Sunday, July 31, 2011

Homemade Prego Spaghetti Sauce

Excellent result with this recipe and it tastes just like my favorite Prego!

4 T. olive oil
2 large minced garlic cloves
1 onion, very finely chopped
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. salt
7 cups chopped fresh from the garden tomatoes  (or 56 oz. canned crushed toms)
1 (28 oz.) can tomato paste
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Heat oil over medium low heat. Add garlic. Stir and cook until golden brown. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add onion and cook until soft and golden, stirring frequently. Add seasonings and tomatoes. Slowly bring to a boil on medium high heat. Let boil for 10 minutes, covered. Reduce to lowest heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.


Yield: 12 cups or 3 quarts canned

Canning: Fill hot sauce in hot jars and process in pressure canner for 25 minutes.

Note: I simmered my fresh tomatoes for 20 minutes but I'm not sure it would matter especially if you are canning the sauce as well.

56 comments:

  1. I add sweet bell peppers, celery and mushrooms to mine and omit the sugar.
    When I make my meatballs I add diced onions, garlic and Italian spices, celery seed, salt and pepper to the hamburger. Sometimes I add bulk sausage to the mix. Meatballs are browned and simmered. They can be frozen.

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  2. I can't wait to try it! This weekend I hope.. I don't want to "CAN" them as I prefer to share my sauce with some neighbors which are mostly friends. So they can enjoy it and/or critique it as a few are known to do, and I welcome that truly..if it makes sense of course, to me that is!

    As my last name is Veno pronounced the Italian Wine Way: Vino. I love all there is to love about these prime ingredients: TOMATOs PASTA, BASIL, GARLIC AND PARM CHEESE!! PARM REGG, RULES! For contrast in my recipes I adore 30% Provolone, 70% Mozzarella on my Pizza!

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  3. I gave up cooking sauce all day when I found Prego, but lately I have gotten into canning and this sounds great...Will give it a try when tomato season comes around.

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  4. This is EXCELLENT! I can use this sauce for other recipes. Taste's just like Prego, BUT BETTER. It's homemade, the only way to go.

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  5. what a great tasting sauce. As a parent of a child with food allergies it is important that I know what is in his food. Companies constantly change their recipes and what is safe today might not be safe tomorrow. I have begun canning barbecue sauce, salsa and will now be adding spaghetti sauce to my list.

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  6. I always use Prego but, love love this recipe. But, I don't do canning. Can this be frozen for future use?

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    1. Yes, tomato sauce can be frozen. It may change the texture a bit. But to me, it is okay after heated back up.

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  7. I added 1 T lemon juice to my pint jars and processed them for 35min in hot water bath canner since i do not have a pressure canner, everything I have read and other recipes that are simular suggest this, will this work?

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    1. No vegetables have to be pressure canned, omit the vegetables and you can process the sauce by water bathing, add vegetables before you serve.

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    2. I used to make salsa and can it in the hot water bath. Can't see the difference between salsa and spaghetti sauce. Do some research before discarding your canning plans.

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    3. It is recommended to pressure can vegetables, especially tomatoes because they are more prone to botulism. So, it is not NEEDED, but there is a greater risk if it is not done and not done properly

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    4. that should be fine, i do mine that way also and have used them 2 years later with no problem.

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  8. It made my butthole pucker!

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  9. I grew up eating prego so I can't wait to try this. I love making stuff from scratch to avoid preservatives. Thank you

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  10. I can everything lately!!!! I'm going to try canning this also.

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  11. When canning, can I use a water bath method instead of a pressure canner?

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    1. Yes, you can use a water bath method for canning tomato products as long as there is no meat involved, if are making a meat sauce then you have to pressure can.

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  12. You really use 28 oz of tomatoe paste?

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  13. Just curious do you skin your fresh tomatoes

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  14. Just curious do you skin your fresh tomatoes

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  15. Has anyone tried this yet and does it really need that much tomato paste? I love prego sauce and I really hope this tastes the same.

