Easy Instant Pot Pasta Sauce + Canning Instructions

It’s that time of year. Yes, you knew it was a possibility when you planted multiple tomato plants in your garden. You’ve eaten enough tomatoes that you think they might be coming out of your ears now. So what do you do? It’s time to make a plan on how to use those tomatoes up.

It’s time to can! Yes, time to turn all of your hard work into something you can use in the coming colder months. And your hard work wont go to waste. From pasta sauce, to salsa to soups – there are so many ways to use all of those tomatoes.

But the worst part about canning tomatoes is all of the prep work you have to do to them. Scoring, blanching, coring, removing the seeds.. all before you actually turn them into something you can use. But all of that can be wasteful and you’re losing some of the items you use in your sauces.

So what do you do? You make a recipe using all of the parts you can without wasting it as you go. It’s a lot easier, brings in more nutrients and takes a lot less time.

This recipe basically requires you to toss your ingredients in your pressure cooker or Instant Pot and let it do the hard work. And it’s one that your family is going to love.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups of Garden Fresh tomatoes – stem and core removed and quartered.
• 3 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Carrots, peeled and quartered
• 2 Medium Onions, skin removed and quartered
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 6 oz Tomato Paste

Step 1: Add all of your ingredients, except the tomato paste and place inside the inner liner of your pressure cooker.

Step 2: Place your lid on the pressure cooker, turn the toggle to seal and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Allow to vent naturally. This should take approximately 40 minutes total.

All of the items will have cooked together and will still be mostly in whole pieces – we’re going to fix that!

Step 3: With your Immersion Blender blend all of the ingredients into a smooth sauce. It is going to be loose at this point, and not what you expect of a sauce.

Step 4: Add in the can of tomato paste and blend again. This will thicken up your sauce and will bring in a bit more of the robust taste you’re expecting. The carrots will add a natural sweetness and reduce any extra additive you need in your sauce.

And just like that – you have a delicious pasta sauce that you can use all winter long! You’ll be amazed at how fast you use up your tomatoes with this method – but then you’ll have a counter of jars of sauce taking over.

To Can and save for later:

1. Place 6 clean quart mason jars on a rack in your stock pot – you may have to process 6 at a time. Fill the jars and a stock pot with cool water until it completely covers the top of the jars. Cover and put on medium heat. Simmer but do not boil.
2. Prepare 6 lid sets, put the bands aside and put the flat lids in a small sauce pan and put on medium heat. Do not boil, but keep warm through the whole process.
3. Prepare your sauce to the directions above.
4. Now, remove the jars from the warm bath. Tip them as you pull them out and pour the water back into the pan. Place them on a towel on the counter with the opening up. Do not dry them! Just put them down and put the funnel in. Fill each jar with sauce leaving 1 inch head space.
5. Take the small magnet tool and remove flat lids from their hot bath. Place over top of each jar. By hand screw on the collars, but not too tight! Remember some air still needs to get out of each jar.
6. Place your rack inside your pressure canner, and set your filled jars on top. Pour in 2-3 inches of hot water. Close your lid.
7. On Medium-High Heat wait until your canner begins to let steam out of the vent. Allow the steam to vent for 10 minutes, then switch to the 1 position. Wait until steam starts coming out again.
8. Process for 1 hour and 15 minutes. After 75 minutes are done, turn off the heat and wait for the canner to depressurize.
9. Once the canner is safe to open, open away from you so any extra steam will not hit your face. Remove your cans and put them on a clean towel to set. Wait for those lovely “pop”s to know your cans have properly sealed! Let them rest 12-24 hours before moving or using. Store in a cool, dark area.