There’s nothing quite like a homemade pizza with fresh, delicious pizza sauce. Making your own sauce is not only a fun and rewarding cooking project, but it also allows you to create a sauce that perfectly suits your own tastes. And if you have an abundance of tomatoes from your garden or the local farmer’s market, making and canning your own pizza sauce is the perfect way to preserve them for future use.

To start, you’ll need a large quantity of ripe tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are the traditional choice for making pizza sauce, but any flavorful, meaty variety will work well. In addition to tomatoes, you’ll need onions, garlic, salt, sugar, and various herbs and spices (such as oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes) to give your sauce extra flavor.

To make the sauce, start by blanching the tomatoes in boiling water for about a minute, until the skins start to split. Then, transfer the tomatoes to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Once they’ve cooled, the skins should peel off easily.

Next, core and chop the tomatoes, and then cook them with the onions and garlic in a large pot over medium heat. As the mixture cooks down, use a potato masher or immersion blender to break up the tomatoes and create a smooth sauce. Add the salt, sugar, and spices, and continue to cook the sauce until it thickens to your desired consistency.

Once your pizza sauce is ready, it’s time to start the canning process. First, prepare your canning jars and lids by washing them in hot, soapy water and then sterilizing them in boiling water. Then, fill the jars with the hot pizza sauce, leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace at the top. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp cloth, and then seal them with the lids. Finally, process the jars in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes, and then let them cool on a towel on the counter.

Once your jars are cool, check the lids to make sure they have sealed properly. If the lid pops up and down when you press on it, the jar did not seal, and the sauce should be refrigerated and used within a few days. Properly sealed jars of pizza sauce can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

Having a stash of homemade pizza sauce in your pantry means that making a delicious homemade pizza is always just a few steps away. Whether you’re making a classic Margherita pizza or getting creative with your toppings, the fresh, vibrant flavors of your own homemade sauce will take your pizza to the next level. So, roll up your sleeves, get out your canning equipment, and start preserving the flavors of summer in a batch of delicious homemade pizza sauce.