The Best Homemade Salsa {Fresh or For Canning}
A step-by-step canning guide to the best homemade salsa on the planet! This is the only salsa I make because it is perfect for eating right away and even better when canned and put on the shelves to enjoy all year long.
Oh my goodness, this is the best homemade salsa ever.
I’ve been wanting to share it for a long time and finally put a step-by-step canning guide together for those that are new to canning or hesitant to try it (spoiler alert: it’s easy, and I really mean that).
With perfectly balanced flavors, somehow this salsa has become my go-to – both for canning and for eating right away.
It is fantastic and I’m always asked for the recipe when I decide to part with a jar.
I think Brian would revolt if I decided to change salsa loyalties.
You may not realize it, but salsa can be a very personal thing.
I used to kind of roll my eyes at people who got heated (no pun intended) over which homemade salsa recipe is the best (most of the aforementioned people don’t give out their secret recipes so I’ve had to end my friendship with them).
Now that I have The One, I have started to understand the passion, excitement and drama surrounding salsa.
I’d pretty much arm wrestle anyone who is willing just to prove that this is the best salsa ever.
Of course, I’d lose (wimpy arms) so we’d have to settle it over a taste test, and I am 100% more confident in that test than in the arm wrestle results.
Making and canning salsa is definitely not hard, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
1) Use a tested recipe. Canning is a great and fun (yes, I’m a nerd) way to preserve food and keep it on your shelves, but there are many food safety concerns related to canning and it’s important to use a recipe that’s been tested to ensure the pH levels are safe over time.
2) The variety of tomatoes doesn’t necessarily matter for this recipe, but the method does. This recipe calls for draining the peeled, chopped tomatoes and you’ll definitely want to follow this step otherwise your salsa will be watery.
3) Peeling tomatoes is the pits, but it must be done for this recipe (both from a texture and bacteria standpoint). I know my grandmother will roll in her grave, but I don’t use the traditional cut an X in the tomato, plunge it into boiling water and then submerge in an ice bath method.
Instead, I cut the tomatoes in half, place them cut-side down on a baking sheet, pop them under the hot oven broiler for 3-4 minutes (watch closely!) and the skins will wrinkle right up when the pan is removed, and after they are cooled, the skins will peel off really easily.
It’s brilliantly simple and has made me get over the dread of peeling tomatoes; it’s the only way I do it.
4) When it comes to my step-by-step guide below, I have used a steam bath canner to process the salsa. Disclaimer: Even though I prefer to use a steam bath canner (and so do lots of other home canners), many people and resources say there isn’t enough research about steam canners to know if they are safe enough to use.
So do your research and keep in mind that a water bath canner can definitely be used instead.
You’ll find a lot of information for both sides of the debate, so decide what feels right to you. I’m certainly not saying a steam canner is the only way to go.
UPDATE: Thanks to Janet in the comments for letting me know steam canners HAVE been approved by a national extension office and the National Center for Home Food Preservation for processing times under 45 minutes (here’s the article).
There are lots of other details and notes down below in the homemade salsa recipe and the step-by-step picture guide below, so make sure to read thoroughly and feel free to ask any questions in the comments.
Mostly, I want you to know that canning salsa is easy (and therapeutic; seriously, I love canning) and even more than that, this may be the only salsa recipe you’ll ever need.
As written, it’s not spicy – just perfectly balanced with all the delicious flavors of salsa. If you’ve been on the hunt for the perfect salsa recipe, this is it, baby.
So if you have homegrown tomatoes or know where to find some (please ask before you pick), this homemade salsa should be top on your list of recipes to make. I hope you love it!
A List of Canning Tools I Use For this Recipe:
*several products below are affiliate links to Amazon where I’ve bought the product from
- this over-the-sink colander is awesome for draining the tomatoes
- my trusty Breville food processor (love of my life after I had two Cuisinart food processors die sudden deaths on me) does all the chopping
- steam canner
- this simple canning toolset has just about everything I need for filling and handling the jars
UPDATE 09/06/17: Lots of you have asked for a weight measure on the tomatoes. I’ve been canning this salsa the last few days and experimented weighing and measuring tomatoes. The result? Tomatoes are unpredictable! Meaning, the exact weight (that will yield the 10 cups drained needed in the recipe) is EXTREMELY variable depending on the type of tomato used.
