Sometimes, during the summer, our tomato plants decide to have a party on the vine, so to speak, and produce way more tomatoes than we can possibly eat, even if we are eating them every day, sliced, salted, and served with a little balsamic or mayo. What do you do with your excess garden tomatoes? Last week my dad made his favorite tomato juice. This week we made and canned some simple tomato and green chile salsa, which I expect will be great to pull out in the middle of winter and munch with some tortilla chips (if the jars last that long, we go through salsa pretty quickly around here.)
Note that it is the vinegar in the salsa ingredients that make this salsa safe for canning using a water bath canning method. Tomatoes are already slightly acidic, and only need a little more acid to be safely canned using this method. But the chiles are not acidic, so they need more vinegar.
Canned Tomato Salsa Recipe
Before starting, prepare your workspace so that it is clean and uncluttered. If you don't want to roast your own green chiles, you can sub with about two 7-ounce cans of green chiles, chopped. This recipe uses specific amounts of ingredients, balancing the non-acidic ingredients with the amount of added acid needed to make the recipe safe. Do not increase the amount of green chiles beyond 1 1/2 cups, or decrease the amount of tomatoes less than 7 cups.
Ingredients
- 5 lbs of tomatoes
- 1 lb large Anaheim green chiles (5-6 chiles)
- 3 jalapeno chilies, seeded and stems removed, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh chopped cilantro (including stems)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar (to taste)
Canning equipment needed:
- 5 to 6 pint-sized canning jars,
with rings and new lids
- A very large stockpot or canning pot (16-qt)
- A flat steamer rack on which to place the filled jar for the water bath canning, so that they don't touch the bottom of the pan and crack from excess heat
Canning equipment recommended:
- Canning tongs to make it easy to lift the jars in and out of boiling water
- Rubber or latex coated gardening gloves
Method
1 Prepare for canning. Place steamer rack in the bottom of a large (16-qt) stock pot or canning pot. Place new or clean mason jars on the rack. Fill the jars with water and fill the pot with just enough water to come to the top of the jars. Heat water to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. (Keep the jars warm while preparing the salsa.)
Have a kettle half filled with water ready to boil, to use to sterilize the jar lids a few minutes before canning.
2 Roast the Anaheim green chile peppers until blackened all over. The best way to do this is directly over a gas flame on the stovetop (see how to roast chiles over a gas flame.) If you don't have a gas cooktop you can broil the chiles, or blister them on a grill. Note that it is not essential that the chile peppers be cooked through, only that the outer tough skin is blistered and blackened. This is what will help with flavor. Also it will make it easy to peel the chiles. Just put the chiles near a heat source until blistered and blackened, and turn them so that they get blackened on all sides. Then place the chiles in a brown paper bag (or in a covered bowl), close the bag and let the chiles steam in their own heat for a few minutes. Then gently rub off the outer skin and discard. Cut away the stems and remove the seeds and any prominent veins. Chop up the chiles and set aside; you should have 1 cup of chopped chiles. Do not use more than 1 1/2 cups of chopped chiles.
3 Prepare the tomatoes. You want the tomatoes peeled, and there are several ways of doing that. Blanching them is easiest; grilling or broiling will result in more flavor. To blanch them, score the ends of the tomatoes and place them in boiling water for a minute. If you are going to grill or broil the tomatoes, I recommend coring them first. Grilling is best with whole plum tomatoes; grill them on high direct heat until blackened in parts and the peels are cracked. Broiling works with any sized tomato. Just cut them in half and place the cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Broil until the peels are blackened in parts.
Remove the tomatoes (from water, grill or broiler) and let cool to the touch. Remove and discard the peels. Cut away any cores if you haven't done so already. Chop the tomatoes taking care to save any juices that may come out of them. Starting with 5 pounds of tomatoes you should end up with about 8 cups of chopped tomatoes and juices. (You must use at least 7 cups of tomatoes.) Place them in a bowl and set aside.
4 Put all of the ingredients into a large (8-qt) stainless steel pot. (Do not use aluminum or the acidity of the sauce will cause the aluminum to leach into the sauce.) Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes.
5 While the salsa is cooking, place the jar lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water to sterilize.
6 If you want your salsa to be more smooth than chunky, use an immersion blender to pulse it a few times, or working in batches ladle about half of it into a blender and purée.
