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Easy Homemade Canned Tomato Sauce from Fresh Garden Tomatoes

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Capture the taste of summer with this easy homemade canned tomato sauce made from fresh garden tomatoes. A quick oven-roasting technique locks in sweetness and umami, giving you that all-day-cooked taste in a fraction of the time.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 10–12 pounds fresh tomatoes (Roma or San Marzano preferred)
  • 2 large yellow onions, peeled and quartered
  • 8–10 garlic cloves, smashed
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large handful fresh basil leaves
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2–3 teaspoons kosher salt (to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup bottled lemon juice (for canning safety)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Wash tomatoes, remove cores and bruised spots. Cut larger tomatoes in half; Romas can be left whole or halved lengthwise. Peel and quarter onions. Smash garlic cloves.
  2. Toss tomatoes, onions, and garlic with olive oil, salt, and pepper on rimmed baking sheets. Spread in a single layer. Roast for 45-60 minutes, stirring once halfway, until tomatoes are soft, blistered, and caramelized, and onions are tender and golden.
  3. Let roasted vegetables cool for 10 minutes. Working in batches, pass mixture through a food mill fitted with medium disc into a large stockpot. Alternatively, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
  4. Place stockpot over medium heat and bring sauce to a gentle simmer. Stir in dried oregano. Simmer uncovered for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until sauce coats the back of a spoon.
  5. Stir in fresh basil leaves and let wilt for 1-2 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat.
  6. While sauce simmers, prepare canning station: Wash jars, lids, and bands in hot soapy water. Place jars in water bath canner, cover with water, and bring to a simmer (180°F). Place lids in a small saucepan of simmering water.
  7. Remove a hot jar from canner using jar lifter. Add 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice per pint jar (2 tablespoons per quart). Ladle hot sauce into jar, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles with a chopstick. Wipe rim clean, center lid, and screw on band fingertip-tight.
  8. Lower filled jars into canner, ensuring they are covered by at least 1 inch of water. Cover, bring to a full rolling boil, and process for 35 minutes for pints, 40 minutes for quarts (adjust for altitude: add 5 minutes per 1,000 feet above sea level).
  9. Turn off heat, remove lid, and let jars sit in water for 5 minutes. Transfer to a towel-lined counter, leaving space between jars. Cool completely, undisturbed, for 12-24 hours. Check seals: press center of lid; if it doesn’t pop back, it’s sealed. Refrigerate any unsealed jars and use within a week.

Notes

Don’t skip the roasting step—it concentrates flavor. Use bottled lemon juice for safe canning (standardized acidity). Leave ½ inch headspace in jars. Taste sauce before canning and adjust seasoning. For high altitude, add 5 minutes processing time per 1,000 feet above sea level.

Nutrition

Keywords: homemade tomato sauce, canned tomato sauce, garden tomatoes, canning recipe, preserving tomatoes, easy tomato sauce, roasted tomato sauce

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