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  16. again...28 oz of tomato paste?

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    1. I'm going to try with 8oz can of tomato paste. If you add up the ounces in each, then look at her yield, I'm thinking it has to be 8 oz, not 28.

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    2. Yes you need 28 oz. I made it last summer, turned out perfect. I hate runny sauce. This year I made my own tomato paste.

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  17. I just made this recipe--It IS Prego!! Thank you so much for sharing this!

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  18. Tried this on Family. they all loved it. Tweeked here and there. Prego has been a staple at our house for years. Now it comes from the canning room. Thank you.

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  19. Lekker, lekker!

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  20. Recipe sounds great, but I like your Bible quote better. Thank you

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  21. any one made this in a crock-pot

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  22. Excellent second year for canning this sauce, We love it !!! Thanks

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  23. how many pounds on the pressure cooker?

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    1. You should be able to look at the manual for the pressure setting. I water bathed this recipe and it turned out fantastic! My MIL bought me a pressure scanner for Christmas, I still haven't decided if I will use it for this recipe or not. Guess I better decide quick, I am starting a batch now.

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  24. You write: "Heat oil over medium low heat. Add garlic. Stir and cook until golden brown. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add onion and cook until soft and golden, stirring frequently. " I think we should cook onion and garlic together because if we do what you say, the garlic will get a dark Brown before the onion gets golden. No?

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  25. Cold and snowy today in PA.Making this in a pressure cooker and plan on freezing extra sauce.I was also wondering about 28 oz tomato paste.Could not find that size can.Used 5 cans of 6 oz paste.Looking forward to spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread later today.

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  26. I see a lot of folks have tried this recipe, can anyone confirm the 28 ounces of tomato paste? That sure sounds like a lot, I was wondering if it was two, eight once cans?

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  27. Yes, it's correct. It makes the sauce thick like Prego's.

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  28. Thank you Mary !

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  29. Can I cook this in a Crock Pot? I would love to come home after a day of work and have this ready. Thank you!

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  30. Can I substitute more fresh pureed tomatoes for the tomato sauce?

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  31. The recipe doesn't say whether or not you are supposed to remove the skins from the tomatoes or not. Did anyone make it with the skins still on?

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    1. I don't recommend with the skins still on for sauce. They curl up but never really go away, even after blending thoroughly. Unless you don't mind the fibrous skins to chew around, I would just blanch them quickly before putting the tomatoes in the recipe. The skins will come right off. Super easy. And in my opinion, a much better texture results in the final product without the skins.

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  32. .Canned this in August but finally had it tonight **10-8-2015 Just had this tonight and we really liked it. Only thing different that I did was added chopped peppers and used only a 24 oz. can tomato paste since that was all I had and just used 1-14 oz can tomato sauce and added some bay leaves. I started cooking tomatoes while I was sautéing garlic and onions. This was nice and thick! A++++ for us. Thank you!

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  33. I processed in a pressure canner. I did 10 min on 25 lbs pressure and no problems.

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  34. Sorry, I pressured 10 min on 5 lbs pressure. NOT 25!!

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  35. How long would I need to water bathe the sauce, if I use water bath method?

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  36. I made this recipe for the last 2 years. My husband loves it! He says it is better tasting than the stuff from the store!!! I love it because I know what is in it!!! Win win for everyone!

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  37. How would frozen tomatoes work with this?

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  38. How long do you pressure cook this in quart jars and how many pounds of pressure. It’s thick and I have done quarts for 25 minutes for 10lbs of pressure. Has anyone done this, or what have you done? Pints??

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    1. Qt's for 25 min. is what I do at 10lbs of pressure. I am below 1000 ft of sea level. 20 mins for pt's. I have been making this for 7 years.

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  39. At what point do you add the tomato sauce and paste? After simmering for an hour?

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    1. I add all ingredients, then simmer. I usually simmer for more than an hour too, but I am making 4x the recipe.

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