7 Adjust seasonings. If too acidic to taste, you can balance it with a little more sugar. If too sweet, add a bit more vinegar.
8 Ladle salsa into canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe the rims with a clean, dampened paper towel so that there is no residual food on the rims. Place canning lids on the jars. Screw on the lid rings. Do not over-tighten or you may not get a good seal. Air does need to escape from the jars during the next step, the water bath.
9 Place the filled and lidded jars back onto the rack in the large stock-pot of hot water you used to sterilize the jars in step one. You may need to remove some of the water from the pot to prevent it from overfilling. Cover the jars with at least 1-inch of water. Bring to a rolling boil and process for 15 minutes (20 minutes for altitudes 1000 to 6000 ft, 25 minutes above 6000 ft). Then turn off heat and let the jars sit in the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove jars from the water bath and let sit on a counter for several hours until completely cool. The lids should "pop" as the cooling salsa creates a vacuum under the lid and the jars are sealed. If a lid has not sealed, either replace the lid and reprocess in a water bath for another 15 minutes, or store in the refrigerator and use within the next few days.
Remember to label the cans with the date processed. (I use a Sharpie on the lid.) Canned salsa should be eaten within a year.
Yield: Makes about 5 pints.
Is it possible to adjust the peppers (and also the vinegar amounts) to increase the spice level? Or should you add cayenne or red chili flakes to accomplish that?
The recipe calls for de-seeding the jalapenos. If you want more heat, just add in some of the jalapeno seeds. Do not reduce the vinegar amount. ~Elise
Looks great! In response to Courtney’s question about vinegar – I wouldn’t reduce the amount because the acidity may not be high enough for canning safely, but it would be perfectly OK to increase it a little.
Was there a certain breed of tomatoes you used specifically for canning?
I think plum tomatoes work best, that said, for this batch I used a mix of plum tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and just plain ole tomatoes. ~Elise
Is it possible to substitute lime juice for the cider vinegar? I really do not like the tang of vinegar in salsa!
Not if you plan to can it for shelf storage. But, if you just want to make some to refrigerate and use fresh, then sure. It’s probably not a one to one substitution. I would add it to taste. ~Elise
When the tomatoes over run our ability to consume them I’ll can, freeze, sauce, juice, and salsa them also. One other thing I do is to slice, dehydrate, then smoke them. Once they are nicely smoked I put them through the spice grinder to make smoked tomato powder for various uses. Adds a nice smoky flavor to soups, stews, dips, sauces or even chili.
Sounds like a very easy recipe even for someone like me who has never canned before. How do you store them? Do they have to be kept in an area with a specific temperature?
You can store them in a cupboard or pantry with your other canned goods. Away from light. Keep them relatively cool. ~Elise
Hi!
I am going to make your salsa this weekend. I made your tomato pie last weekend it was awesome! What type of salt do you use for the salsa; kosher, sea salt, table salt etc. Thanks for your help!
I use Kosher salt for just about everything. ~Elise
I made this yesterday with some of my homegrown tomatoes and it came out incredibly tasty! I did, however, use a tad more more cilantro and garlic than the recipe called for.
Unfortunately, one jar didn’t seal properly but guess what I’ve been snacking on all afternoon!
Do you think this recipe would work just as well in a pressure canner instead of a water bath canner?
Yes, and if you used a pressure canner you wouldn’t need to use as much vinegar. I don’t have pressure canning instructions though. ~Elise
I’m canning my salsa now and it tastes VERY sweet. Will this disappear overtime?
No, you may want to add more vinegar. ~Elise
Thanks for the quick respond. One other question – I wasn’t in the kitchen while the salsa was cooling, so I never heard a pop. Is there a way to tell now whether or not the jars sealed correctly?
Yes. If you gently press your finger on the top of the lid, it should feel firm. If it moves up and down, it isn’t sealed. You can try this on an empty, unsealed jar with a lid for comparison. ~Elise
Just finished making it with Hatch Chiles. Turned out fabulous. Problem is my DH probably won’t eat store bought anymore.
I also have a ton of tomatoes this year. I have been making spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes and salsa for the freezer. I used to can my salsa but I’m too lazy to do it now. I find freezing it is simple and the salsa is great when thawed.
