The Pioneer Woman Tasty Kitchen
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Spicy Garden Veggie Tomato Pasta Sauce

5.00 Mitt(s) 6 Rating(s)6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5

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Level: Intermediate

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Description

This is my favorite, go to pasta sauce. Nothing beats homemade and having this throughout the winter is a real treat!

Ingredients

  • 8 jars 1 Quart Sized Canning Jars Plus Accompanying Lids And Rings
  • 3 whole Onions
  • 6 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
  • 2 whole Green Bell Peppers
  • 2 whole Red Bell Peppers
  • 8 whole Jalapeno Peppers
  • 4 whole Large Carrots
  • 1 whole Medium Zucchini
  • 25 whole Medium Tomatoes
  • 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 3 Tablespoons White Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Salt
  • 1 cup Fresh Basil, Chopped
  • 2 cans (13 Oz. Can) Tomato Paste

Preparation

Prepare canning jars and lids and keep warm.

In a food processor, finely chop all vegetables (including the tomatoes) separately, starting with the onion, garlic, peppers and carrots.

In a large stock pot; heat olive oil over medium heat and begin sauteing onion, garlic, peppers, zucchini and carrots until softened.

Add tomatoes, sugar, salt, basil and tomato paste. Reduce heat to medium/low and allow to simmer until thickened, about 30-45 minutes. Skim foam from top of sauce.

Spoon hot tomato sauce into prepared jars. Process according to canning directions.

Store pasta sauce for use in lasagna and other pasta dishes, chili, soups, or use as a marinara sauce straight from the jar over spaghetti!

7 Comments

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Didi Poe on 7.29.2015

I have made this sauce now for the last two years and water bath or Oven it works just fine and the taste is great and we didn’t get sick … I love this recipe and it is my go to

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ogleacres on 4.13.2011

Wouldn’t home-grown heirloom variety tomatoes be more acidic? Perhaps the guidelines are based on what’s available in grocery stores – which would hardly pass as a tomato since they are picked unripe and then gassed to turn red. They don’t have the chance to properly mature and ripen, while the ones we grow do. I’m guessing THAT is why the recipe has worked safely for grandma – she’s not using mealy, flavorless tomatoes trucked in from Honduras. Just a thought…

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love2stamp on 1.26.2011

I make a pasta sauce and freeze it. I don’t have a pressure canner but lots of freezer room so this works great for me.

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herbiechic on 10.11.2010

The recipe must have been changed, cause all it states is to process according to canning directions.
I would check the pressure cooking time for the zucchini, I am not an expert but when I was bottling this type of sauce last year, the book I was referencing had zucchini taking the longest out of everything I put in. This recipe looks yummy!

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reezie on 9.20.2010

OK! The Master Canner and Food Preserver at our county extension office said NO! to oven canning (and her face went white as she grabbed my hand and said “You didn’t, did you?!). And agreed with my comments above.

She looked at the recipe and said, given these ingredients, you would have to pressure can this. A water bath method would not work because there was not enough acid in the recipe.

How come it worked for her mother? Well, in the very recent past, tomatoes were much more acidic than the tomatoes we have today. That acidity has been bred out of them.

To can tomatoes using the water bath (jars in a huge pot of boiling water with at least 2 inches of water above the tops of the jar) method you have to add acid, usually bottled lemon juice.

With this recipe, to find the pressure and timing for pressure canning, you’d have to look for a similar recipe in the most recent Ball Blue Book (which I don’t have yet). If you can’t find one, then use the timing and pressure for bell peppers and/or carrots, whichever is longer.

But please, PLEASE, don’t even think of using the hot-jars-from-the-oven method of canning. Or water bath. Only pressure canning can make this safe to set on your shelf.

6 Reviews

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corygentri on 9.13.2013

I made this last year for the first time and it was pretty good. I use about half a quart jar when I am making spaghetti and just add a can of tomato sauce and any additional seasonings and some brown sugar to cut the acid. I am down to my last jar and will be making more this weekend. Very hearty sauce and if you can it, over time the jalapenos will mellow so don’t be afraid to use the whole amount! My kids eat it just fine and I like a sweeter sauce which is why I add the brown sugar before I serve – it is great as is too! I think this year I am going to can in pint jars as well cause that is the amount I need to make a spaghetti sauce for my family.

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Cindy on 8.31.2013

Having had an over abundance of tomatoes in the garden this year I went in search of a spaghetti sauce that I could make with them and thankfully came upon this recipe! I have made four full batches of it thus far and looks like 3 more batches will take care of all the tomatoes. Going to need to buy peppers and zucchini now the plants simply can’t keep up with me. This sauce is delicious, hearty, full of loads of good for you vegies and just enough bite to make it interesting! Yes, I use all the jalapenos indicated. It isn’t overwhelming, as I said just the right amount of bite! We will be eating spaghetti sauce with no chemicals added all winter! Yum!!

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fightpilotswife on 2.17.2012

What a great way to use most of my case of tomatoes and assorted other produce from Bountiful Baskets! The flavor was awesome, even though I only used 4 jalapenos. Processed it in a boiling bath for 45 minutes and TADA….8 beautiful quarts of sauce!! Thank you!!!

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bkraemer on 9.3.2011

Fantastic sauce with great flavor. We like a little more heat so I added red pepper flakes and a dash of hot seasoning, either cayenne or chipotle. I used about 40 Roma tomatoes and got about 4 quarts.

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jessicaca on 10.11.2010

I made this today with the last of my garden tomatoes, peppers and zucchini. I peeled and seeded my tomatoes before adding it to the sauce and used the shredder on my Kitchen-Aid for the carrots and zucchini….just diced everything else (no food processor). The sauce is really tasty, with just enough heat. I used a portion of the batch for lasagna (delicious) and the rest went in the freezer. I look forward to enjoying this again through the winter!

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