Canning Homemade Pizza Sauce (Copycat Pizza Hut Recipe)

Canning Homemade Pizza Sauce is a great way to take homegrown tomatoes, peppers and onions and turn them into something delicious!

Making + Canning the Best Pizza Sauce (with Fresh or Frozen Tomatoes)

It’s tomato season! Yum. Fresh tomatoes are so good on sandwiches, salads, blt’s, and more!

Also, it’s time to can a bunch of tomato products to stock the pantry for another year.

Today, it’s pizza sauce.

I have tomatoes, onions, and peppers from my garden, just waiting to be turned into homemade pizza sauce. I enjoy making and canning pizza sauce (despite the mess!), and today I’m excited to share this Pizza Hut copycat recipe with you!

Making your own pizza sauce (or anything!) can be a very rewarding kitchen adventure. Not only do you get to make a sauce that’s perfect for your taste buds, but by canning it, you also preserve that delicious flavor for months to come. If the idea of making and water bath canning pizza sauce sounds a bit daunting, don’t worry. I’m going to break it down step-by-step so you can hopefully enjoy the process of making delicious pizza sauce at home.

It’s a messy process, but a fun one! And if you have an outdoor kitchen area, now might be a good time to use it!

What type of tomatoes are best for pizza sauce?

Any kind of red tomato will work for pizza sauce, actually.

Paste tomatoes have less seeds and aren’t quite as watery, so that makes them a great choice. Here’s a few popular red tomato varieties for pizza sauce:

• Amish Paste
  
• Big Mama
  
• Fresh Salsa
  
• Roma
  
• Super Sauce

This year I planted Super Sauce, Supersonic and Goliath tomato plants, so that’s what I’m using to make pizza sauce! 

How to Freeze Tomatoes for Pizza Sauce (Collecting & Freezing Tip)

If you’re using homegrown tomatoes like I am, it can be a challenge to get enough ripe tomatoes at one time. (Unless you have a large tomato patch!) So, I collect tomatoes over time and freeze them! Here’s how I do it:

• Wash and quarter the tomatoes, then spread them out on parchment lined sheet pans.
  
• Freeze for a few hours, then transfer to a large (and strong) scent-free garbage bag.
  
• The night before making pizza sauce, get the bag(s) of tomatoes out of the freezer and set it in the sink. The next day, cook and strain the tomatoes just like usual and use them in pizza sauce!

Ingredients for Homemade Pizza Sauce

• Tomatoes – we start with ripe tomatoes and turn them into juice to be turned into sauce!😅
  
• Onions
  
• Peppers – sweet bell peppers
  
• Oil – I used half olive oil and half avocado oil today 
  
• Herbs – dried basil, oregano, bay leaves, pizza seasoning, and Italian seasoning. You should be able to find all of these in the spice section at the grocery store. Fresh herbs are not recommended for canning, though you might notice I did use fresh basil this time.🫢
  
• Red pepper flakes 
  
• Garlic powder – again, fresh garlic isn’t recommended for canning. And yes, I used canned garlic this time! Do whatever you’re comfortable with.
  
• Salt – I used sea salt
  
• Sugar – I used pure cane sugar
  
• Tomato paste – the thickener for this pizza sauce recipe (no cornstarch or clearjel needed!)
  
• Bottled lemon juice or Citric Acid – add a little bit more acidity to each jar to make sure this recipe is safe for water bath canning.

Find the full recipe and instructions on a printable recipe card below!⬇️

Where can I find tomatoes and other fresh vegetables for pizza sauce?

If you don’t have your own garden, no worries! You’ll most likely be able to locate fresh tomatoes, peppers and onions somewhere in your area, during the summer. Here’s a few places to check:

• A neighbor. Check with your neighbors or family members to see if they have extra produce, or know of someone who does.
  
• Local farms, farmstands, or farmer’s markets (and here’s the link to the USDA Local Food Directory to check for one nearby). Though if you live in a rural area like we do, this might not help you out too much!
  
• Azure Standard
  
• Local bulk food store – if you live near a Mennonite or Amish bulk food store, there’s a good chance they’ll get a variety of fresh produce in during the summer.

Supplies You Will Need

• Large mixing bowl – you’ll need a giant mixing bowl or two large bowls to do the final mixing. I used a large 59-cup bowl, and it was hardly big enough to do the mixing!
  
• Food strainer mill –  a strainer easily turns the tomatoes into juice, no peeling required. I have the Weston Roma Tomato Press and Sauce Maker and it works great!
  
• Measuring cups and spoons
  
• Several spatulas and a whisk
  
• Cutting board + kitchen knife – if you’re starting with fresh tomatoes, you’ll want to quarter them before cooking.
  
• Large stockpot or two – I used my two 6 qt. pots, plus another 3 qt. saucepan to simmer the pizza sauce.
  
• Jars – glass canning jars, lids and rings. And you’ll want high quality lids such as Ball, Superb, or FORJARS.
  
• Water Bath Canner – I have one similar to this and I especially like the little feature on the knob that takes the guesswork out of knowing when to start timing the canning process!
  
• Jar Lifter – you’ll need a jar lifter thing to remove jars from the hot water
  
• Canning funnel –  I also like my wide mouth funnel when it comes to filling jars!

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How to Make and Can Homemade Pizza Sauce

First, wash your jars. (A dishwasher works great for washing and sanitizing jars!)

