A wonderfully flavored canned roasted tomato sauce that is safe to preserve in a boiling-water canner to be shelf stable. Having jars of this sauce in your pantry makes amazingly easy weeknight dinners that also makes any day remind you of summer!
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I’m super happy to be able to finally share this canned roasted tomato sauce that’s safe for boiling water bath canning with you! I have been searching for awhile for a recipe to safely water-bath can roasted tomato sauce, similar to our family’s favorite Roasted Tomato & Vegetable Sauce for Freezing, mainly for the convenience of having jars in the pantry ready to go for weeknight dinners. And this is a keeper for sure, taking a tested recipe and then adding the roasting step for the vegetables. It’s SO good!
Be Safe With Canning Tomato Sauce
However I do have to caution that you’ve got to be careful when searching the internet. I found quite a few “recipes” that didn’t list any specific amounts (“fill a pan with tomatoes, throw in a good handful of ______,” etc.) and then gave instructions for water-bath canning with the addition of citric acid.
Recipes like this are NOT considered safe by the USDA – adding citric acid to a concoction that is full of low-acid ingredients (olive oil, onions, garlic, fresh herbs and sometimes peppers), does not make it shelf-stable with boiling-water canning, especially when they’re not even measured amounts (see this article for more information).
I know that many people have canned this way for years, but in my opinion, it’s just food and never worth even a possibility of sickness. (Note: there’s a little more flexibility with sauces canned using a pressure canner, but it’s still recommended that you use a tested recipe.)
What About This Canned Roasted Tomato Sauce?
Okay, off my soapbox! After all that searching, are you wondering how I came up with this boiling water safe canned roasted sauce? Good for you for questioning – we should definitely educate ourselves when it comes to feeding our families.
Here’s the deal: I searched and searched and couldn’t find any roasted tomato sauce recipe that was safe for canning tomato sauce in a water bath canner. But then I wondered why I couldn’t just take the tomato sauce recipe from the Ball Blue Book that I’ve canned many times and instead of boiling the tomatoes, roast them instead. All the measured ingredients would be the same, only the cooking method would change.
This sounded like the solution to me, but to make sure I called the preservation hotline from our extension agency (Oregon State where I live) and asked them if they thought it would be okay. I told them I’d be sharing it with my blog readers – and they okayed the new cooking method! They just cautioned me to keep all the other low-acid ingredients the same and to be sure to include the addition of citric acid or lemon juice. Which I did, of course.
And guess what? It worked great and gave this sauce that nice roasted flavor that our favorite freezer sauce has. This is the sauce I’d been looking for!
How to Make Canned Roasted Tomato Sauce
Besides enhancing the flavor, one of the other reasons I like to roast tomatoes for sauces is because I can skip the boiling-water-peeling step since it’s easy to just pluck the darkened skins off after roasting. So even though it took 2 batches of roasting for this amount of sauce (I can only fit the three pans shown above in my oven at one time), it still took less time and work.
Note: Removing the skins is specified in the original recipe, so that’s what I do, but I leave skins on my favorite salsa and addictive tomato chutney, so you might choose to leave them on here. I haven’t found research to say it will affect the acid ratio. Just be sure your tomatoes are really clean.
So basically we’re skipping the peeling and initial cooking part and replacing that with pans of roasted ingredients. After your ingredients are roasted, though, you do need to bring it to a boil so it’s nice and hot for canning.
After roasting, you transfer everything into a large stockpot (this actually makes it easy to roast more pans to finish the full recipe – the first batch can wait in the pot for the second batch to roast).
When everything is roasted, I like to use my workhorse immersion blender to make a smooth sauce, but you can do it in batches with a blender or food processor, too – it’s just messier. After all the ingredients are in a large stock pot and blended, it’s just a matter of bringing to a boil again and then transferring to jars to can.
Tools I use For this Recipe:
- Food Scale
- Immersion Blender
- Stainless Steel Boiling Water Canner
- Stainless Steel Canning Funnel
- Stainless Steel Ladle
- Pint Mason Jars and Lids
A note on seeds: we don’t mind seeds in the sauce and I do squeeze out quite a few when I’m prepping the tomatoes for roasting, but if you’d prefer a seedless sauce, you can strain the sauce after you’ve whirred it up – it’s up to you.
Here’s a video on the simple steps for boiling water canning if you need:
Or you can go to this article and read the steps with photos.
Oh, and I should mention that I took the in-process photos above before I realized that I should add all the other ingredients to the roasting pans first and then place the tomatoes on top of them. This makes it easier to pluck the skins off without losing any of the spices or other ingredients. Just in case you are, like, “hey that’s not what’s in the picture.” Gotta keep you all on your toes!
