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Canning Salsa is easy and the flavor is amazing. It is a perfect combination and sweet and heat.
I use to can a lot. We canned peaches, pears, apple pie filling, grape juice etc. Those were the good old days.
Recently, after visiting my niece Emily in Utah and enjoying some of her home canned salsa I decided it was time to try my hand at canning again.
It’s been years since I got out that old hot bath canner. In fact, it has been so many years that when I went to look for the canner this weekend I couldn’t find it. It is lost somewhere up in the depths of our attic. So instead, I borrowed my neighbors steamer/canner. and it was great and I can’t wait to get my own.
Ingredients Needed
- Tomatoes. I used the tomatoes I had left in my garden which was a combination of roma tomatoes and Early Girl tomatoes. A meaty tomato works best for salsa. If you like chunky salsa chop your tomatoes by hand. I like to put mine in the blender and pulse them a few times but don’t pulverize them though!
- Onions. One thing you should know about me is that I don’t chop onions. They make me bawl like a baby! This salsa recipe calls for a lot of onion so Jim chopped them for me. He also chopped the peppers and come to think of it he also chopped the tomatoes too. I guess I better say Jim made salsa.
- Peppers. This particular salsa recipe is a very mild one, in fact it is sweet. It uses very mild peppers such as green peppers and Anaheim peppers. If you wanted some heat you could add in some jalapenos but I quite like it just the way it is, sweet!
- Garlic. Fresh and minced.
- Brown Sugar. This salsa is fairly sweet so if you prefer less sweet salsa, use less sugar.
- Salt and Pepper
- Apple Cider Vinegar
Should I Leave the Skins on My Tomatoes?
This is totally personal preference. Since I usually blend my tomatoes up, I leave them on. If you are chopping your tomatoes you might want to remove them.
Follow the easy steps for removing the tomato skins in this post.
How to Make Cooked Salsa
- Place all your ingredients into a big pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer on the stove for 3 hours.
- Pour salsa into clean, sterilized jars. I use pint size jars.
- Process in water bath canner or steam canner for 15 minutes..
The recipe ended up making 9 pint size jars of salsa. I canned 8 and we enjoyed the rest with chips for lunch!
Try these other salsa related recipes:
Be sure and follow me over on You Tube for weekly cooking demos.
Canned Salsa
Ingredients
- 16 cups tomatoes blended. Do not pulverize, you still want some chunks
- 5 green peppers chopped
- 5 onions chopped (I only used 4)
- 4 anaheim peppers chopped fine
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp pepper
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into pot
- Boil down for 3-4 hours
- Put into pint jars
- Process for 15 minutes
- Makes 8-10 pints
Phaedra says
I make a Salsa using canned fire roasted tomatos, roasted Jalapeno, fresh garlic, onions, and cilantro. Can you can this recipe the same way? I have never cooked mine. I would like to be able to can it to give it out at the holidays. I was looking at some help and I thought you have more expertise than I do with canning. I have just canned jams and peaches.
Thanks for any insight you may share.
Shannon says
I have been making uncooked, pico de gallo style salsa all summer. I love the fresh flavors and would love to can it. All the recipes I have found are for cooked salsa. Could I process my fresh salsa in a water bath and can it? Or is it necessary to cook it first? I would love to be able to enjoy the taste of summer all year long.
Leigh Anne says
I am not a canning expert and know there are certain things you need to be careful with. I always recommend contacting your local county extension office to get correct info. My guess is with the fresh salsa you would need to freeze it rather than water bath/steam it. You may ask them if you could pressure cooker but then it would end up cooked and lose its fresh taste. Freezing may be your best bet but check with the extension office.
Leigh Anne says
I am not much of a canner and always direct my questions to our local extension office. Last thing I want to do is give someone botulism!! I’d call them and ask. I know with tomatoes you are dealing with acidity levels etc.
Jackie Christensen says
Leigh Anne I use this recipe, use hot peppers & the last half hour of cooking, we add canned corn, looks pretty and taste great.
Thanks for all you do.
Leigh Anne says
Love the idea of adding corn to it. I love corn salsa. I just may have to steal your idea
JaNae says
Hi Leigh Anne! I’ve been following your blog for several months now! I love it. I tried this salsa last week, and we have been enjoying it ever since! Thanks for the great and easy recipe!
Karen says
Looks great Leigh Anne! And how did I not know you can buy bags of frozen chopped onions!
Leigh Anne@Your Homebased Mom says
To answer the questions about how many tomatoes makes 16 cups – it really varies. It really depends on the size of your tomatoes. I used romas and they were very small so I’m sure it took a lot more.