Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is so full of flavor and it’s easy to make it in large batches for freezing or canning for easy homemade meals that are prepared ahead. 

Spaghetti noodles and spaghetti sauce.

My family loves it when we make homemade spaghetti sauce. Whenever we make it, it’s always a huge double or triple batch to easily freeze the leftovers. Spaghetti and meatballs is such a family favorite, we almost always have frozen spaghetti sauce and meatballs in the freezer. It makes for a quick and easy weeknight meal, and it’s pretty amazing.

What are the best tomatoes to use? 

The best spaghetti sauce is made using San Marzano tomatoes. San Marzano is a variety of plum tomatoes. These tomatoes have a stronger flavor and are sweeter and less acidic. You can find canned San Marzano tomatoes at your grocery store. The label should make it very obvious that the tomatoes are this variety.

Can I make spaghetti sauce from whole tomatoes? 

If you want to make spaghetti sauce completely from scratch using whole tomatoes rather than canned, you’ll need to peel your tomatoes and remove the stems. The easiest way to peel tomatoes is to blanch them in boiling water for 1-2 minutes and then immediately place them into an ice bath. The skins can then be easily removed. We also have a different recipe for Fire Roasted Spaghetti Sauce.

What is the difference between marinara and spaghetti sauce?

Marinara and spaghetti sauce are slightly different things. Both are tomato-based sauces. Marinara has very simple additional flavorings added to it like garlic, salt, and basil. Spaghetti sauce usually has additional ingredients and spices like onion, fennel, parsley, and oregano.

Ground Beef:

We do not add ground beef to spaghetti sauce because we typically serve it with meatballs. However, you can always add ground beef to yours. You will want to add it in with your onions and cook thoroughly, then drain off any excess grease, or cook it separately and add to the sauce before serving.

Serving Suggestion:

We serve this spaghetti sauce up with Homemade Baked Meatballs. These meatballs are full of flavor and make the perfect companion to this sauce. They also freeze quite well so you can have a complete, from scratch homemade freezer meal waiting for those hectic nights.

Time Saving Tip:

Simmering a spaghetti sauce for a long time allows it to develop a lot of flavor. This recipe calls for 1-4 hours of simmering. If you don’t feel comfortable leaving it on the stove, simply transfer it all to a slow cooker and let it do all the simmering. Place it on high for 4-5 hours and you’ll have a well developed spaghetti sauce.

A ladle full of spaghetti sauce.

Freezer Instructions:

It’s really easy to freeze leftovers of this sauce for future use. Simply let the sauce cool and then ladle it into gallon sized ziploc bags. Our family of four requires four scoops so we only ladle four scoops into each of the bags. If you pay attention to how much your family eats, you can estimate what you’ll need pretty closely. Then you lay all of the bags on a baking sheet and pop it in the freezer. Once they are frozen solid, you can rearrange them in my freezer however they fit best. When you are ready to eat, simply thaw and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Canning Instructions:

Sterilize 6 pint sized mason jars. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into each jar. Fill the jars with prepared spaghetti sauce, leaving 1/2 inch at the top. Place the lids and bands on the jars and secure tightly. Process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes.

Storage and Reheating Instructions:

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, or see instructions above to store in the freezer. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through. 

If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious pasta recipes:

Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.