I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
Click the arrow for the full Canned Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe (with print options)!
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I would like to be able to do this recipe in pressure canner.
any info on that?
This hasn’t been tested with a pressure canner so I can’t give any info on that. I think if you used a tomato sauce recipe created for a pressure canner and then roasted the tomatoes first like I did here, that would be good.
Just finished processing 11lbs of Early Girls and San Marzano-style tomatoes. Love this recipe. Adjusted herbs simply to fit my tastes. Added a hefty 1/2t raw honey to cut the acid. Processed three quart jars and one pint jar. Will use this recipe again and again. Thank you
#marileecooks #marlysmaybonne
★★★★★
Sounds wonderful, Marilee!
Is it safe to omit the salt?
Yes that’s okay, it’s just for flavor.
★★★★★
Hi Jami…. Just made this recipe and I love it, so tasty!! This will be my go to in the following years. I used herbs from my garden that I had dried a couple months ago with my food dehydrator, I assumed this was ok? I also used a variety of tomatoes from my garden (beef stake, roma, cherry, black versa). My one concern, I tried to pre-weigh to the 23# of tomatoes but was a bit short on the tomato weight. I kept all the other ingredients the same as listed in the recipe and ended up with 6 pints of final product. Do you see it as an issue if the tomatoes were on the light side?
I’m so glad you like this recipe, Holly! Yes, adding dried herbs is fine – bonus points for drying your own herbs in advance. 🙂
I think you’ll be okay – the tested recipes usually have room for this. In the future I might add a few less low acid ingredients, just to balance it out. If you’re worried at all, you can always keep these pints in the fridge for storage.
Hi there, is it necessary to remove tomato skins for food safety reasons or can I leave them on if I’m okay with the texture? I make a similar recipe and usually leave the skins on, but normally I’m eating it right away or within a few days, not canning it. Thanks!
You can leave them on if you want, Deborah – I do with salsa and chutney that are chunky anyway and it’s fine from a safety standpoint (just wash well). We just like a smooth sauce (and skins tend to get tough in storage).
I’m going to try this recipe this weekend…can’t wait. In the past I have peeled tomatoes prior to canning and have dehydrated the peels and crushed them into a fine powder in my blender. The powder is great for seasoning.
What a great idea to use up the skins, Debby!
I hope you enjoy this sauce – it really is good.
★★★★★
When you add the lemon juice to the hot jars and then add the tomato sauce to the jars, should you stir the content or not? Thanks.
I don’t bother stirring, Joanne, since they will be boiling in the canner. You can always do it, though, using a non-metalic tool.
I would love to try this recipe, it sounds delicious, but was wondering how you use the finished product? Is it for a soup base, spaghetti sauce, or something else? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and time!
I’ve used it for all those things, Natalie, but our favorite is as a pasta sauce. If it needs thickening for any sauce application, I just add a bit of tomato paste when I cook it.
Right on, I get that, and I hope I didn’t come off as condescending; I’m just wondering why, instead of shying away from the issue, that the USDA and ball don’t both recommend the use of a simple digital ph meter which can easily be had on amazon for less than $10, and revise some of these old methods and actually do some testing/long term storage info-and publish some new info for people to follow.. Even seeing the way the USDA declared its no longer safe to can squash-yet they gave no new testing or information to replace previously reported information.. Seems like someone or this whole government is just limp and lame at the helm… Or at least our “leading researcher body” for all things preservation!
I see how that would be a nice option to have at home, Tristan. I wonder if those ph meters aren’t accurate across the board? Just a thought. Of course anyone can decide to do that and can whatever they want if you want to take the risk that’s up to you. 🙂
The digital ones come precalibrated, and also come with buffer solution powders to recalibrate if need be or just for peace of mind. I just wish there was more taxpayer dollars put to better usage as far. As. The USDA updating their information, and actually doing some new trials and tests, as I believe there is much ‘uncharted water’ (or lack of new published standards) so to speak that would really aid a lot of canners, both new and old!
We see so many old timers that started canning way before I was even born (88′)and they have successfully performed canning operations that, according to the current “rules” would be dead in the water and not one incident!
Agree – if there are new ways to do things, it would be nice to have testing on it!
