Are pasta sauce jars dishwasher safe? | 7 Easy Steps

Pasta sauce jars can be cleaned in the dishwasher so they can be used to store dry pantry foods like sugar, flour or oats. Start by rinsing and washing away any large sauce chunks left in the jar and pop them upside down in the glass or bottom rack.

Once the pasta jars have been through a cycle in the dishwasher, allow them to cool then stand them upside down in a drying rack to dry completely. If you plan to store the jars before using them, pop a piece of paper towel inside the jar to soak up excess moisture.

How to clean pasta jars in the dishwasher

Check out my easy steps to clean pasta jars in the dishwasher

1. Open the jars and rinse them thoroughly

Once you have used the pasta sauce in your jar, give them a quick rinse in your sink with cold water. This will remove excess pasta sauce in the jar and make it easier for the dishwasher to clean.

Rinse the lids under cold, running water as well to remove any excess sauce.

2. Wash in warm, soapy water

To remove, stubborn stuck on food you can wash the jars in warm soapy water. take the time to remove any suck on sauce with a sponge, or use a bottle cleaner to get to the bottom of the jar.

If your jars do not have any large chunks of sauce on them you can skip this step.

3. Soak the jars in hot soapy water

An important step to save your dishwasher is to soak the jars in hot soapy water to remove the label. The label will come off in the dishwasher and the glue and paper can clog your filters.

The easiest way to do this is to fill your sink with enough hot water to cover the jar. Add a small dash of regular dishwashing liquid. I also like to add a few drops of eucalyptus oil to help the label to lift.

Leave the jar to soak in the sink for 2-3 hours. After this you should be able to wipe the label and the glue away with a sponge.

Use a sponge with a scourer to remove stubborn glue.

For another quick way to remove labels from your jars, check out this video.

4. Put the jars in the dishwasher upside-down

The next step is to put your jars in the dishwasher upside down. You can pop them on the top rack for glasses or the bottom rack. Which ever is easiest to hold the glass in place. I like the top rack because i can lean the glass against the side of the rack so it doesn’t fall over.

Pop the lids in the top rack on their side.

You can use a regular, eco or heavy cycle for the jars. I have found that all of these options work well.

5. Leave the jars open to dry

Once the jars have been through your dishwasher allow them to cool. Remember glass will be hot so leave them to cool with the dishwasher door open for at least 15 minutes before touching them.

Once they are cool enough to touch, grab them out of your dishwasher and pop them upside down on your drying rack. Leave them there for a few hours to completely dry inside. Do the same thing with your lids.

6. Put a piece of paper towel inside to store

Once you have dried your jars completely you can store them until you are ready to use them. Pop a piece of folded paper towel in the jar and place the lid on. The paper towel will absorb any excess water and keep the jars dry ready for you to use them.

7. Fill your jars with dry goods

You can use pasta sauce jars to store dry products like cookies, flour, sugar or oats. It is best not to use pasta jars for canning as the glass is thin and can break when reheated. The jar lids may not form a tight seal needed for the canning process.

4 Ways to get the smell out of pasta sauce jars and lids

The one problem with pasta sauce jars and lids is that they can still smell like sauce once you have cleaned them. Here are some easy ways to get rid of this smell.

1. Make a paste with baking soda

Baking soda is a great way to clean your pasta jars and lids thoroughly. You can make a paste with water and pop that into the lids and the jar. Spray on a small bit of vinegar and watch it bubble. This will remove any smell that might be left on the lids.

Wash the baking soda and vinegar out thoroughly with hot, soapy water.

2. Put the jars through the dishwasher again

Another way to clean your jars thoroughly and remove any leftover smell is to run them through the dishwasher again. This extra wash will help to remove any residual smell.

3. Vinegar and hot soapy water

Sprinkle baking soda on top of the lids then add some vinegar, wash it off in hot, soapy water. this is a simple way to remove smells from your jar lids.

4. Soak the jars in 50:50 mix of vinegar and water

For stubborn smells half fill the jar with vinegar and top up with water. Leave it to soak for 30 minutes then wash it thoroughly in hot, soapy water.

Are pasta sauce jars dishwasher safe? | Summary

Pasta sauce jars are dishwasher safe and can be cleaned thoroughly to be used to store dry pantry goods. It is best to remove any excess sauce and the label before putting them in your dishwasher to avoid clogging up the filter.