Easy Canning Pizza Sauce Recipe (Tested Water Bath Method)
If your garden is overflowing with tomatoes, canning homemade pizza sauce is one of the best ways to preserve them.
Every summer our garden seems to produce more tomatoes than we know what to do with. While homemade marinara sauce is always one of our favorites, I started making homemade pizza sauce because we have pizza night almost every week. Now I always make a few extra jars because they’re one of the first things we reach for when we need a quick dinner.
There is something so satisfying about opening a jar of homemade pizza sauce in the middle of winter. In just a few minutes, you have the start of a delicious homemade pizza using tomatoes you grew yourself.
This easy canning pizza sauce recipe is based on the tested recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It uses simple pantry spices and is safely acidified for water bath canning.
Whether you’re making homemade pizza from scratch or using a store-bought crust for busy weeknights, having a few jars of pizza sauce on the pantry shelf is incredibly convenient.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A great way to preserve fresh garden tomatoes
- Perfect for pizza night
- Uses simple pantry ingredients
- Water bath canning recipe
- Much better flavor than store-bought pizza sauce
- Great for stocking your pantry
- Ready whenever you need a quick dinner
Tested Pizza Sauce Recipe
Yield: About 4 pint jars (or 8 half-pint jars)
Ingredients
- 9 pounds tomatoes (about 4 kg), peeled and run through a food mill to make approximately 13 cups tomato purée
- ½ cup bottled lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
Ball notes that you may increase the dried oregano, garlic powder, or black pepper to suit your taste, but do not reduce the bottled lemon juice or alter the proportion of tomato purée to lemon juice.
Equipment You’ll Need
- Water bath canner
- Pint or half-pint mason jars
- New canning lids and bands
- Large stock pot
- Jar lifter
- Funnel
- Bubble remover
- Food mill or tomato strainer
- Ladle
Best Tomatoes for Pizza Sauce
Paste tomatoes make the best pizza sauce because they contain less water and cook down much faster.
Some of my favorites include:
- Roma
- San Marzano
- Amish Paste
- Opalka
If you’re using slicing tomatoes, that’s perfectly fine, you’ll simply need to simmer the sauce longer until it reaches the consistency of a thin commercial pizza sauce before canning.
Easy Pizza Sauce Canning Recipe
This easy canning pizza sauce recipe is made with fresh tomatoes, simple herbs, and pantry staples for a rich, flavorful homemade sauce. Based on a tested recipe for safe water bath canning, it's the perfect way to preserve your tomato harvest and enjoy homemade pizza all year long.
Ingredients
- 9 pounds tomatoes, peeled and run through a food mill to make approximately 13 cups tomato purée
- 1/2 cup bottled lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
Instructions
Wash your tomatoes well and remove any damaged spots.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches, blanch the tomatoes for about 30 to 60 seconds until the skins begin to split.
Immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice water.
The skins should slip right off.
Cut out the cores and run the tomatoes through a food mill or tomato strainer to remove the seeds and create a smooth tomato purée.
Measure out 13 cups of tomato purée for the recipe.
Cook the Pizza Sauce
Pour the tomato purée into a large stainless steel stock pot.
Add remaining ingredients.
Bring everything to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally.
Continue cooking until the sauce thickens to the consistency of pizza sauce. Depending on the variety of tomatoes you use, this may take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours.
The sauce should coat the back of a spoon but still be pourable.
Tip: Don't rush this step. Slowly reducing the sauce develops a richer tomato flavor and helps prevent watery homemade pizza later.
Prepare Your Canning Equipment
While the sauce is simmering, prepare your jars.
Wash your jars, lids, and bands in hot soapy water.
Keep the jars hot until you're ready to fill them.
Fill your water bath canner about halfway with water and begin heating it.
Having everything ready before your sauce is finished makes the canning process much smoother.
Fill the Jars
Using a canning funnel, ladle the hot pizza sauce into hot jars.
Leave ½-inch headspace.
Slide a bubble remover around the inside of each jar to remove trapped air bubbles.
Wipe the jar rims with a clean, damp cloth.
