Roasted Tomato Sauce for Canning

Preserving the flavor of fresh tomatoes is one of the best ways to capture summer’s bounty and enjoy it year-round. If you’re looking for a rich, flavorful sauce with a smoky depth, making roasted tomato sauce for canning is an excellent choice. The roasting process adds a delicious caramelized flavor to your sauce that raw tomato sauces simply can’t match. But you might be wondering, can you water bath can roasted tomato sauce? The short answer is yes—with the right techniques.

Keep reading to learn a reliable water bath tomato sauce recipe, tips for safely canning roasted tomato sauce, and how to scale the recipe to your kitchen. We’ll also cover common questions like can I can roasted tomato sauce? and can tomato sauce be substituted for pasta sauce? so you can feel confident in your homemade preserving skills.

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Can You Water Bath Can Roasted Tomato Sauce?

A common question many home canners have is whether roasting tomatoes before making sauce affects the safety of water bath canning. The key factor in safely water bath canning tomato products is acidity. Tomatoes are naturally acidic but only borderline so, which means adding acid—usually bottled lemon juice or citric acid—is required to ensure safe preservation.

Roasting tomatoes enhances flavor by caramelizing their natural sugars and softening their flesh, but it does not increase acidity. Because of this, it’s critical to add lemon juice to each jar before processing, regardless of whether your sauce is roasted or raw. This added acid protects against the risk of botulism and helps jars seal properly.

Water bath canning is a trusted method for preserving high-acid foods, including tomato sauces with added acid. So yes, you can water bath can roasted tomato sauce safely as long as you add lemon juice and follow proper processing times (and make any pressure adjustments based on your altitude). If you’ve ever tried my pressure canned green beans recipe, the process feels just as approachable—just with different equipment and acid levels to consider.

Roasted Tomato Sauce Recipe for Water Bath Canning

I love making a thinner-style roasted tomato sauce that’s smooth and velvety. To achieve this, I roast tomatoes, pass them through a food mill to remove skins and seeds, then simmer the sauce with Italian seasoning, sugar, and salt. The sauce is flavorful but not heavy or chunky—perfect for recipes where you want that roasted tomato flavor without a thick paste. We also love to eat this as a tomato soup on busy days. Fry up a grilled cheese and crack open a can of this tomato sauce – it is an easy mom win for the day.

Ingredients for About 1 Canner Full (Approx. 7 Quarts)

• 10 lbs ripe Roma or plum tomatoes
• 3 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 3 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• Bottled lemon juice: 2 tablespoons per quart jar or 1 tablespoon per pint jar

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 500°F. Cut tomatoes in half and toss on baking sheets. Roast for 20-30 minutes until tomatoes are softened and caramelized on the edges. Roasting brings out a deep, smoky flavor.
2. Mill the roasted tomatoes while still warm to remove skins and seeds. A food mill is perfect for this and results in a thinner sauce. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, you can skip milling or blend briefly. You can also strain through a fine mesh sieve.
3. Pour the milled tomatoes into a large pot. Add Italian seasoning, salt, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes to reduce excess liquid and develop flavor.
4. Prepare your jars and lids: Sterilize by boiling or dishwasher cycle. Add the bottled lemon juice to each jar bottom (2 tbsp for quarts, 1 tbsp for pints).
5. Fill jars with hot sauce, leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe rims clean and seal with lids and bands.
6. Process in a boiling water bath canner: 40 minutes for quart jars, 35 minutes for pints. Adjust for altitude.
7. Cool jars undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Check seals and store in a cool, dark place.

This recipe scaled from 15 lbs of tomatoes (which yielded 5 quarts and 4 pints) down to 10 lbs for a manageable home batch. You can adjust quantities depending on your tomato harvest or canner size.

Can I Can Roasted Tomato Sauce?

Yes! As long as you add acid to each jar and follow the recommended water bath canning times, you can safely can roasted tomato sauce at home. Roasting the tomatoes enhances flavor but does not replace the need for proper canning methods.

Here are a few tips for success:

• Always use bottled lemon juice or citric acid for consistent acidity—fresh lemon juice varies and is not recommended.
• Sterilize jars and lids thoroughly before use.
• Don’t skip the water bath processing. The heat kills bacteria and ensures a vacuum seal.
• Adjust processing times based on your altitude. Check your local extension office’s recommendations.

