How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (2024)

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by Kristi Stone 17 Comments

Summer is a fantastic time for not only eating delicious salsa made from your huge tomato harvest, but for canning salsa too! This is the best salsa recipe for canning, and is wonderful to make for your shelf every year. It has been tested and found to be safe when you follow the given instructions, so you don’t have to worry that you’ll mess up!

Part of the goodness of having a tomato harvest is that you can make so many different products out of them. With your ripe tomatoes, you may try your hand atcanning them whole, makingtomato sauce, pizza sauce, or as in we will learn in this post, canning salsa. You can even make salsa with green tomatoes, but for today, we will be canning the following delicious salsa recipe.

The Best Salsa Recipe for Canning

This recipe is from the Ball Blue Book. All canning recipes from this book are tested and found to be safe when directions are followed carefully. It has a lot of steps, but that is because I break up each step so it’s easy to follow. Just take canning this salsa step-by-step and you will have beautiful salsa on your shelf in no time for use in your chilis, with your chips, to season your burrito filling, or wherever you love to use salsa.

This post is going to assume that you understand the basics of water bath canning, but if you are doing this for the first time, or are not quite sure you have the basics down, you can refer to my post, “How to Can Food for Beginners”. It’s a fantastic article that takes you step-by-step through both canning processes. This time you will only need the information under the headings of Steps Before Processing, Water Bath Processing, and Steps After Processing.

Home Canned Salsa (fresh)

taken from the Ball Blue Book

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Processing Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Course Condiments

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 6 pints

Ingredients

  • tomatoes 6lbs
  • jalapeno peppers 6
  • dried hot chili peppers 9
  • diced red onion 3 cups (or 2 medium)
  • chopped cilantro tightly packed, 1-1/2 cups
  • garlic 15 cloves
  • salt 1 Tbsp
  • crushed red pepper 3/4 tsp.
  • red wine vinegar 3/4 cup

Instructions

  • Fill up a stock pot about halfway with water and bring to a boil. Do step 2 while you are waiting for that to happen.

  • Remove all of the stems from tomatoes. Fill up a clean sink with water and dump all of your tomatoes in. Swish around and drain.

  • This step will need to be done in separate small loads. Add about a quart of tomatoes at a time to the boiling water and allow to blanch (boil in the water) for 30 seconds to one minute. While you are waiting for the first load to finish, put some ice in a big bowl and fill up with water. Set on the counter near the pot you are using for the tomatoes.

  • With a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and place them into the ice water for a couple of minutes. This will stop the cooking process. Remove from the ice water and place in a bowl for later. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until all of the tomatoes have been blanched, cooled, and moved to the bowl for later.

  • With a knife or a tomato corer, remove the stem end and slip the skins off the tomatoes. You can use the scraps to make tomato powder later if you have a dehydrator. At this point, you can cut your tomatoes into halves or quarters, or leave them whole.

  • Dice tomatoes into 1/4-inch pieces.

  • Remove stems and seeds from jalapenos and dice those too. (Use rubber gloves just for good measure.)

  • Dice the red onion.

  • Pour boiling water over chili peppers just to cover, then cover the bowl they are in for about 15 minutes to steep. Drain half the water off and puree chili peppers until smooth (about a minute).

  • Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened.

  • Fill your hot jars with salsa, leaving a 1/2-inch head space. Remove air bubbles with a bubble remover, and clean the jar rim.

  • Center the lid onto the clean jar rim and screw on the band only fingertip-tight. Repeat steps 6-9 until all jars are filled.

  • Place jars into the simmering water in your canner. Water must cover jars by at least 1 inch. Adjust heat to medium/high and cover the canner. Wait until the water boils. Once water is boiling, set your timer for 15 minutes.

  • Once processing time is finished, turn off the heat and uncover the canner. Allow canner to sit for 5 minutes, then remove jars with the jar lifter to a towel on your counter. Allow to cool for 12 hours. Test seals, label, and store jars

Notes

Makes about 6 pint jars. It is not recommended to process in quart jars.

