There’s nothing sweeter that popping open the lid of a jar of Marinara Tomato Sauce and having a taste of summer’s best tomatoes in the midst of winter. That’s why I love canning tomato sauce. Let me rephrase that… that’s why I spent countless hours with my girl friends deseeding, peeling, and roasting tomatoes to make this perfect Marinara Sauce.
Last year I made freezer tomato sauce which was a bit easier but less easy to use during the winer. This season I’ve really be doing my best to make use of the fresh produce by canning. Besides canning marinara sauce, I’ve canned Apricot Jam, Peach Amaretto Jam, and I hope to can some salsa and pickles before the season’s end. Here are some more recipes to preserve the tastes of summer:
Mexican and Italian Crushed Tomatoes for Canning by Kelley at Mountain Mama Cooks
Easy Apricot Jam by me
Freezing Fresh Corn by Annalise at Completely Delicious
Blueberry Vanilla Bean Sauce by Kelley at Mountain Mama Cooks
Peach Jam by me
Peach Amaretto Jam by Annalise at Completely Delicious
Freezing Fresh Tomato Sauce by me
Freezing Garden Tomatoes and Herbs by Kalyn’s Kitchen
Kelley and Annalise, two fellow bloggers, and I spent a day working on this sauce. It took us around seven hours, which for some, is way too much effort but for us, it was a labor of love. Plus who doesn’t want to spend a day chatting with girl friends, getting elbow deep in fresh tomatoes, and sipping late afternoon white wine After all, we had to taste the wine before using it in the recipe, right? I’ve always heard, that if you wouldn’t drink it then don’t cook with-it. A motto I like to put to the test.
There are several steps to this recipe, each important in making a perfect sauce. However I’ve heard you can skip the deseeding and peeling but it will change the texture and richness of the sauce. Also, we used a ginormous amount of tomatoes making about 5 16 ounce jars (or 5 pint jars) for each of us (about 8 quarts, or 15 pints total), so you could slim down on that if you are okay with less sauce. My number one tip for you on canning your own Marinara Sauce is that you must do this with friends. It’s just more fun that way.
White Wine Marinara Tomato Sauce Recipe for Canning
Ingredients
- 24 lbs roma tomatoes, 1 case
- 3 stalks of oregano, chopped
- 8-10 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 4 cups olive oil
- 3 large onions
- 9 cups white wine
- 6-8 stalks of basil, whole
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 6 tablespoons of lemon juice
- more salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Cut tomatoes in half, remove hard core and stem, and scoop the seeds out into a separate bowl, set aside. Lay tomato halves in roasting pans, cut side up.
- Scatter the garlic slices and oregano on top of the tomatoes. Drizzle with half (2 cups) of olive oil and Roast for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
- When tomatoes are almost cooled, remove the skins from the roasted tomatoes (they should be easy to remove at this point). Placing skins in the bowl with the seeds and the roasted tomatoes in another large bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 cups of oil un a large stockpot and add onions and white wine. Simmer until reduced by half (15-25 minutes).
- Mash the roasted tomatoes with your hands (this is the fun part!) then stir them into the simmering onion mixture.
- Pur tomato seeds and peel into a sieve over the tomato sauce pot, pressing them so that theur juice drips into the pot. Discard seeds and peels.
- Bring to a boil then add whole basil stalks and 2 teaspoons of salt. Lower heat and simmer for 40 minutes or more to thicken.
- Remove Basil. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour simmering sauce into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace in the jars. Process in a hot water bath for 40 minutes.
I’m sharing this recipe for my favorite pasta sauce with the Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign. From this one post, Macaroni Grill will connect kids with to up to 500 meals. Also, you may contribute by going online at 1 Million Meals or into the restaurant and donating $2, and get $5 off your next meal. Learn more about hunger facts here http://www.nokidhungry.org/
how many qts. does this make? Looks like a lot of work,but if the flavor is to savor, it is worth it.
It makes 8 quarts or 16 pints total. So the three of us each left with 5 jars and 1 leftover.
Thanks, with that amount, it is worth doing, for sure.
My favorite sauce by far! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It was such a fun day! xo
Sounds delicious. I’ll take ten garlic cloves in mine.
Sounds like the perfect way to spend the day. How wonderful to have this fantastic sauce in the winter.
What a lovely recipe. I am so envious of all your canning and preserving this season. You are a woman of action!
So what do you have to do differently when canning with Weck jars? I love mine, but have never actually canned with them.
You really don’t do much different. Just make sure they are sterilized and after you’ve put them through the water bath to seal them the little orange tag should be slightly pointed down… that’s how you know they’re sealed!
I had so much fun on our canning days! And I’m so excited about this sauce, I’m looking forward to some surely delicious meals with it in the coming months.
Looks good! I went to a canning workshop recently, now need to get started. Recipes like this are good inspiration.
I also went to a canning work shop to get started. It seemed intimidating at first but the most important thing is to follow canning recipes. I always want to use less sugar but I know that can be dangerous if your preserving.
Sounds perfect but can I exchange the wine for something else for a child-friendly version?
With my garden going in in a few weeks, I’m just gathering some new canning recipes. Can you suggest a good non-alcohol substitute for the white wine?
Shandee, you could substitute white grape juice, chicken broth, white wine vinegar or cider vinegar for the white wine. Good luck in your canning adventures!
What is this orange tag you speak up that makes
sure it is sealed.
There’s an orange seal that comes with Weck Jars.
I’m more of a red wine kind of girl, can you substitute red wine for white or will it effect the ph levels? Thanks!
I’m not 100% sure with this recipe since it’s for canning. Sorry I can’t be more help! I also love red wine sauces so I completely understand!!
Is it really 4 cups of olive oil? Similar recipes call for maybe a half cup. Seems like a lot of oil for home canning. Just wanted to double check. It sounds so delicious!!
Yes, the is the exact recipe we used. Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks for the recipe and all of the discussion following. I have a whack (Canadian terminology, lol)of field tomatoes. Can I use these in place of romas?
That sound be fine! Just measure their weight.
If I wanted to have more veggies like mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, would I need to add more wine or lemon juice?
That’s a great question Stacia. I honestly don’t know exactly. The carrots and bell peppers should preserve well but I’m unsure of the mushrooms. The acidity in the tomatoes should preserve the other vegetables in the sauce. Another option would be just to add in the vegetables as you use the sauce. Hope that helps!!