1. Cook and strain the tomatoes.

Quarter the tomatoes and place them in large pots. (If using frozen tomatoes, the quartering part is already done and you can put them straight into pots!) Add a little bit of water in the bottom to keep them from burning and cook them on the stovetop until they’re foamy and soft.

Meanwhile, set up the food strainer and prepare a draining system by lining a large strainer or colander with a thin cotton kitchen towel. When the tomatoes are soft, dump them into the colander to drain away excess water then dump them into the hopper of the food strainer. Strain the tomatoes and repeat the cooking and straining process until you have 2 1/2 gallons (10 qt.) of juice.

You can also just dump the cooked tomatoes straight into the hopper of the food mill, and let the water drain out through there before cranking the tomatoes through. (See picture below.) Just make sure you empty the receiving pan each time before dumping more tomatoes into the hopper, or all that excess water will flow straight through into the nice, thick tomato juice!

2. Mix the pizza sauce and let it simmer…

First, puree the peppers and onions in a blender or food processor. Then, add all the pizza sauce ingredients (except the tomato paste) into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.  And I just throw the whole bay leaves in there, and fish them out later as I see them when I’m filling jars . You can also crush them!

Transfer the pizza sauce mixture to a large pot (or more than one!) and simmer the sauce for an hour on the stovetop.

3. Thicken the pizza sauce.

After the pizza sauce has simmered for about an hour, add the tomato paste to the pizza sauce mixture and whisk thoroughly. (If using more than one cooking pot, you can either just eyeball it and divide the paste among the cooking pots, or return everything to the giant mixing bowl and mix it that way.)

4. Fill your jars!

If you’re planning to water bath can this pizza sauce, it is recommended to add lemon juice (1 tbsp. per pint and 2 tbsp. per quart) to each jar of pizza sauce. You can also use citric acid: 1/4 tsp. per pint and 1/2 tsp. per quart.

Then fill the jars with pizza sauce, leaving about a half inch of headspace. (I just fill to the bottom ring on the neck of the jar.) Wipe each jar rim with a damp cloth and then place lids and screw bands on each one.

5. Water Bath Canning the homemade pizza sauce:

Place the jars of pizza sauce into the canner. Fill the canner with water until the jars are covered by at least one inch of water. Turn the burner on high; once the water comes to a rolling boil (this might take a while), turn the burner back just a little and start the timer. Process jars for 15 minutes, then turn off the burner, and remove the jars of pizza sauce with a jar lifter. Place the hot jars on a towel on the counter to cool. Soon you should start to hear the “pop” of the jars sealing!

Just so you know: the National Center for Food Preservation doesn’t have a chart specifically for pizza sauce, but recommends canning their tomato sauce a little longer than i can my pizza sauce. See the table below:

To be on the safe side, you can always can this pizza sauce longer according to the processing time on the NCHFP chart and if you have more canning questions, you can do more research over there!

An hour or two after the pizza sauce is canned, I like to go check and make sure the jars all sealed. You can tell if a jar isn’t sealed by pressing on the lid. If it “pops” and isn’t sucked down tight on top of the jar, it didn’t seal.

6. Store the pizza sauce.

Let the canned pizza sauce sit for 12-24 hours, then remove the bands. Wash the jars if they’re sticky, then store them on your can shelves. The canned pizza sauce should be good for up to a year or even longer!

When you open a jar, the lid should come off with a “pop” as the jar unseals. If it doesn’t, and you suspect the jar wasn’t sealed, it might be best to throw it out. And, if you smell an odd smell, see signs of mold or if the sauce is discolored, it probably spoiled and should be discarded! 

If you have unsealed jars, you have a few options:

• Make pizza for dinner (my favorite:)
  
• Freeze it for later! (Be sure to label the container, so you don’t forget.)
  
• Try canning it again, with a new jar and lid (I only do this if I have more pizza sauce waiting to be canned; I don’t bother canning one single jar by itself.)
  

Notes on Canning Homemade Pizza Sauce

⚠️Reminder: according to the NCHFP, you need to add extra acid to jars of tomato sauce to make them safe with water bath canning. It is recommended that you add about 2 Tbsp. bottled lemon juice or ½ tsp. citric acid to the bottom of each quart jar before adding the sauce. Use half the amount for pint jars.

⚠️Reminder: the National Center for Food Preservation recommends canning their tomato sauce a little longer than i can mine. To be on the safe side, you can always process this pizza sauce longer like they recommend and if you have more canning questions, you can do more research over there.

🫙This canning method we’re using today is also known as “hot packing”. The salsa is heated and dumped into jars while still hot.

🧊If you’d rather not can pizza sauce, you can totally freeze it in freezer containers instead!

🍕We actually use this sauce for homemade pizzas, lasagna, spaghetti sauce or even as a dipping sauce for breadsticks (instead of marinara sauce!). And any other recipes that call for tomato or pasta sauce.

🍅This recipe makes a big batch! You’ll need a bushel (approximately 50-55 pounds) of tomatoes to get 10 quarts of juice, which is the base of this pizza sauce. Feel free to halve the recipe!

More Canning Recipes

• 

  Canning Homemade Salsa (Best Recipe + How to Can It!)

• 

  Homemade Tomato Juice (Making & Canning it at Home!)

• 

  How to Can Pears at Home – Simple Pear Canning Recipe

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Julie