Following these steps means your roasted tomato sauce will be safe to store on shelves for up to a year or longer.

Tomato Sauce for Canning: What Tomatoes Should You Use?

The best tomatoes for canning sauce are firm, meaty varieties like Roma or plum tomatoes. These have less water content and fewer seeds than slicing tomatoes, making a thicker, richer sauce. Roasting these tomatoes concentrates their flavor and softens their flesh, making them easier to mill or blend.

Using fresh, ripe tomatoes straight from the garden or farmers market will produce the best flavor. Avoid overripe or mushy tomatoes, as they can result in thinner sauce with less body.

Can Tomato Sauce Be Substituted for Pasta Sauce?

A common question is, can tomato sauce be substituted for pasta sauce? The answer is yes, but with some caveats. Plain tomato sauce—like the roasted tomato sauce in this recipe—is essentially cooked tomatoes with seasoning. It’s often not very sweet and has a thinner texture.

Pasta sauce usually has additional ingredients like garlic, onions, fresh herbs, and sometimes meat or extra sugar to create a richer, more complex flavor profile. My roasted tomato sauce makes a fantastic base for pasta sauce—you can easily customize it by sautéing garlic and onions, adding fresh basil or oregano, or simmering with ground meat or mushrooms.

So yes, you can substitute tomato sauce for pasta sauce, especially homemade versions like this one, but it may need some enhancements depending on your recipe.

How to Store and Use Your Roasted Tomato Sauce

Once canned, your roasted tomato sauce jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to a year. Properly sealed jars should keep the flavors fresh and vibrant, so you can enjoy summer tomatoes in soups, stews, pasta dishes, or as a simple base for homemade pizza sauce.

After opening, refrigerate leftover sauce and use within 5-7 days. You can also freeze sauce for longer storage.

Scaling the Recipe for Your Kitchen

If 10 pounds of tomatoes sounds like too much, you can easily scale down this recipe. For example, 5 pounds of tomatoes would yield approximately half the sauce—around 2 to 2.5 quarts.

Adjust roasting time slightly for smaller batches, and be sure to maintain the same ratios for seasonings and lemon juice per jar.

Print Recipe

Roasted Tomato Sauce for Canning

Ingredients

• 10 lbs ripe Roma or plum tomatoes
• 3 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 3 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• Bottled lemon juice: 2 tablespoons per quart jar or 1 tablespoon per pint jar

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 500°F. Cut tomatoes in half and toss on baking sheets. Roast for 20-30 minutes until tomatoes are softened and caramelized on the edges. Roasting brings out a deep, smoky flavor.
• Mill the roasted tomatoes while still warm to remove skins and seeds. A food mill is perfect for this and results in a thinner sauce. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, you can skip milling or blend briefly. You can also strain through a fine mesh sieve.
• Pour the milled tomatoes into a large pot. Add Italian seasoning, salt, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes to reduce excess liquid and develop flavor.
• Prepare your jars and lids: Sterilize by boiling or dishwasher cycle. Add the bottled lemon juice to each jar bottom (2 tbsp for quarts, 1 tbsp for pints).
• Fill jars with hot sauce, leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe rims clean and seal with lids and bands.
• Process in a boiling water bath canner: 40 minutes for quart jars, 35 minutes for pints. Adjust for altitude.
• Cool jars undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Check seals and store in a cool, dark place.

Notes

This recipe scaled from 15 lbs of tomatoes (which yielded 5 quarts and 4 pints) down to 10 lbs for a manageable home batch. You can adjust quantities depending on your tomato harvest or canner size.

Making your own roasted tomato sauce for canning is a rewarding way to enjoy garden-fresh flavors all year long. You get the deep, smoky richness of roasting combined with the convenience of shelf-stable jars.

Ashley Anne

Hi, I’m Ashley — mama, maker, and lover of all things from-scratch. Around here, you’ll usually find me barefoot in the kitchen, covered in flour or beeswax, with kids underfoot and something simmering on the stove. I believe in slow living, simple joys, and the kind of home that smells like cinnamon rolls and sunshine. Find out more about me here.