How to Can Tomato Passata (Tomato Puree) Safely

Updated October 2026

Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to every jar, then process in a boiling water canner: 35 minutes for pints and 40 for quarts at low elevation.

Passata is tomato puree that has been cooked and pressed through a food mill, and it cans just like USDA's tested tomato juice and tomato sauce. Put 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid in each pint (double it for quarts), fill the jars hot and process them in a boiling water canner, adding time for elevation. Tomatoes are borderline for acidity, so USDA requires the acid even if you use a pressure canner.

Passata yield and acid calculator

Enter the pounds of ripe tomatoes you have. The calculator estimates jars, acid and processing time for your elevation.

Making the passata

1. Wash the tomatoes, cut out the stem ends and trim any bruises.
2. To keep the puree from separating, quarter about 1 pound into a saucepan and bring it to a boil right away, crushing as you go. Keep adding quarters slowly so the pot boils hard the whole time, then simmer 5 minutes.
3. Press the hot tomatoes through a food mill or sieve.
4. Add the acid to each jar, plus up to 1 teaspoon of salt per quart if you like.
5. Bring the passata back to a boil and fill the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace (1/4 inch if you cooked it down to thick sauce).
6. Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims, center new lids and screw the bands on fingertip tight.

Processing times

Set the jars on a rack in the canner with at least 2 inches of water over them, since these processes run over 30 minutes. Cover, bring to a vigorous boil, then start timing. If the boil stops, return to a boil and restart the full time.

USDA also lists pressure canner options for tomato juice. In a weighted-gauge canner at 0 to 1,000 ft, for example, process pints or quarts for 15 minutes at 10 lb. See our pressure canning guide for how to run one.

When the time is up, turn off the heat, remove the canner lid and wait 5 minutes. Lift the jars onto a towel 1 inch apart and leave them 12 to 24 hours before testing the seals.

When to can

Across most of the country the tomato rush runs from late July into September. In Florida and along the Gulf Coast you may get a spring crop and a second one in fall. Check our tomato growing guide for your region.

Storing and checking jars

Remove the bands, wash and dry the jars, label them and store them between 50 and 70°F, away from the furnace and out of the sun. Use them within a year. Refrigerate an opened jar.

A jar that has not sealed within 24 hours can be reprocessed with a new lid for the full time, or refrigerated and used within a week. Discard any jar with a bulging lid, spurting liquid, an off odor or mold, without tasting it.

Separation into a watery layer is harmless. It happens when cut tomatoes sit before heating, which is why the hot-break step matters.

Sources we checked (October 2026): USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015) through the National Center for Home Food Preservation: Tomato Juice, Standard Tomato Sauce, Tomato acidification directions, Using Boiling Water Canners, Storing Home Canned Foods, Cooling Jars and Testing Jar Seals.

Common questions