How long to water bath can crushed tomatoes
Process crushed tomatoes for 35 minutes (half-pints and pints) or 45 minutes (quarts) in a boiling-water canner at 0–1,000 ft, then add minutes as altitude rises: +5 at 1,001–3,000 ft, +10 at 3,001–6,000 ft, +15 at 6,001–8,000 ft and +20 at 8,001–10,000 ft.
Crushed tomatoes canning times by altitude
| Altitude | Half-pints and pints | Quarts |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1,000 ft | 35 min | 45 min |
| 1,001–3,000 ft | 40 min | 50 min |
| 3,001–6,000 ft | 45 min | 55 min |
| 6,001–8,000 ft | 50 min | 60 min |
| 8,001–10,000 ft | 55 min | 65 min |
By jar size: half-pints and pints · quarts
What the time assumes
- Method: boiling-water (water bath) canner
- Acidity: high-acid (or acidified)
- Headspace: ½ inch
- No tested process: half-gallons. Putby shows no time for this size.
This is the tested process for crushed tomatoes, and it also covers plain tomato sauce. Whole or halved tomatoes have their own, longer tested times, so follow your recipe for those. Tomatoes sit on the acid borderline: add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to every jar, whether you water-bath or pressure can.
Questions
- How long do you water bath can crushed tomatoes?
- Process crushed tomatoes for 35 minutes (half-pints and pints) or 45 minutes (quarts) in a boiling-water canner at 0–1,000 ft, then add minutes as altitude rises: +5 at 1,001–3,000 ft, +10 at 3,001–6,000 ft, +15 at 6,001–8,000 ft and +20 at 8,001–10,000 ft.
- How long do you process crushed tomatoes at 5,000 feet?
- 55 minutes for quarts at 3,001–6,000 ft: the 45-minute tested time plus 10 minutes for altitude.
- What headspace should I leave for crushed tomatoes?
- Leave ½ inch of headspace.
Sources
- USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, Guide 3 (Tomatoes) · NCHFP
Times and pressures are restated from the National Center for Home Food Preservation and the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, in our own words. They are the same table Putby's app uses; a test in the app fails if the two ever disagree. Altitude schedule: Putby adds minutes to boiling-water processes in five steps up to 10,000 ft; at the higher steps that can be a few minutes longer than a food's own USDA altitude table, never shorter. If your tested recipe gives a longer time, use the recipe's time. Last reviewed 2026-10-16.