As for all the “my grandma canned this way and no one died” argument (which I’ve gotten a LOT), it’s not just dying, but sickness. I’m not convinced that stomach issues, flus and such of the past weren’t caused by bacteria from poorly canned products. Exposure to mold takes a while to develop but can really cause issues with some people. We’ll never really know, but I feel it’s better to err on the side of safety. 🙂
Why is this such a common consensus? That people talk about thiis low acid phenomenon (I get it, am well versed in chemistry), but yet no one ever actually Checks the ph of their canning creations with a meter? Sounds like 4.0-4.4 or so is safe for water bath canning, hence the reason we use citric acid etc after adding non acid ingredients to tomato base, and even after making a similar roasted sauce with 15lbs tomatoes, added fresh herbs, okra, as well as summer squash for both taste flavor texture, ph 3.87,and still had no problems whatsoever with doing hot water bath canning @35mins and the seal nor safety of the foods (made 5qts).
Just gets old seeing people recommend this and that, and to go ahead and destroy the vitamins, enzymes, texture, and flavor of their cans by not adding this or that; and ultimately pressure canning which destroys ALL the niceness of the original dish!
Regards
-Tristan
Since I am not well versed in chemistry, I go with the recommendations and tested recipes from the National Center of Home Food Preserving, Ball’s Blue Book, Extension agencies, and other similar sites.
Jami, I made this Roasted Tomato Sauce yesterday and I have to tell you it is the best I have ever made. I have been preserving food for 45 years. I have been roasting and freezing my roma tomatoes, with herbs, garlic and olive oil, but never thought to turn them into sauce. I followed the recipe exact – except for the processing. I hate the waste when preserving so much I even dry my apple skins to be used on salads later. lol I always use a vinager bath to clean my fruits and vegs before preserving. So after roasting my 23 pounds of Roma tomatoes I put them directly into my blender for 2 min on Max Ice Crushing. Then I strained out the seeds and skin bits. This method insures you are using everything and helps to thicken the sauce. Very very little waste. I got 13 pints using this method. I imagine a juicer would make easy work of removing the seeds and skins, but I don’t own one. Thank you, again for this “go to” recipe. Ann
I’m so glad to know this, Ann – it’s so good to have all ready to go throughout the winter, like summer in a jar. 🙂
Thanks for your tips to minimize waste – I love that philosophy!
★★★★★
Jami- I’m struggling with how and when to weigh the tomatoes. I do better when the recipe is in cups instead of pounds. It looks like you do three trays full of tomatoes cut in half. In my experience, that is roughly 10-12 cups. Does this sound right? Any insight you can give is appreciated so that the ratio of other ingredients is correct. Thank you! Dana
Hey Dana! With canning it’s very important that you use pound measurements when called for (in this case it’s tomatoes which is the higher acid ingredient) – and that is always the fresh, whole produce. That’s why the recipe states “23 pounds…” and then tells you what to do with them in the directions (the picture you see of the prepared tomatoes in pans). It’s the way this recipe was tested and so the only way to get the safe end-result. Depending on the size of your tomatoes, the cup measurement would be very different. You need to have a scale and weigh the tomatoes first and then proceed with the recipe.
Hope that clarifies it!
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I just found your blog and love it! We live in oregon too! Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so glad to have you part of the AOC community, Sarah! Enjoy the recipe. 🙂
★★★★★
Is the pounds of tomatoes prior to peeling and coring or after? Thank you.
Always prior in canning recipes. 🙂
If I forgot to put in the lemon juice orcetric acid do I have to re-process my jars?
Agh!! That has happened to me more times than I can count, Nancy. Unfortunately, yes, you do need to reprocess. You’ll need to bring it all to a boil again and go from there. Alternately, you can keep them refrigerated and use them up first, which is what I always do. They last for months in the fridge.
Hi! I’m trying to use the last of my tomatoes and don’t have 23lbs. Is there a way to scale down the recipe safely?
Heather
Sure, just cut everything in half – I do that all the time when I don’t have the full amount of tomatoes. You can do 3/4 or 1/4, too – just make sure everything is evenly adjusted.
Hi,
This is my 1st time, part of a CSAZ and git amazing price
I froze with fear when I started reading warnings with each recipe.
I ended up doing about 60 pounds tomatoes in pots, I than did 20 more roasted, they made a tomato paste, awesome
From everything I read, as long as only s powdered garlic just to be safe, was having trouble keeping up with exact weight of tomatoes and I wanted seeds removed, I still don’t know how to strain them.
I didn’t have exactl recipe so like I said, only safe ingredients, no oil, vegetables, or meat alt, dried herbs and i cooked, panicked again,
Ordered a pressure canner that will be here Wednesday so I have to store somehow and reheat
Is it safe to cool abd reheat on Wednesday with lemon juice and pressure canner?
1st time, nervous, but stuck with every thing safe, not even recommend amounts of vegetables bc of risk.
Hoping to be able to get another batch, very hard getting seeds out, don’t know what specifically to use.
Thank you for your help.
