We eat homemade pizza nearly once a week in the winter. I make my own crust and can pizza sauce with tomatoes from the garden. Canning pizza sauce is fairly easy, and if you are swamped with tomatoes and looking for something new to do with them, this might be for you. I find commercial pizza sauce kind of pricey, and I like the flavor of my own better, as well. Here’s an easy recipe for canned pizza sauce that I hope you will try.
Home Canned Pizza Sauce
Yields 6 to 7 pints.
12 to 14 cups cored, peeled paste tomatoes
3 medium onions
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon celery seed
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon canning salt
6 to 12 ounces tomato paste
Prepare your water bath canner. Make sure your jars (pint) and lids are clean and put your lids in a small bowl of warm (not boiling) water. Your jars should be in simmering water to keep them hot.
Puree tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs together in food processor. You’ll have to do it in batches. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT tomato paste.
Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened. This can take as long as 4 to 5 hours, depending on the type of tomatoes you are using. One thing about pizza sauce is that you want it pretty thick. If it’s runny, when you go to use it your pizza will be soggy. When the sauce is getting to close to your desired thickness, add as much tomato paste as needed to thicken it a bit further.
Ladle hot sauce into pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Carefully wipe your jar rims clean. Place lids and rings on jars and place jars in your boiling water bath. Boil in the canner for 25 minutes. Turn off heat, remove cover and let canner sit for 5 minutes. Remove jars and place on a towel.
Let sit for about 24 hours. Check to make sure your jars sealed by feeling and looking at the lid, there should be no flex to the top. You can store these in a dark place for one year.
