Homemade Taco Sauce

Homemade taco sauce is the easiest gateway into water-bath canning. A dozen ripe tomatoes, a cup of chopped green chilies, a small onion, and warm pantry seasonings simmer down into a smoky, savory sauce that puts the bottled stuff to shame.

The slow 90-minute simmer is non-skippable. It thickens the sauce by driving off water, deepens the tomato flavor, and lets the cumin and oregano work their way into every drop.

This recipe makes 48 servings, which works out to enough sauce to last through several taco nights and chili pots, all stored on a pantry shelf with no fridge space sacrificed.

Pro Tips

• Pick fully ripe Roma or paste tomatoes if you can find them. Watery slicing varieties take twice as long to reduce.
• Slip a sharp knife under the skin after the boiling-water dip, and it should peel off in a single sheet. Stubborn skins mean the tomato wasn’t ripe enough.
• Sterilize jars in the same hot water bath setup before filling, and keep them hot until the sauce is ladled in. Cold jars on hot sauce can shatter.
• Check seals after 24 hours. If a lid presses up and down or doesn’t pop, refrigerate that jar and use within a week.

Variations

• Add a chipotle in adobo or a teaspoon of smoked paprika for smoky depth.
• Swap mild green chilies for jalapeños if you want serious heat.
• Stir in a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar at the end for brighter acidity (and stronger preservation).