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This savory salsa recipe for canning is thick, chunky, and slightly spicy. The flavor from fresh ingredients is bottled to perfection. Plus it’s easy to make!
Featured with this recipe
Savory Salsa Recipe for Canning
This savory salsa recipe for canning is the best way to use up all those ripe tomatoes from your garden at the end of the summer. We currently have tomatoes growing like crazy in our garden. I honestly can hardly keep up with them. I feel like I have been canning non-stop the last few weeks but I have been loving it!
So far I have done two big batches of spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, and a huge batch of this savory canned salsa. This salsa tastes just like what you can get at a restaurant, made with wholesome ingredients and no sugar added! If you’ve never tried your hand at canning, this is a good recipe to start with. It’s easy, super flavorful, and can be used in so many ways.
Let’s Talk Tomatoes
Our family knows tomatoes! You could even say we are tomato “whisperers”. If you ask our friends and neighbors they will tell you our garden gets tomatoes the first week of July and we are overflowing with tomatoes until the first freeze. Once you get your tomato-growing strategy down, you are good to go.
Some of you may want to know what varieties we like best. We have grown pretty much every variety you can think of, but our go-to favorite the last couple of years is the “Jack’s Whopper”. This is a big ol’ juicy tomato, perfect for slicing and putting on sandwiches but also great for canning. We also love Early Girls, Better Boy, Big Boy, Roma tomatoes, and Sun Golds (cherry tomato). Any variety will work great with this savory canned salsa recipe. Feel free to use your favorite!
Canning Salsa Ingredients
Tomatoes are the main ingredient and have all the flavor for this delicious homemade salsa! It is a great way to store canned salsa and enjoy it any time you want. Some people have to double to recipe just to have enough for the year!
- Tomatoes – Fresh tomatoes are best!
- Salt – Adding salt to your water makes boiling water faster.
- Vinegar – The salsa needs an acid in order for it to be preserved. Vinegar is that acid and will help the shelf life last longer.
- Lime juice – This is more acid to include in the homemade salsa. It is a zesty and tart liquid. Lemon juice has the same effect just a different flavor.
- Onions – Yellow onion needs to be chopped into smaller chunks.
- Jalapeno peppers – Add some heat to the salsa with jalapeno peppers. This is a “medium salsa” when you add one or two cups of jalapeno. If you like hot salsa, feel free to add another cup of hot peppers!
- Garlic cloves – Dice the garlic into small pieces to add that garlicky flavor!
- Fresh cilantro – Every salsa needs cilantro! It is a beautiful green that highlights the flavors of the salsa.
- Cumin – A nutty and savory flavor that adds to the salsa.
- Tomato paste and sauce – Thicken the salsa with tomato flavor using tomato sauce and tomato paste. Both add a delicious flavor, thickness, and texture to the salsa.
How to Make Savory Salsa Recipe for Canning
Home food preservation with this salsa is a great start to adding your favorite salsa recipe to the food storage pantry. Chips and dip is always a favorite and simple snack to have any day. Simply simmer, blend, and mix together all the ingredients and store in a jar for a great way to keep the best salsa in the house!
- Simmer – Place tomatoes and salt in a large stock pot. Bring to a simmer.
- Blend – Using an immersion blender, coarsely blend until you reach your desired consistency.
- Mix – While tomatoes are boiling, combine vinegar, lime juice, onions, jalapenos, garlic, and cilantro in a blender and pulse until blended to desired consistency.
- Combine – Add the blended onion mixture to the stock pot and add the remaining ingredients.
- Canning – Simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring often. Pour into jars hot and process for 30 minutes.
Canning Tips
Get ready to make the best salsa recipe ever! This salsa is perfect for enjoying the day of or canning to ensure you have it year-round, it is that good! Grab your tortilla chips and get ready to start dipping!
- Burning – Tomatoes burn easily when cooking. Be sure to keep a close eye on them and keep checking them so they do not burn.