When I used a combination of Roma/paste tomatoes and everyday garden tomatoes (don’t know the exact variety, but in this batch, Romas probably made up about 1/3 of the total amount of tomatoes), I needed almost six pounds of tomatoes to equal 2 1/2 cups of drained tomatoes. That’s because my non-paste tomatoes have a ton of liquid that drains off. Today, I measured 2 pounds of JUST paste tomatoes (about 12-14 small to medium Romas from my garden) and after taking the skins off, crushing lightly and letting drain, I had a little over 1 cup of drained tomatoes to use for this salsa. I do tend to err on the side of over-draining, as an FYI.
I’ll add notes to the recipe and in the comment thread below. Basically, a lot will depend on the variety of tomatoes you have and you should really just use the weight measure as a guideline since it may vary quite a bit.
The Best Homemade Salsa
Ingredients
- 10 cups peeled, chopped and drained tomatoes (see note)
- 3 cups chopped onion
- 1 ¾ cups chopped green bell pepper
- 5 medium jalapeños, finely chopped, membranes and seeds removed (leave in for extra spice) – about 1 to 1 1/4 cups
- 7 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 ½ teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 ½ tablespoons canning or pickling salt (see note)
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ⅓ cup sugar, optional, depending on sweetness of tomatoes
- 1 ¼ cups apple cider vinegar (see note)
- 16 ounces tomato sauce, NOT optional – necessary for safe canning/proper pH
- 12 ounces tomato paste, optional if you want a thicker salsa
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Fill sterilized pint-size canning jars within 1/2-inch of the top. Wipe the rim of the jar clean and seal with a lid and ring.
- Process in a water or steam bath canner for 15 minutes (add 5 minutes if you live at 1,001 to 3,000 feet; add 10 minutes for 3,001 to 6,000 feet; add 15 minutes for 6,001 feet to 8,000 feet).
- Remove the jars carefully from the water or steam bath and let cool to room temperature. Check to make sure the jars have sealed correctly (lightly press the top of the lid; it should be firm – if the center bubbles up and down when you press on it, it hasn’t sealed correctly and will need to be refrigerated or re-processed).
Notes
Recipe Source: adapted slightly (increased all the quantities appropriate for canning safety) from this recipe I found on the awesome GardenWeb site
This recipe is great! Made it this year and last year and love it. When I made my first two batches this year, I mixed up the salt measurements and put in 2 1/2 teaspoons instead of tablespoons a and just realized this when I went to make a 3rd batch. The salt shouldn’t affect the safety of this recipe, should it? I thought salt was always just for flavor in canning recipes, but wondering if you could confirm
Hi Lins, the salt can be decreased without affecting canning safety.
Even after draining my tomatoes and cooking an extra 5’, my salsa is really runny. Will it thicken eventually or should I have cooked it down more?
You want it slightly runny – too thick and it won’t process safely for canning.
This is delicious!! My tweeks. No sugar needed. I did not peel the tomatoes-cut tomatoes onion and peppers in my startfrit onion chopper. Used 1/2 San Marizano 1/2 slicer tomatoes. Drained the some of the juice. Skin allows tomatoes to remain chunckier. Used 1/2 Lime Juice and 1/2 vinegar. yield 6 pints 3 1/2 pints. New favourite!!!
This was my first attempt at canning and I read one of the steps wrong l will be just storing it in the fridge / giving some away instead of canning. If I am not canning can I freeze some?
Yes, it can be frozen.
Hi Mel,
Love your site and fantastic recipes! Just curious- my family really loves cilantro in salsa. Is it okay to add dried cilantro to the recipe? Like a cup or so? Or will it make everything wonky?
Thanks!