Kim
If your sauce is just tomatoes with dried herbs, you are good and safe, Kim! Did you add lemon juice or citric acid to the jars and then water-bath can them? If so, there is no need to re-do them with a pressure canner – you are good!
The best way to get seeds out is by using a hand-crank strainer, or my favorite new find, an electric sauce-maker (see my review here: https://anoregoncottage.com/easy-canned-chipotle-bbq-sauce-recipe/
Thank you so much for your help,
Haven’t canned yet. Delay on my pressure cooker bc of weather, but keep roasting more tomatoes to put through juicer to remove skin and most seeds
I started with 100 pounds of tomatoes alone so from what I read, I think can safely add some onion, garlic, and peppers if I don’t add any oil.
I am not normally so OCD but my husband has brain cancer and I have to ensure his food is clean and safe.
His favorite thing is sauce so I am trying to make enough for winter
I really didn’t expect to panic after I began, 1st batch I froze, added meat,
Hace my lemon jui6and jars reasy, I wish I had a tomato strainer but I never expected to be doing this.
We work with a holistic healer, maintenance has no options, so have overhauled “normal” food and now make sourdough bread without commercial yeast, an extremeI never imagined
Sorry if my questions seem dumb, just don’t want to make a mistake, really would like to add more but afraid of botulism, even with pressure cooker.
Is there an amount that I van add to 100 pounds (starting weight) of tomatoes that is conservatively low so.would be safe?
Most tell me just put lemon juice and will be fine but I have had more 1 in 100 million chance of happening already jappen so try to be extra cautious.
Thank you so much, have another batch in the oven,
Have a great night
God Bless
Kim Lund
Sorry, my autocorrect changed a lot of words, don’t know how to edit
So sorry to hear about your husband, Kim! I do understand your caution. However, T]the recipe I have here was based on a Ball Blue Book safety tested recipe, so you are safe to follow this with the added vegetables. Make enough batches to use up your 100 lbs.!
Thank you so much, sorry I had to ask after you put in your information, I just needed to be 100% sure that I wasn’t messing up.
We eat things most wouldn’t, raw milk, a lot of things our healer has ususe but canning is a new world to me.
Know people can many things for convenience including milk and meat in various ways, I only use raw milk when we consume raw or the expense would be for nothing, but I make things like quinoa pudding and it takes hours. Do you know where I can find information about how to do safely since my pressure cooker will be here any minute.
Absolutely everything we eat is homemade which is hard for anyone but I am disabled myself and we have 2 little girls so any way to save time without losing quality would make life a little easier.
Thank you for your amazing recipe, since I used my juicer so had to cool first I had to add back some of the liquid bc became tomatoe paste, I was able to add to sauce already made to thicken.
I plan on making salsa and ketchup as well if weather allows.
Thank you for sharing, I would happily pay to have access to the amount of information you provide.
God Bless.
Kim Lund
Oh, you’re so sweet – thank you, Kim.
Visit the National Center for Food Preservation site for lots of canning safety info and recipes: http://nchfp.uga.edu
Best to you on all your endeavors – your husband is very lucky to have you. 🙂
Tried to edit
Now same is up twice
I wanted to make sure the amounts were based on raw weight not coooked weight bc its a lot less than I started with.
I don’t use any sugar in anything so was going to adf roasted red peppers and sweet onions, sorry to be so much trouble
I can’t use my laptop bc my keyboard is broken
Thank you again
Yes, all raw weights! Only add what the recipe says – you can’t substitute low-acid ingredients like peppers and onions for sugar.
Why would it not be ok to add fresh herbs instead of dried? Thank you!
Adding anything fresh to the printed recipe will mess up the acid levels – fresh herbs and vegetables are low acid – and potentially allow for botulism spores to grow in the canned, non-oxgenated environment in storage.
Hi Jami,
Glad to see you err on the side of safety. However, you CAN use fresh basil making sauce – as seen in tested Ball recipe. Please see
https://www.freshpreserving.com/basil-garlic-tomato-sauce-%7C-recipes-for-tomato-sauce-%7C-ball-preserving-br1045.html#profile
I would check with Ball first to find out if roasting the tomatoes first changes the ph and makes fresh herbs not recommended. Having canned for years, my first inclination is that it will still be fine to use them.
Made this Ball recipe last year and love it. I am trying your recipe this year as I’m interested in getting the deeper flavor of the roasted tomatoes.
Ah yes, Kitty, I have made that Ball recipe, too – it’s good! The key is using fresh herbs in tested recipes and not just adding them to other recipes. I’m with you in thinking it would be fine to roast the tomatoes for the Basil recipe since the extension agency okay’d the cooking method for this recipe.