Easy Tomato Basil Sauce Recipe for Canning

One of my favorite vegetables to grow in our garden is tomatoes.  And not just one variety.  Although I am a little partial to Early Girls.

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Tomatoes are such a great addition to the garden because they can be used for so many different dishes.  From fresh sliced tomatoes in salads and sandwiches, to stewed tomatoes in soups, to tomato sauces for pasta dishes.  Tomatoes make such a great pantry staple.

In recent years, we've started canning our own tomato sauce for use in soups, pasta dishes and pizza sauces.  This is an easy tomato sauce recipe for canning that we've started using regularly.  It is super simple and great with a variety of tomatoes.

A good paste tomato like a Roma or San Marzano is great for this recipe, but you can use other varieties of tomatoes as well.

Ingredients and Equipment

For this recipe, our main ingredient is fresh tomatoes.  You'll want about 20 lbs of tomatoes.  Which is a lot, but you'll cook them down to only about 5 quart jars of sauce.

You'll also need:

• 20 lbs fresh tomatoes
• 1 c. onions
• 8 cloves garlic
• fresh basil chopped - you decide how much you want to add for flavor
• lemon juice
• tomato press or strainer
• Water bath canner
• quart mason jars, lids and rims

Preparing the Ingredients

Start by washing and coring tomatoes.  Get all the dirt and debris off the tomatoes.  Next, use a tomato huller to take out the core.

Roughly chop tomatoes into quarter slices or half slices for smaller tomatoes.  Set these aside for now.

Next, wash and dry fresh basil. Chop into fine pieces and place in a bowl.

Cut up onions and garlic.  Sauté onions and garlic in a large stockpot with 1 Tbsp oil. Once onions are tender, add chopped tomatoes to stockpot.

 

 

Cooking the Tomato Sauce

You may need to add them tomatoes gradually as the cook down. Allow tomatoes to cook down until tender about 20 minutes. Stir regularly.

Strain tomatoes through a tomato press.  This will remove the seeds, skins, and onion chunks.

 

Replace tomato sauce into the stockpot. Add chopped basil to sauce. Allow sauce to simmer down until it has lost at least 50% or more. May take 35-40 minutes or longer.

 

Canning the Sauce

Meanwhile, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice to bottom of quart jars. Once the sauce has cooked down, place tomatoes in HOT jars and leave a 1 inch headspace. Add lids and rims.

 

 

Place in water bath for 45 minutes for 1000 altitude. Adjust based on your altitude.

Remove and place on a dry cloth on the countertop for 24 hours. Label and store.

Now you have a great tomato sauce recipe for canning that you can use over an over again for years to come.  Now is the time to grow those tomatoes, so add them to your garden this year.

Make sure to grab the recipe below and watch the video to follow along as we make this delicious tomato basil sauce.

VIDEO:  Tomato Basil Sauce

🔽 Jump to Recipe 🔽

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