, or slow cooker. There is no need to peel or remove the seeds—we’ll blend them later. If using canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, simply add them to your cooking vessel.
Step 2: Begin cooking the tomatoes. Turn the roaster to 350°F, the slow cooker to high, or the stockpot to medium-high heat. Cover with a lid to help the tomatoes heat and begin cooking more quickly.
Step 3: Sauté the onions and garlic. In a separate skillet, sauté the chopped onions and garlic in a small amount of fat, such as butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or beef tallow. Cook until softened and caramelized.
Step 4: Add the onions, garlic, and spices.
Add the caramelized onions and garlic to the tomatoes, then stir in all of the spices.
Step 5: Blend the sauce. Once the tomatoes are soft, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until smooth. Add the tomato paste and blend again until everything is well combined.
Step 6: Simmer the spaghetti sauce. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for a few minutes, allowing the flavors to blend together.
Step 7: Serve fresh or can the sauce. Serve the spaghetti sauce fresh over pasta, or ladle the hot sauce into clean jars using a canning funnel and measuring cup. Place the lids and rings on the jars and process in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes.
Step 8: Cool and store. Allow the jars to cool completely. Once the jars are sealed, remove the rings and store the spaghetti sauce in your pantry. If enjoying the sauce fresh, store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Tips for Making This Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Taste before serving. Tomatoes can vary in sweetness and acidity, so taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
- Use fresh or canned tomatoes. This recipe is a great way to use up fresh garden tomatoes, but canned tomatoes or tomato sauce work just as well.
- Don’t peel or seed the tomatoes. The immersion blender will blend everything smooth, making this recipe much easier to prepare.
- Cook the onions and garlic until caramelized. This adds extra depth and flavor to the finished sauce.
- Adjust the thickness. Simmer the sauce longer if you prefer a thicker spaghetti sauce.
- Make a big batch. This recipe is perfect for using up a large tomato harvest and stocking your pantry for the year.
- Freeze it if you don’t want to can it. Allow the sauce to cool completely, then freeze it in freezer-safe containers for longer storage.
Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce FAQs
The secret is using flavorful tomatoes and giving the sauce enough time to cook and develop its flavor. Sautéing the onions and garlic until caramelized also adds extra depth to the sauce.
Common mistakes include not cooking the onions and garlic long enough, making the sauce too watery, and adding too much seasoning at once. Start with the recommended seasonings, let the sauce simmer, then taste and adjust as needed.
No. There is no need to peel or seed the tomatoes for this recipe. The tomatoes are cooked until soft and then blended with an immersion blender until smooth.
The easiest way to thicken spaghetti sauce is to let it simmer uncovered so some of the excess liquid can evaporate. Adding tomato paste also helps create a thicker, richer sauce.
Yes! Canned tomatoes are a convenient option when fresh garden tomatoes aren't available. Simply add the canned tomatoes to the roaster, stockpot, or slow cooker and continue with the recipe.
Fresh homemade spaghetti sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Yes. Allow the sauce to cool completely, then transfer it to freezer-safe containers or bags. Leave some room for expansion as the sauce freezes.
Yes, but only use a tested canning recipe with the correct ingredients, proportions, processing time, and jar size. The acidity of homemade spaghetti sauce can vary, so don't alter a canning recipe and assume the same processing time is safe.
Other Favorite Tomato Recipes
If you try this recipe and love it, please come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @wagonwheelhomestead21. I can’t wait to see what all you make!
Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
- Large heavy bottom stock pot, electric roaster or crockpot
- Roaster liner or crockpot liner (if using a roaster or crockpot)
- sharp knife
- cutting board
- Immersion blender or regular blender
- Canning Funnel
- Canning jars - I prefer narrow mouth quarts
- Measuring cup with a handle
- For Jars Canning Lids
- Camp Chef Stove - for outdoor cooking and canning
- Water Bath Canner
Ingredients
- 6 quarts tomatoes
- 2 onions chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 tsp. oregano
- 2 tsp. black pepper
- 4 tsp. salt
- 4 tsp. parsley
- 4 tsp. basil
- ½ c. sugar
- 2 quarts of tomato paste 64 oz
Instructions
- If you're making this for fresh eating, feel free to cut the recipe in half.
- If using fresh tomatoes, core whole tomatoes and place in roaster, large heavy bottom stock pot or slow cooker. Do not peel or take the seeds out. We will blend them up later, and you’ll never know they are in there.
- If using canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, just dump them into the roaster, large heavy bottom stock pot or slow cooker.
- Turn roaster on 350 degrees, crockpot on high or stockpot on medium-high heat to begin heating tomatoes. I like to put a lid on in the beginning to help them start cooking faster.
- In a separate skillet, saute chopped onions and garlic in a small amount of fat like butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or even beef tallow.
- Cook until caramelized, and then add to the tomatoes.
- Add all the spices to the tomato mixture.
- Once the tomatoes are soft, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce well.
- Add tomato paste and blend again.
- Turn the heat down to a low simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- Serve fresh over pasta
OR
- Ladle into clean jars using canning funnel and measuring cup
- Place lids and rings onto the jarred sauce.
- Process in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool. Once jars are sealed, remove the rings and store on your pantry shelves.
- If eating fresh, you can store leftover spaghetti sauce in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.
- Makes approximately 8 quarts of sauce.
After following your recipe "Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce" and jarring up, placing in water bath caner and starting the process I realized that you do not anywhere mention lemon juice or citric acid so I did not add any, just followed the recipe without thinking. Is that how you do it ? no acid ? or did you forget to list it.
I never add any, the tomatoes are high acid enough and then with the salt and sugar you don't need any citric acid or lemon juice. Glad you checked though!
Our favorite
Love this recipe!
we love this recipe!
Always great flavor and to have in my pantry
How many quarts of sauce does this recipe make for canning?
Hi Linda, this makes approximately 8 quarts of sauce.