This homemade Salsa Recipe For Canning is one item that I always try to keep on hand. This canned salsa recipe is my all-time favorite! It thick and chunky and has so much flavor. We use this salsa in anything from taco soup, and chili, to chips and salsa.
Every year I plan my entire garden around making salsa because my family loves it so much. I like to use as many ingredients as I can from my garden because I can pick them right before I use them. It is very important to use fresh veggies when canning to avoid any contaminants.
Salsa Recipe For Canning Ingredients
I have used this Salsa Recipe For Canning for many years. I have found that using fresh ingredients makes all the difference.
Tomatoes– I prefer to us La Roma tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes. I like this variety because they have more meat than they have juice which result in a thinker more meaty salsa. But this recipe works with any of your favorite canning tomatoes. I tried an experiment last year and I did a batch where I peeled and diced the tomatoes and a batch where I didn’t peel the tomatoes. The result was no one noticed a difference, the texture, and the taste was exactly the same. Keep in mind I use La Roma and San Marzano tomatoes neither of which had a thick skin. If you are using a tomato with a thicker skin it would be best to peel them.
Onions– I use yellow onions, they have the perfect flavor for this salsa. I also use a food processor for the onions because I prefer smaller less chunky pieces of onion.
Green Peppers– I just use regular green bell peppers. Remove all the seeds and chop. you can also use a food processor if you prefer small pieces.
Jalapeno Peppers– I only use a half a cup of jalapenos because I really don’t like super spicy foods, you can use a full cup if you like more spice to your salsa. Since the seeds hold most of the heat I would suggest tasting a small piece of the jalapeno to decide it you want to keep or remove the seeds. I remove all the seeds, and chop in a food processor. One tip I have for cutting the peppers is to wear gloves. I learned the hard way the first time I did salsa and I didn’t wear gloves and I swear I burned my hands. Also while you are cutting a removing the seeds do it under cold water, it will help calm the smell and burning down.
Garlic– Make sure you remove the peel before mincing the garlic. I have heard of people mincing the garlic with the peel on but I prefer to remove it so, I don’t end up with peel in my salsa. Wearing gloves for this part would also be recommended or you will smell like garlic for days!!! I also learned this the hard way!
Canning Salt– There is a difference between canning salt and table salt. Canning salt is the purest form of salt, there are no minerals removed and no additives. Because canning salt is pure, there is less sediment that will be left at the bottom of you canning jars after processing.
Sugar– Sugar is needed to offset the taste that the vinegar can add to the salsa.
Vinegar– DO NOT SKIP adding vinegar. The reason vinegar is needed to balance the acidity in the salsa to make it safe for water bath canning. It is not safe to can salsa without vinegar.
Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste– Any brand will work just make sure that you check expiration dates. I like to buy the cans that have the furthest date out.
Cilantro– make sure the your cilantro is very fresh, and chop into small pieces.
Can I make Substitutions To This Canned Salsa Recipe?
Yes, but remember canning is a science! There are several different factors that need to be taken into consideration when canning, such as ph and acidity levels. If you are thinking about making a change make sure to contact your local canning extinctions of the National Center for Home Food Preservation here is their link https://nchfp.uga.edu/.
Canning with a Water Bath
Here are a couple of things to remember when using a water bath canner. When filling the jars I like to use a wide mouth jar funnel, it will help prevent getting anything on the rim of the jar. It is very important to keep the rim clean or the jar clean or the jar might not seal properly. I also like to soak the lids in HOT water to soften the seal on the lid. After the lid has soaked for a couple of minutes place the lid and ring on the jar. Place the jars in the rack of the water bath and cover with water. Make sure the jars are covered with at least one inch of water and boil. The most important thing to remember when using a water bath is to not start timing until the water has come to a FULL boil.
Salsa Recipe Canning Tips
- Canned salsa has a shelf life of about a year. Make sure to label the salsa with a month and a year and store it in a cool dark place.
- Try canning outside with a camp stove. It will eliminate all the additional heat and smell from your home that canning can create.
- To avoid mineral build up add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to your water bath.
Salsa Recipe For Canning
Equipment
- Water bath canner, and a large stock pot.
Ingredients
- 8 Cups Chopped tomatoes
- 2½ Cups Chopped onions
- 1½ Cups Chopped green peppers
- ½ Cup Seeded and diced jalapenos
- 6 Cloves Garlic peeled and minced
- 1 Tsp Cumin
- 2 Tsp Black pepper
- 1/8 Cup Canning Salt
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1/3 Cup Vinegar
- 1 15oz Can(s) of tomato sauce
- 1 12oz Can(s) of tomato paste
- 1 Bunch FRESH cilantro
Instructions
- Wash and dice 8 cups of tomatoes. If you are using a thicker skin tomato I would recommend removing the skin.
- Chop 2 1/2 cups of onions.
- Dice 1 1/2 cups of green peppers.
- Chop 1/2 cup of jalapenos.
- Mince 6 cloves of garlic.
- Combine all ingredients into a large stockpot and low. You can also use a turkey roaster, which is like an extra-large crock-pot. (make sure roaster can get the salsa to a boil).
- Add 1 teaspoon of cumin, 2 teaspoons of black pepper, 1/8 cup of canning salt, and 1/3 cup of vinegar.
- Mix in 1(15oz) can of tomato sauce, and 1 (12oz) can of tomato paste.
- Mix all ingredients together and boil for 20 mins.
- Seal in jars and cook in a hot water bath for 20 mins.
- Remove jars from the water bath and place them on a dishcloth to cool.
- Before storing salsa make sure the lid has sealed.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience. Getting feedback from you helps me and other readers too!
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A thick and chunky salsa recipe is just what every kitchen needs! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful way to use tomatoes!
Perfect timing, I had lots of tomatoes ready. The entire family loved this recipe, excited to see how it holds up after canning. Super yum!
Definitely going to make some of this – we love our salsa and this canned salsa sounds delicious.
Thanks for posting this salsa recipe for canning. This is a perfect way to use all these tomatoes I have growing and I buy salsa every week. Homemade is so much better, so I need to do some canning. There is nothing better than the fresh taste of your garden in February.
This looks like something I would love! Can’t wait to try it.
How. Many cans will this recipe make?
I will make 5-7 quarts depending on how long you let it simmer and reduce.
What kind of vinegar?
white vinegar
Excellent! We doubled the recipe and omitted the hot peppers, added just a very little extra sugar. Great taste!
I am so glad that you liked it. It is my favorite salsa and I try to make enough to last the entire year when I make it.
I love this salsa
I will definitely be using this recipe many times over ❤❤❤
I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you!
Is there an option of using lime just instead of vinegar or a combination of the 2?
I haven’t tried this recipe with lime juice, so I’m not sure how it will turn out.
We found this recipe this year. We have already made 32 batches. We sell this at the farmers market. Our customers love it and so do we. We have eaten three pints so far and we love love it. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you for sharing.
Would I be able to use lime juice instead of vinegar? Or have a combination of both?
I haven’t tried this recipe with lime juice so I’m not sure how well it would turn out.
We are planning to make this salsa, what size jars do you use?
We use pint, but you can also use quart jars. It’s just a personal preference.