I made this salsa over the weekend and was really happy with the result! However, I could not find a steamer rack at my local store, but a woman working there recommend that I just set a small towel on the bottom of the stock pot. That method worked really well for us and is a great substitute in lack of a steamer rack! Thanks for the great recipe!
Made the salsa this weekend, first time canning. The directions were outstanding and the whole process was successful taking about two hours start to finish. Would like to tweak for taste by adding lime juice and more heat – I used some jalepeno seeds. Any recommendations on how much lime juice and by addiing do I need to adjust amounts of other ingredients? How about more heat?
You can add more lime juice, as much as you want, as it is very acidic, and it’s the acidity that keeps the canned salsa safe. As for the heat, I would just taste the salsa and keep adding seeds until you get to the point of heat you like. Do note that jalapenos are notoriously un-uniform. In other words sometimes you get some peppers that are crazy hot, sometimes you get peppers with no heat. You really should taste them first, to check, before you put them in anything. ~Elise
For those who’ve asked about subs. lime juice for vinegar, according to this: http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/PNW0395/PNW0395.pdf and http://pepin.uwex.edu/files/2010/10/CanningSalsaSafely.pdf one can subs. lime or lemon juice for vinegar but not the other way around. Bottled lemon or lime juice is more acidic than vinegar. So, substituting a cup of bottled lemon or lime juice in this recipe should be fine.
It may be too acidic, taste-wise, if you sub all the vinegar with lemon or lime juice. ~Elise
Hi Elise!
I made your salsa today and it is the best salsa I have ever had! Thanks for posting the recipe :)
Hi there! I’ve just discovered your blog today (thanks to a recommendation from Liana Krissoff in Canning for a New Generation)! I am wanting to try this salsa but can’t find Anaheim chiles. Would using poblanos adversely alter the acidity or would that be an OK substitution?
Thanks!
I think you would be fine with poblanos. You would just use fewer of them. ~Elise
I just made this – doubled it because of my abundance of ‘maters in my garden! It’s wonderful! I love taste the apple cider vinegar adds! Thanks for the wonderful step by step directions to make it and can it.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Leigh Ann
I used organic apple cider vinegar that is unfiltered. Does that affect the acidity?
Should be fine. But to be sure, look at the label. It should be at least 5% acidity. If it is lower, then you shouldn’t use it. ~Elise
I have been making salsa for years and bring the salsa to a boil,the jars in a boiling bath as are the lids. After I can the jars I do not do the hot bath just let them cool. This has worked for me and I have recently opened and consumed a jar from 2004 am I lucky or good?
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and technique! This year I’ve made my first attempt at putting up veggies and fruits, and I’m still not very confident. Good recipes are hard to find as well, believe it or not. I can’t wait to try this one out!
Made this last night. I doubled the recipe and it made 11 pints. I also added a touch extra sugar, salt and cumin, and I minced up a habanero to add. Tasty!
OMG OMG OMG I made this last night and I don’t recall having salsa that tasted this good!! Thank you so much for this recipe. I am bummed that I didn’t find it earlier when I had been canning stewed tomatoes. I might just have to head back to the farmers market on Tuesday and get more.
Can I use fresh oregano instead of dried one?
Yes, use twice as much. ~Elise
I would cut the vinegar portion in half next time. Way too acidic!
If you cut the vinegar, then do not can it for shelf storage. The vinegar is needed to provide enough acid to prevent botulism. I balance the acidity by adding a bit of sugar, without the sugar I find the salsa to be too acidic for my taste. ~Elise
When I was canning this salsa I had a little bit that wouldn’t fit into the jars that I had, so I ate the salsa right away with chips. It was the best salsa I had ever tasted. That was back in September. I have been hoarding the jars for very special occasions because I like it so much. Last night my daughter, whom is moving 9 hours away, asked me if she could try some. I reluctantly took out a jar and when we tasted it we both agreed that it was too sweet for our tastes. I was very surprised at this because it was heavenly back when I made the batch. I would like to try making this again, but I don’t want it to be sweet like that. In your opinion, can I leave out the sugar? Or should I use regular vinegar? If I use regular vinegar, should I put less in the recipe? Or simply add more peppers? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Kathleen, you can reduce or leave out the sugar, but don’t cut back on the vinegar, if you are planning for shelf storage. ~Elise