Adjust for High Altitude Canning

  • 1,001- 3,000 5 minutes.
  • 3,001- 6,000 10 minutes.
  • 6,001- 8,000 15 minutes.
  • 8,001-10,000 20 minutes.

Keyword canning recipes, water bath canning

How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (3)

Looking for a much easier salsa recipe with fewer ingredients for canning? Try this one!

PIN FOR LATER

How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (4)

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (5)linda spiker says

    Thanks so much for this. I never can because I am always afraid I am going to poison the family! This is so helpful.

    Reply

    • How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (6)Kristi Stone says

      Hi Linda! Nope, you sure won’t if you follow the directions I’ve given in this and my “How to Can Food for Beginners” post. You totally can do this!

      Reply

  2. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (9)Laura says

    Hello! I really liked your post/tutorial. I have never canned before and am working up my nerve to get started. I was wondering how long is the shelf life of canned salsa? I don’t know if I missed it in the post.

    Thank you

    Reply

    • How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (10)Kristi Stone says

      Oh! I should add that if I didn’t already!

      The shelf life for canned foods is usually a year, but could be used after that. Some people keep canned foods for years, but I understand that nutritional value/quality diminishes over time. Ours never lasts a year, so I’m not sure it the flavor is different, though!

      Reply

  3. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (11)Catherine says

    How many jars does this receipe make and what size?

    Reply

    • How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (12)Kristi Stone says

      6 pint jars!

      Reply

  4. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (13)Stacy says

    How hot/ spicy is this recipe? There’s a lot of hot peppers in it!!

    Reply

    • How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (14)Kristi Stone says

      Hi Stacy! You know, I find that spicy is relative to the person! I don’t find it very spicy, but if you are not used to eating hot peppers, it will probably be for you!

      Reply

  5. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (15)Holly says

    Hi! What kind of dried peppers do you use?

    Reply

  6. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (16)Jenny says

    Hi. It seems to have a good bit of garlic. Is the garlic supposed to be minced or diced? Do we add it whole to the pot to simmer? Thanks for your guidance.

    Reply

    • How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (17)Kristi Stone says

      Hi Jenny! Either way would be fine, unless your family realllly doesn’t like to bite into small pieces of garlic. Sometimes I use the minced garlic from the store instead of doing it myself, and that works just fine, too!

      Reply

  7. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (18)MK says

    Can these be kept in the pantry?

    Reply

  8. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (19)Chelsea says

    Can you reduce the amount of peppers? I am wanting to do about 1/2 of the jalapeño and chili pepper

    Reply

  9. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (20)Lisa says

    how many cups of tomatoes is 6lbs? I already peeled, cored and seeded my tomatoes. I found your recipe after I prepped them. Thank you.

    Reply

  10. How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (21)Candie says

    Can I substitute white vinegar in place of the red wine vinegar?
    Thanks,
    Candie

    Reply

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How to Make THE Best Salsa Recipe for Canning in a Water Bath (2024)

FAQs

How to can salsa in a water bath? ›

Once the salsa is ready, pour hot salsa into clean hot pint canning jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim and cap each jar as it is filled. Process jars for 40 minutes* in boiling water bath canner. Turn off heat, carefully remove canner lid, and let jars stand for 5 minutes in canner.

Is vinegar or lemon juice better for canning salsa? ›

Acidic Ingredients

Lemon juice is more acidic than vinegar and has less effect on flavor. You can safely substitute an equal amount of bottled lemon juice for vinegar in salsa recipes using vinegar. However, do not substitute vinegar for lemon juice because this would reduce acidity and produce an unsafe product.

How much vinegar do you put in salsa before canning? ›

Add one of the following for acidification:Pint JarsQuart Jars
Bottled Lemon Juice1 tablespoon2 tablespoons
Citric Acid¼ teaspoon½ teaspoon
Vinegar (5 percent acidity)2 tablespoons4 tablespoons
1 more row
Aug 11, 2020

Do you need to add lemon juice when canning salsa? ›

All varieties of salsa without added lemon juice tested above 4.6 and a risk for botulism. This research explains why an acid must be added to tomatoes when home canning them to lower the pH and prevent botulism.

