Both our families, Emmaline’s and mine, love Italian Food, especially Spaghetti. Like a lot! That’s why this Garlic Basil Homemade Spaghetti Sauce canning recipe and tutorial is so great. Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is not only delicious but so easy to throw together for a variety of meal ideas when you need a fast dinner.
This canning and filming season we have 4 different homemade spaghetti sauce recipes that each have their own distinct flavors. This is one of my favorites as the garlic and basil make such a great combination with our lovely tomatoes. This tastes fabulous with meatballs, chicken, or just on noodles alone.
Emmaline loves how light and flavorful this recipe is.
Garlic Basil Spaghetti Sauce
This recipe makes 8 pints of Garlic Basil Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Garlic Basil Spaghetti Sauce Ingredients:
20 pounds quartered Tomatoes
1 finely chopped Onion
3/4 c minced Garlic
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Basil
1 tbsp Lemon Juice per pint
soften tomatoes
Directions for Making Garlic Basil Homemade Spaghetti Sauce:
Soften the tomatoes by simmering for about 20 minutes. While this is softening combine the olive oil, butter, garlic, and onion. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the basil. Simmer an additional 5 minutes and then set aside.
food mill and strain
Process the soft tomatoes through a food mill or a blender if you prefer to keep the seeds and skins. Then place the pulp in a strainer (I like my husband’s honey strainer.) or cheesecloth to drain out the juice. Save the juice to be canned later. This step of straining the sauce allows you to skip the reducing down process which usually takes about 2-3 hours to do. If for some reason the sauce seems too thick you can add some of the juice back in. Place the strained pulp in a large saucepot and add the onion mixture. Cook until it reaches a simmer.
fill jars
I like to put a little of the sauce in the bottom of the hot jar before adding the lemon juice to give the jar a buffer from the cooler temperature of the lemon juice.
I then fill it up leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Place the lid on top of the jar and add the ring. Tighten the ring to fingertip tight and process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes if at sea level. Remember to adjust your processing time if you are above 1000 feet in elevation.
processing complete
Once your sauce has completed processing, space the jars about an inch apart on the counter for 24 hours to cool and completely seal.
If your jar did not seal, then place it in the fridge and use it immediately. Store the sealed jars in your pantry to enjoy for the next 1-3 years. After three years the nutritional value of canned food diminishes. The quality is best in the first year.
Garlic Basil Spaghetti Sauce
If you have any questions about canning with a pressure canner or how to adjust the pressure or processing time for altitude, take a look at our canning basics videos.