- Extra liquid – If you need liquid to help it blend, add some of the tomatoes from the stock pot.
- No sugar added – This recipe is a “no sugar added” recipe. I’m not saying adding sugar is a bad thing, and some people may prefer it, but I like my salsa nice and savory like you get at a restaurant. I feel like homegrown tomatoes are sweet enough as they are. If you are looking for a salsa recipe that is on the sweeter side, you may want to try our Garden Canned Salsa recipe which is sweeter and a little milder.
- Peel tomatoes – If you don’t know how to peel tomatoes or how to prep for canning, check out our original Garden Canned Salsa for tips.
- Make it spicy – I like to use jarred or canned jalapeno or chilies rather than fresh because I actually like the taste better, but that is totally my own personal preference. I like to buy them whole (because it is cheaper), chop off the stems, and then just throw them in the blender with the other ingredients. You can even add a little of the juice from the can into it as well for flavor.
- Canning – Use a hot water bath canning system when processing the jars. Make sure to clean the rims using a kitchen towel before applying the lid for a secure and tight seal. Ladle the salsa into a funnel in the jars to help from spilling. Use a jar lifter when removing the jars from the water bath canner.
- Jars – Quart or pint jars work great for this recipe!
“I have made this recipe so many times and it comes out perfectly every single time. It’s so fresh and delicious!”
-Renee
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this is a MUST step! When processing raw or fresh salsa, you will need to process it for a longer amount of time compared to cooked salsa. It takes longer if you do not boil salsa before canning.
If canned and properly stored, the shelf life is about 12 to 18 months long. Do not eat if the seal is broken or the lid is not on securely. Once opened, place in the refrigerator until gone.
It is best not to store salsa in the freezer. Once the salsa has thawed it becomes watery and not quite as flavorful. You can store the salsa in a resealable container, jar, or freezer bag.
More Canning Ideas
We are always up for preserving food and food storage ideas. These quick and simple canning recipes are perfect to add to your recipe book. Canning is perfect for storing and using year-round.
Savory Salsa Recipe for Canning
Equipment
- Quart (or pint) size canning jars
Ingredients
- 25 cups tomatoes peeled, chopped, and drained
- 1/3 cup Kosher salt
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 5 onions yellow, chopped
- 2 cup jalapeno peppers chopped (I like to use the canned jalapeno– see notes above)
- 18 garlic cloves chopped (SO much easier to get the pre-peeled garlic cloves)
- 3 bunches cilantro remove stems, roughly chop
- 3 Tablespoons cumin
- 1 Tablespoon pepper
- 45 ounces tomato sauce 3 cans
- 36 ounces tomato paste 3 cans
Instructions
- Place tomatoes and salt in a LARGE stock pot. Bring to a simmer.
- Using an immersion blender, coarsely blend until you reach your desired consistency (my kids don’t like big chunks of tomato so we blend it pretty well)
- While tomatoes are boiling, combine vinegar, lime juice, onions, jalapenos, garlic, and cilantro in a blender and pulse until blended to desired consistency (you may have to do this in 2-3 batches). If you need liquid to help it blend, add some of the tomatoes from the stock pot.
- Add blended onion mixture to the stock pot and add remaining ingredients (add more salt to taste, if needed).
- Simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring often (tomatoes burn easily so keep checking it).
- Pour into jars hot and process 30 minutes.
- Yields 9-12 quarts (18-24 pints)
Can this be halved? That’s a lot of salsa for an old couple like us…even giving some as gifts.
Sure!
Wow! This looks wonderful and perfect for little get together! Can’t wait to make this!
Delicious! I left mine a little chunky and it was perfect!
I have made this recipe so many times and it comes out perfectly every single time. It’s so fresh and delicious!
Love how easy this recipe comes together. The addition of cumin adds so much flavor!
I am going to give this a try. I recently bought everything for canning, now I just need to do it. This salsa recipe sounds fantastic!
Just pinned this! Love the extra tips on Jalapenos!