How do you thicken homemade salsa for canning? ›

For a fresh salsa (pico de gallo) straining the juice from the tomatoes seems to work really well. But for the thickness I was going for the key was experimenting with Tomato Paste/Cooking the salsa. I am able to get a much thicker salsa that I enjoy much more.

How long to process tomatoes in a water bath? ›

Boiling-water bath: pints – 40 minutes; quarts – 45 minutes. Dial-gauge pressure canner: pints or quarts – 15 minutes at 11 PSI or 20 minutes at 6 PSI. Weight-gauge pressure canner: pints or quarts – 15 minutes at 15 PSI or 20 minutes at 10 PSI.

How do you make canned salsa taste better? ›

At the very least, a little fresh lime juice and some minced cilantro can wake up even the sleepiest of salsas, ushering back in the flavor of just-squeezed citrus and herbs that taste like they came from a living plant. Beyond that, a crunchy raw vegetable or two never hurts.

Is it better to pressure can or water bath salsa? ›

Not all foods can safely be canned using the hot bath method. Less acidic foods (pH higher than 4.6) require a pressure canner to achieve hotter temperatures to kill off microorganisms. This is why you should not significantly adjust recipes (such as for salsa) when hot water bath canning.

Why add vinegar to salsa? ›

All great salsa need a hit of acidity to lighten and brighten their flavors. Perry and Damuck like lime juice (skip the zest; it's too perfume-y), plain white vinegar, or red wine vinegar, which is a nice match for the tomatoes.

What happens if you forget to put vinegar in your salsa? ›

The vinegar is acidic, so presumably it's part of bringing the pH to a safe one for boiling water canning. Without it, the salsa won't be safe to can like this. If you realize right away and recan immediately, it's basically just cooking it extra. It may not be as good with the extra cooking, but it'll be safe.

Why is my homemade salsa bitter? ›

As tomatoes ripen, their sugars start to convert to acids, resulting in a bitter taste. It's important to use fresh, firm tomatoes for your salsa to avoid any bitterness. Additionally, removing the tomato seeds can help reduce bitterness, as they can contain bitter compounds.

Do you have to cook homemade salsa before canning? ›

Yes, for two reasons. First, if you cold pack your salsa, it will take nearly two hours in your pressure cooker to come to a boil, let alone process. Second, if you cold pack your salsa, half of your finished jar of salsa will be water. You need to cook any recipe for canning salsa first to remove the excess water.

What are the best tomatoes for salsa? ›

Roma Tomatoes are a popular choice for salsa-making due to their dense and meaty texture, small number of seeds, and full-of-flavor tanginess. Variations of this tomato are sometimes called “plum” or “paste” tomatoes. Red Beefsteak Tomatoes are another favorite for those who favor a juicier tomato in their salsa.

What happens if you forgot to put lemon juice in canned tomatoes? ›

Tomatoes by their nature are high in acid!! They will be fine. clarification from a canning company.

How do you seal jars when canning salsa? ›

NEXT, LET'S CAN IT!

Ladle hot salsa into a hot jar leaving a ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight.

When canning salsa do you have to peel the tomatoes? ›

Can you leave skin on tomatoes when making salsa? You sure can! This is the easiest way to make salsa Making this food processor salsa for canning your tomatoes and peppers is the perfect way to save some time!

Is salt necessary for canning salsa? ›

Canning salt is recommended and should definitely be used with vegetable and pickle canning. However, in a pinch, one could get by with iodized or table salt with salsa. The product will be safe but one may detect a metallic or bitter flavor which may not be disguised by the spices or herbs used in the salsa.

How do you jar tomato sauce in a water bath? ›

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process pint jars for 35 minutes and quart jars for 40 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

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