Homemade Salsa for Canning

Name: Homemade Salsa for Canning
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 9.50 cups fresh tomatoes (diced); 2 cups onions (diced); 2 cups green bell pepper (diced); 10 cloves fresh garlic (minced); 3/4 cup jalapeno peppers (diced); 1/2 cup cilantro (chopped); 2 tbsp kosher salt; ¼ cup granulated sugar; 1 cup apple cider vinegar

Published: Aug 29, 2019 · Modified: Nov 14, 2022 by Shelby Law Ruttan · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This is the best canning salsa recipe. Processed in a hot water bath, It is made with fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, vinegar, and a little sugar for tangy salsa with a little sweet heat.

Featured image for homemade salsa for canning.

This Homemade Salsa Recipe is a canning recipe made with fresh veggies, flavored with cilantro, and gets its heat from the jalapeno pepper. It is the best homemade salsa to serve with tortilla chips, on tacos, burritos, and more.

A pint jar of Homemade Salsa on a green and white striped towel with other pint jars surrounding it in the baackground.

I love fresh salsa, but salsa made with the best fresh ingredients from your own garden makes it even more special. The fresh and delicious flavor is far better than what you can buy in the grocery store so be sure to make plenty!

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❤️ Why you'll love it
🥘 Ingredients
🔪 Instructions
Equipment
🥫Storage
💭 Tips
🙋 FAQ's
📚 Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Reviews

❤️ Why you'll love it

✔️ It is easy to control the flavor and heat of of the salsa and you can make hot, medium, or mild salsa.

✔️ This canned homemade salsa is easy to make and great to enjoy year round.

✔️ The sweet, tangy, and spicy combination of flavors makes this the best salsa recipe!

Garden fresh roma tomatoes in shite bowls on a countertop. — Garden fresh paste tomatoes, like these Roma tomatoes make the best salsa.

🥘 Ingredients

Fresh tomatoes, be sure to use paste tomatoes, such as roma or german paste. These have less liquid and more substance to the vegetable.

White onions, these have more bite and balance out nicely with the tomatoes.

Green peppers, added for its sweeter flavors

Garlic cloves fresh garlic is the best and it helps pump up the flavor of salsa. I

Jalapeño peppers add the spice to the salsa.

Cilantro, gives the salsa a freshness and flavor.

Salt and sugar, to balance out flavors

Apple cider vinegar, for the acidity

Fresh Roma tomatoes, skin and seeds removed then diced and in a large black stockpot. — Diced drained tomatoes are added to a large pot to cook with the other veggie ingredients.

🔪 Instructions

For the tomatoes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. While water is boiling, core tomatoes and score bottom of tomato with an X with a paring knife.
Blanch tomatoes by placing into hot water for 10-20 seconds. Remove tomato from hot water and immediately place in cold water.
Once the tomatoes have cooled enough, remove skins and seeds with membranes from tomatoes. Set aside to compost later.
Dice the meaty part of the tomato. You should have 9-½ cups of diced tomatoes for this recipe.

To make the salsa

Add the onion, green peppers, garlic, and jalapeno peppers to a large stockpot with the tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook the vegetable mixture for 15 minutes.

Sterilize the canning jars and lids

While salsa is cooking, sterilize the canning jars and lids by placing in boiling hot water for 1 to 2 minutes.

To fill the canning jars

Remove a jar from the hot water and hold with a towel. Place a canning funnel inside of the jar and scoop salsa into jar until salsa reaches the neck of the jar. Insert a canning spatula into the filled jar 3-4 times to help release any air bubbles.
Wipe the rim of the jar with a towel and place sterilized lid on jar and screw on cap tightly. Repeat with remaining salsa and canning jars.

To process the salsa

Place jars of salsa in a water bath canner filled with water until it just covers the top of the jars and bring it to a boil.
Boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Lift rack in canner and set the rack handles on the edge, allowing the jars to cool gradually, about 15 minutes.
Carefully remove jars from the canner and place on a counter lined with kitchen towel.
Jars will pop and seal as they cool down. If once the jar has cooled, the seal pops back up, then the salsa must be placed in the fridge and used within 2 weeks or reprocessed.

Salsa ingredients piled in the pot with jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, cilantro garlic, salt, and sugar.

Equipment

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9 piece canning kit, this includes a funnel, grip, canning spatula and more.
Pint jars for canning (with lids and screw caps)

🥫Storage

Store jars of canned salsa in a cool dark place such as a basement shelf or pantry up to 18 months.

Diced tomatoes with flecks of white onion, jalapeno, and cilantro cooking on the stovetop in a large stockpot.

💭 Tips

Roma tomatoes are a meatier fruit with fewer seeds and less water and are best for making salsa
Dice the tomatoes into small pieces and place them in a colander to drain while the other vegetables are being prepped to allow any remaining water in the tomato to escape.
Approximately 9 ½ pounds of tomatoes will yield what you need for this recipe.

Pint jars in the canner and covered in water ready to process.

🙋 FAQ's

Can you freeze this salsa instead of canning it?

To freeze this salsa recipe, be sure to place in an airtight freezer safe container and label the container. It can be stored in the freezer up to 4 months.

Can you double the recipe and can in quart jars?

The recipe can be doubled, however I do not recommend canning in quart jars as there is no official processing time for quart jars.

I want to use canned tomatoes in place of fresh tomatoes, can this be done?

You can do so, however I prefer to use fresh tomatoes. If you do decide to use canned tomatoes, be sure to pick a plum tomato or san marzano tomato and drain the liquid.

Will omitting the onions change the acidity of the salsa?

The vinegar adds enough acidity that you can omit the onions.

Can you add fresh corn to this canned salsa recipe?

If adding fresh corn add it to the cooking pot with the other veggies when cooking them down so the corn is cooked as well.

I forgot to add the vinegar to the salsa mixture, is it still ok to eat?

If you forget to add the vinegar, open the jars, place the salsa back into a stock pot and bring the to a boil with the vinegar added, then return to the jars and put it through a water bath canning.

Can you replace the apple cider vinegar with white distilled vinegar?

White distilled vinegar can be used in place of the apple cider vinegar.

A pint jar of Homemade Salsa front center cooling on a green and white striped towel surrounded by other pint sized jars.

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📖 Recipe