Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

Overhead view of a pot of homemade tomato sauce with a wooden spoon, surrounded by fresh red tomatoes and two filled canning jars on a white quartz counter

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Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe

A simple, plain tomato sauce from fresh or frozen garden tomatoes. Season it later when you cook with it. Includes pressure-canning notes so you can put it on the shelf.

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 30

Servings

Calories 51kcal

Author Jennifer

Equipment

1 food mill or sieve
1 large pot
4 pint size jars

Ingredients

10 lbs ripe tomatoes, fresh or frozen (paste tomatoes like Roma give the thickest sauce)
1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or citric acid (required if canning, see notes): 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice OR 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per pint jar
1/2 teaspoon Salt, optional per pint, to taste

Instructions

Prep the tomatoes.
Fresh: wash and core. Frozen: thaw, slip off the skins, pour off some of the released water, then core. Cut all tomatoes into quarters. Cherry tomatoes can be left uncut.
Cook them soft.
Add a few quarters to a large pot and heat to get the juices going, then add the rest. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until soft and saucy.
Mill out skins and seeds.
Run the soft tomatoes through a food mill or press through a sieve. Discard the skins and seeds.
Simmer to thicken.
Pour the puree into a wide pot. Simmer gently, stirring often, until reduced by about one-third for a thin sauce or about one-half for a thick sauce.
Use, refrigerate, freeze, or can.
Season and use right away, keep in the fridge up to 5 days, freeze up to 6 months, or pressure can following the notes below.

Notes

Canning requires added acid. Tomatoes are borderline for acidity, so if you're canning, add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to every jar (amounts above), even when using a pressure canner. Use bottled lemon juice, not fresh, because its acidity is consistent.
Keep it plain for canning. Don't add onion, garlic, peppers, oil, or extra herbs to sauce you plan to can, and don't thicken it with flour or cornstarch. Those change the safety of the recipe.
Frozen tomatoes release more water, so expect a little longer simmer to reach the same thickness.
Pressure-canning pints: 1/4-inch headspace; process 15 minutes at 11 pounds (dial-gauge) or 10 pounds (weighted-gauge) at up to 1,000 feet elevation. Adjust pressure for your altitude using the current NCHFP table. Full walkthrough below.

Nutrition