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A Great Marinara Sauce for Canning

A great marinara sauce to can and use for spaghetti, pasta dishes, lasagna and pizza
5 from 8 votes
Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Total Time 4 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian

Equipment

  • Kitchen Aid Food Grinder
  • Kitchen Aid Fruit/Vegetable Grinder
  • Kitchen Aid Food Tray
  • Kitchen Aid Mixer
  • Stockpot
  • Skillet
  • food processor
  • Canning Jars, rings and lids
  • Canning Jar Lifter
  • water bath canner

Ingredients
  

  • 20 lb Roma tomatoes
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 3 C sweet onion, minced vidalia or candy onions work well
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 green pepper, minced
  • 1/2 C fresh basil, minced
  • 3 T fresh thyme, off of the stems
  • 3 T fresh marjoram, off of the stems
  • 3 T fresh oregano, off of the stems
  • 3 T parsley, off of the stems
  • 1 fresh rosemary bunch, left on the stem
  • 1 fennel bulb, chopped
  • 3 T fennel tops, chopped
  • 1 t fennel seeds
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 2 T garlic salt
  • 2 T salt and pepper
  • 1 t sugar
  • bottled lemon juice or citric acid 1 t bottle lemon or 1/4 t citric acid to each quart according to safe food guidelines

Instructions
 

  • Wash and quarter tomatoes and add to a stockpot to cook on the stove. Do NOT add liquid. As the tomatoes cook, they will cook in their own juices. Cook until the tomatoes are cooked down really well. May take up to an hour to get to the cooked down stage.
  • While the tomatoes are cooking, use a food processor to mince onions and add to 2 T. olive oil and the minced garlic into a skillet and carmelize. Set aside.
  • Mince all of the herbs except the rosemary. Leave that on the stalk to add later. Feel free to "bloom" the herbs in a small bit of olive oil in the microwave for 20 seconds before adding to the pot to bring out the herbs flavor. Set aside.
  • Attach your Kitchen Aid fruit/vegetable strainer to your Kitchen Aid mixer, as directions are given.
  • Place a large mixing bowl beneath the strainer. I use my large Kitchen Aid mixing bowl to catch the sauce beneath.
  • Where the cores, seeds and peelings come out, I use another large mixing bowl to catch those.
  • When tomatoes are cooked into "pieces", remove from the stove. I have cooled these down before adding to the Kitchen Aid strainer to make it less likely to get burned. But, they can be added while still pretty warm, too.
  • Be careful that the pot for the sauce doesn't extend to the outlet for the discard tube, so that the peelings, cores and seeds don't fall back into your finished sauce.
  • Turn on your Kitchen Aid mixer and add all of the tomatoes through the vegetable grinder. You will notice that there is pulp that comes through the screen attachment between the attachment and discard tube. As it fills, I always scrape that off to make sure that all of that great pulp "meat" of the tomatoes falls back into the sauce bowl.
  • When the mixing bowl is full, add it to a stockpot and place it back onto the stove. Add in the cooked onions, garlic, green pepper, fennel, chopped herbs, and seasonings, I add in the stalk of rosemary so that as it cooks and I taste, I can remove it when I think there's been enough rosemary added and before it becomes overpowering.
  • Let the sauce simmer until it thickens and becomes the right consistency that you prefer. Make sure that you stir often to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. I love my lodge ceramic glazed stock pot because it just cooks so evenly. Taste and add more seasonings or remove the rosemary and/or bay leaf during the cooking process. I usually cook mine 2 hours or more to get my desired thickness. Make sure that you remove the bay leaves and rosemary before canning.
  • Get your canning supplies ready. Canning jars, rings and lids prepared and the water bath canner filled and heated and ready to process.
  • Fill your jars, wipe off tops, add rings and lids and water bath according to water bath directions for the size of jars that you are using.
  • ***USDA canning guidelines recommend adding citric acid or bottled lemon juice to each quart before canning. Just that in to the top of each jar.
  • When finished canning, place jars out of a draft and leave jars to cool completely for 12-24 hours before moving. Check to make certain that all lids have sealed.
  • Make sure that you always label and date jars before storing.

Notes

This recipe makes the perfect marinara sauce that's great in pasta dishes or on pizzas. 
TIP:  Make sure that you have the BEST Roma tomatoes and fresh produce before you begin. It truly makes a difference!
TIP: I always cover my work surface under the Kitchen Aid with a vinyl tablecloth with towels underneath to protect my butcher block countertop from heat while working. If you tend to make a mess, add a tarp covering to your floor. Just an extra precaution, too, since I have wooden floors.
TIP: If you use more than one stockpot to cook the sauce, separate out your spices and seasonings in each. Then add 1 rosemary bunch to each pot, one bay leaf to each, etc.
TIP: You can add a can of tomato paste to thicken before processing, if you prefer. For me, when I am ready to use the sauce, if it is not as thick as I'd like, I can add tomato paste then.
For pasta dishes, I often add either vegetables, such as, zucchini or yellow squash, for a vegetable dish; or, add 1 lb. cooked turkey or ground beef to the sauce for a meat sauce version.
It makes a great chicken parmesan dish or lasagna sauce, too. 
Such a healthy time saver for a fast easy meal!
Enjoy!
Keyword Marinara Sauce