This homemade canning salsa is the perfect way to capture the freshness of summer in a jar! Packed with vibrant flavors and simple ingredients, it's a must-have for your pantry and makes taco night extra special.
I love fresh salsa, but salsa made with the best fresh ingredients from your own garden makes it even more special. The delicious flavor is far better than what you can buy in the grocery store so be sure to make plenty!
It's great for any party, from summer picnics to tailgating and it goes great with Air Fryer Tortilla Chips or on top of Garlic Scrambled Eggs.
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Why You'll Love Homemade Canning Salsa
Fresh flavors: this homemade salsa for canning has the flavor of fresh salsa made with the freshest ingredients.
Versatile: you can make hot, medium, or mild salsa by adjusting the amount of jalapeno peppers in the recipe.
Water Bath Canning process: no pressure cooker is required for this recipe, the salsa is processed in a hot water bath for sealing purposes.
Homemade Canning Salsa Ingredients
- Fresh tomatoes: the best tomatoes to use are paste tomatoes, such as german paste or roma tomatoes. These have less liquid and more substance to the vegetable.
- Yellow onion: these have more bite and balance out nicely with the tomatoes.
- Green peppers: bell pepper is added for its sweeter flavors
- Garlic cloves: look for firm bulbs that have no brown.
- Jalapeño peppers: add the spice to the salsa.
- Cilantro: gives the salsa a freshness and flavor, if you aren't a fan of cilantro this can easily be left out.
- Salt and granulated sugar: balances out the flavors.
- Apple cider vinegar: to increase acid levels.
See recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
How To Make Homemade Canned Salsa
Below is a brief visual of how to make homemade salsa for canning:
Prepare veggies
Scald, peel and dice tomatoes. Place in large pot.
Add remaining ingredients
Add peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer.
Transfer to sterilized jars
Transfer salsa while still hot to sterilized jars. Cover with lids and screw caps and tighten.
Hot water bath
Place pint jars filled with salsa in a hot water bath canner, cover with water and bring to a boil. Process as instructed.
See recipe card below for complete instructions.
Substitutions
A few swaps that can be made if you are missing an ingredient.
- Vinegar - you can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. I don't recommend reducing the amount, if you want a less stronger flavor, go with white vinegar.
- Tomato - regular tomatoes can be used in place of paste (roma) tomatoes, but be sure to remove the seeds and drain the liquid or your salsa will be runny,
- Chipotle flavor - season with chipotle powder (to taste) for a smoky salsa version.
Tips
- 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.
- If vinegar is too tangy for you, feel free to substitute an equal amount of lime juice.
- For a quick chop on the tomatoes, place the tomato that has been deseeded in the food processor and give it a few quick pulses.
Variations
Smoky Salsa: Roast the tomatoes, peppers, and onions before blending for a deep, smoky flavor.
Smooth Salsa: Blend the ingredients in a blender instead of chopping for a smooth texture.
Herby Twist: Mix in fresh oregano or parsley for an extra herby kick.
Equipment
- 9 piece canning kit (affiliate link), this includes a funnel, grip, canning spatula and more.
- Pint jars for canning (with lids and screw caps) (affiliate link)
- Large Pot
- Sharpe knife
- Cutting board
FAQ's
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.
The recipe can be doubled, however I do not recommend canning in quart jars as there is no official processing time for quart jars.
You can do so, but if you do decide to use canned tomatoes, be sure to pick a plum tomato or san marzano tomato and drain the liquid.
The vinegar adds enough acidity that you can omit the onions.
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.
Vinegar is needed for the acidity and is a very important part of this recipe and you cannot leave it out. However, you can use white vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve alongside grilled meats or seafood as a zesty condiment.
- Pair with tortilla chips for the ultimate snack.
- Use as a topping for tacos, burritos, or quesadillas.
- Stir into soups or stews for added flavor.
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Featured Reviews
This post used to be on my other website, Honeybunch Hunts, which is in the process of being shut down. Because this recipe is so delicious, I had to bring it over here to Grumpy's Honeybunch to share. Below are some reviews that were left on Honeybunch Hunts for your reading pleasure!
This could possibly be the best salsa I’ve ever tried! We followed the recipe & instructions almost exactly. We grow San Marzano tomatoes for our homemade spaghetti sauce so that’s what we used and replaced the jalapeño peppers with Bulgarian hot wax. I’m not too big on a lot of heat so I’m the end I think the hot wax peppers worked better for us. I know everything tastes better when it’s made from ingredients you’ve grown yourself but that doesn’t take away from this recipe!
It’s a lot of work but the end result is definitely worth it and I’m looking at our 12 pints (we doubled the recipe) thinking I need to hurry up and do another double batch to get us through the winter. It’s seriously that good!
- Nikki
Just made this for the first time today!! It is so good! And it looks so pretty in the jars!
Thank you for a great recipe. It was easy and well explained. I plan on making much more!
- Linda S
This was my first time to can salsa. It was a long project but it taste delicious! Looking forward to having home made salsa during the winter! The directions were easy to follow!
- Tina
Thank you for this absolutely delicious recipe!!! We tried three different recipes this year, and this was by far the family favorite. It’s bookmarked for next year and years to come. 🙂
- Bianca
Made the salsa. Drained my tomatoes, so not soupy. I substituted 1-4oz can of diced jalapeños for the ¾ cup fresh jalapeños. Also added 1 small can of tomato sauce to equal 9.5 cups of tomatoes to make the salsa thicker. Love this recipe. It turned out great. Thank you for sharing.
- Shannon
Hi Shelby!
This has been my go-to recipe for my canned salsa for a loooong time now! As for the question regarding using canned tomatoes, I have an answer/opinion! My sister has always used canned tomatoes for this recipe and I’ve always used fresh. After 6 months on the shelf we decided to compare them. The only difference in the ingredients is fresh vs canned, and I can tell you honestly that the fresh tomato recipe blew hers out of the water. Even if there was a safe & documented way to can with canned tomatoes, I’d have to pass! This is by far the best recipe I’ve ever used! For anyone having issues with too much liquid, it depends on the tomatoes. I’ve had luck with straining (as mentioned in the post) as well as boiling longer and using tomato paste. All wonderful tips and tricks for perfect salsa in the post and I can’t thank you enough for sharing!!!!
- LaNae
When you make this Homemade Canning Salsa recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
Homemade Canning Salsa
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Ingredients
- 9½ cups fresh tomatoes , blanched, peeled, and diced
- 2 cups onions , diced
- 2 cups green bell pepper , diced
- 10 cloves fresh garlic , minced
- ¾ cup jalapeno peppers , diced
- ½ cup cilantro , chopped
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
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, jalapeno peppers, sugar (if using), cilantro, salt, and vinegar to a large stockpot with the tomatoes.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook the vegetable mixture for 15-30 minutes. If you want a thicker salsa, simmer for a longer period of time.
- 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 hot 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.
Notes
- Remove all seeds from tomatoes and place tomato pulp in a colander over the sink. Press the pulp to express excess water out.
- Simmer salsa mixture for a longer period of time to reduce the amount of liquid. It is ok to simmer it for 30 minutes or more if you really don't want to thicken with tomato paste.
- Add 2 tablespoons (or more if preferred) to thicken the salsa more.
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