Place the lids on the jars and screw the bands on until they are fingertip tight.
Process the Jars
Place the jars into your prepared boiling water canner.
Make sure the jars are covered with at least 1 inch of water.
Once the water returns to a full rolling boil, begin timing.
Processing Times
Half-Pint Jars
- 35 minutes (0–1,000 feet)
- Add additional processing time based on your elevation.
Pint Jars
- 40 minutes (0–1,000 feet)
- Add additional processing time based on your elevation.
Always follow current USDA or Ball altitude adjustment recommendations if you live above 1,000 feet.
Cool and Check the Seals
Once the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.
Allow the jars to sit in the canner for 5 minutes before removing them.
Place the jars on a towel-lined countertop.
Let them cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
After cooling, check each lid to make sure it has sealed.
Any jars that didn't seal should be refrigerated and used within a week.
How to Make Homemade Pizza Sauce for Canning
Once your tomatoes have been peeled and turned into a smooth purée, the rest of the recipe comes together quickly. The hardest part is simply waiting for the sauce to cook down to the perfect consistency.
Unlike marinara sauce, pizza sauce should be a little thicker so it doesn’t make your pizza crust soggy.
Step 1: Prepare the Tomatoes
Wash your tomatoes well and remove any damaged spots.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches, blanch the tomatoes for about 30 to 60 seconds until the skins begin to split.
Immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice water.
The skins should slip right off.
Cut out the cores and run the tomatoes through a food mill or tomato strainer to remove the seeds and create a smooth tomato purée.
Measure out 13 cups of tomato purée for the recipe.
Step 2: Cook the Pizza Sauce
Pour the tomato purée into a large stainless steel stock pot.
Add:
- ½ cup bottled lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
Bring everything to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally.
Continue cooking until the sauce thickens to the consistency of pizza sauce. Depending on the variety of tomatoes you use, this may take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours.
The sauce should coat the back of a spoon but still be pourable.
Tip: Don’t rush this step. Slowly reducing the sauce develops a richer tomato flavor and helps prevent watery homemade pizza later.
Step 3: Prepare Your Canning Equipment
While the sauce is simmering, prepare your jars.
Wash your jars, lids, and bands in hot soapy water.
Keep the jars hot until you’re ready to fill them.
Fill your water bath canner about halfway with water and begin heating it.
Having everything ready before your sauce is finished makes the canning process much smoother.
Step 4: Fill the Jars
Using a canning funnel, ladle the hot pizza sauce into hot jars.
Leave ½-inch headspace.
Slide a bubble remover around the inside of each jar to remove trapped air bubbles.
Wipe the jar rims with a clean, damp cloth.
Place the lids on the jars and screw the bands on until they are fingertip tight.
Step 5: Process the Jars
Place the jars into your prepared boiling water canner.
Make sure the jars are covered with at least 1 inch of water.
Once the water returns to a full rolling boil, begin timing.
Processing Times
Half-Pint Jars
- 35 minutes (0–1,000 feet)
- Add additional processing time based on your elevation.
Pint Jars
- 40 minutes (0–1,000 feet)
- Add additional processing time based on your elevation.
Always follow current USDA or Ball altitude adjustment recommendations if you live above 1,000 feet.
Step 6: Cool and Check the Seals
Once the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.
Allow the jars to sit in the canner for 5 minutes before removing them.
Place the jars on a towel-lined countertop.
Let them cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
After cooling, check each lid to make sure it has sealed.
Any jars that didn’t seal should be refrigerated and used within a week.
How Long Does Homemade Pizza Sauce Last?
When stored in a cool, dark pantry, properly sealed jars maintain their best quality for 12 to 18 months.
Once opened, refrigerate the jar and use it within about one week.
Naturally Jamie Tip
I like to can pizza sauce in half-pint jars because it’s the perfect amount for homemade pizzas. We simply open a jar, spread it on the dough, add our favorite toppings, and dinner is almost ready. It’s one of my favorite convenience foods to have stocked in the pantry because it turns homemade pizza into an easy weeknight meal.
More Recipes You’ll Love
If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out these other tomato preservation guides on Naturally Jamie:
