Fresh tomatoes warm from the sunny garden are a favorite scent and flavor.
I miss my garden with Roma and Marzano tomatoes from my Utah garden.
We had so many tomatoes that year, we taught ourselves how to can tomato sauce so we had that fresh delicious flavor in the dead of winter.
Now we buy the tomatoes, on sale, ready to sauce, at local farmers markets.
We love this slow cooker marinara.
It’s super easy and my daughter is the resident marinara maker the last two years! Here she is last year, making sauce.
We cook the tomatoes and other vegetables with dried spices in the slow cooker for about 12 hours. Fresh spices are great for finishing recipes, but they become bitter when cooked down. We reduce it if it’s too thin. Sometimes, I adjust the flavor by adding a little more sugar or some lemon juice.
We then process it with our KitchenAid attachments and water bath can it.
Super simple and we use it on pizza, as a base for pasta sauces, and in other recipes.
We can never have too much!
Thanks to Ball canning for all the lovely jars!
Slow Cooker Marinara
Ingredients
- 8 large tomatoes quartered
- 1/2 sweet onion roughly chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 T olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 t basil
- 1 t oregano
- 1 t marjoram
- 1 t sea salt
- 1/2 t black pepper
- 1.5 t sugar or honey
- 2 t Balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in slow cooker and set on low for 12 hours. Your kitchen will smell amazing!
- Process in batches in a food processor and strain through a food mill to get rid of peels and seeds - or use the handy dandy KitchenAid attachment.
- If the sauce is too thin, we reduce it (thicken) in a big chili or stock pot on the stovetop for about 30 minutes to an hour. I adjust seasoning at this time too.
- Freeze sauce in manageable amounts in zipper bags or plastic containers - or use jars in a bath canner.
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Gwen says
September 10, 2018 at 9:53 amThanks for sharing all the good info. Would love to learn how to can
Sarah says
September 10, 2018 at 12:36 pmI wish I could send you all of our tomatoes to can. Unfortunately I don’t think we’ll be able to fit in canning them this year so I’ve been giving away as many as I can since we can’t eat them all before they go bad.
Thank you for linking up with us for Meatless Monday and sharing. Pinning this for next year.
Donna Reidland says
September 10, 2018 at 10:57 pmThere is nothing like things that have been canned at home … 2nd only to eating them fresh :).
Becki says
September 13, 2018 at 4:13 pmSounds delicious! How big is your slow cooker for that recipe? Once I’m home more, I’d love to grow some veggies, and of course want whatever I grew to be used :)
Jennifer says
September 14, 2018 at 10:34 amMy All-Clad slow cooker is 6-7 quarts. It’s the best one I’ve ever had because it doesn’t overcook!
Susan says
September 13, 2018 at 4:40 pmI’m trying this! I just entered the world of canning and am looking for good recipes. Thank you for sharing!
Ruth Adams says
September 14, 2018 at 9:45 amThis sounds wonderful; I have been canning fruit and am excited to try tomatoes too!
Mari-Anna says
September 14, 2018 at 12:37 pmI’d like to learn the art of canning one day. The home-made marinara sauce sounds heavenly. Thanks for sharing. Blessings to all of you!
~ linda says
September 14, 2018 at 12:55 pmI once canned many fruits but no vegetables. I loved canning. I lived where I could get fruit in abundance so I learned that skill first…just never got around to learning veggie canning nor got the proper canner. So I am really glad to see that you can freeze this directly from the slow cooker. The recipe sounds great and will have to give it a try one day. I have this Italian heritage on Mama’s side of the family so having a great sauce is so important. I have a fine recipe from Grandpa but I like the idea of slow cooking one and the ingredients look just right. Thanks.
Linda S says
September 14, 2018 at 9:01 pmslow cooker marina sauce? love this idea!
we are currently putting our tomatoes into a year’s supply of salsa. I am pinning this recipe – thank you for sharing it at our Encouraging Hearts & Home blog hop this week.
Amy @ The Quiet Homemaker says
September 19, 2018 at 11:07 amThis is awesome! Thanks for the recipe! :)
Thanks for linking up @LiveLifeWell!
Blessings,
Amy
Miz Helen says
September 22, 2018 at 3:50 pmCongratulations!
Your post is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Thanks so much for sharing with us and you have a great weekend!
Miz Helen
Rachel Sweeney says
September 23, 2018 at 6:04 pmI went to my farmer’s market this weekend and got a ton of tomatoes just so I could make this! I’m so excited, it’s my first time doing any sort of canning like this, so I hope it works out and I don’t screw it up :)