Hi Kristin, I don’t know for sure and I don’t want to give advice that could affect canning safety negatively. Adding that much of a low acid ingredient can change the pH.
Just made this recipe, and I got 8 pint jars from it. The taste is amazing. Thank you for sharing!
Made this yesterday and will not use this recipe again. The tomato sauce and paste made it taste like nothing but tomatoe. Plus saying to drain it I think is a mistake, Was more like a spiced up tomatoe paste. Went to a lot of work for disappointment.
If using larger garden tomatoes, do you cut out the core? Seems like it would take a lot of effort to hand mash them and get the core out vs just chopping them and then draining. I’m new to canning salsa so unsure! Excited to try this recipe!
Hi Lauren, I do remove the core for larger tomatoes.
Excellent! Thank you! I did substitute lime juice for some of the vinegar. Delicious! I probably didn’t drain as much liquid from my tomatoes, I ended up with 7 jars. Just. so. good..
Amazing recipe. We made 6 batches last night – looking forward to salsa all year long!
What a great recipe! The tutorial starts that only tested recipes should be used… is this a tested recipe?
Yes, it has been tested.
I know you said this recipe can be cut or half but can I also quarter it? I want to make some to try it before I make a huge batch to can
Yes, you can.
I have found that using a salad spinner works wonders for removing the excess juice.
Great idea!!!!
Made it today and got exactly 9 pint jars. I subbed cherry bomb peppers from my garden for the jalapeños and increased garlic and cilantro to our tastes.
I have tried dozens of salsa recipes for canning over the years and this is my favorite. Thanks for posting!
Did your jars can okay increasing the cilantro?
Just finished my first batch of this using my garden tomatoes, peppers and garlic. It is so good. As Mel said super balanced, not too hot, salty, tart or anything. I can’t wait for more tomatoes to ripen. I too let the tomatoes drain 24 hours because I don’t like watery salsa. I substituted some lime juice for half the vinegar.
How big are your garlic cloves? Asking because mine range in size from extremely small to very large.
One can never have too much garlic!
Hi Connie, just average sized garlic cloves. Not tiny, but not huge.
Can you over puree it? I have a son who hates vegetables of every kind and while we are still working on that, one thing he does like is salsa, as long as there are not chunks in it.
Yes, you can chop or puree the tomatoes to the desired texture.
Hi there,
I am going to make your recipe as it sounds yummy
I have one question please,
When uou say tomato sauce do you nean ketchup or passata?
Regards
Nahla
Hi Nahla, tomato sauce would probably be the same as tomato puree (not ketchup). It doesn’t have any added ingredients, just a thick sauce of pureed tomatoes (no seeds).
This may be answered somewhere but if I use quart jars instead of pint do I process longer? I read on pickles it is better to use a smaller jar because you have to process a larger jar longer and it can make the pickle mushy. Do you know if it will change the taste of the salsa if I have to process longer? Thanks!
Previously in the comments I let people know quart jars can be processed for 30 minutes (based on an online recommendation, however, it’s been brought to my attention since then that most of the reputable canning sources (NFHP, Ball, etc) don’t recommend canning salsa in quart jars, and recommend using pint or half pint jars.
This is THE best! I have made it the last couple years. A family favorite!
Can I freeze my tomatoes as they ripen, then thaw to use in this recipe?
Yes, it works great! I do it every summer. The skins peel right off when the tomatoes thaw.
What about using lime juice instead of vinegar? If so, what
Quantity should be used?
I haven’t tried that sub, but others in the comment thread have, I believe. If I remember right, you’ll want the same amount of lime juice as vinegar to keep the acidity safe for canning.
This may not make it past the censors, whoever they are, but this is a helluva recipe! The taste each time I open a jar is as if the salsa was just made. I will never buy store salsa again. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
I love this recipe having made it before. Tonight, I foolishly put in 2.5 teaspoons of pickling salt instead of tablespoons. I only caught this after I went through the canning process. I assume this means this isn’t safe to keep on a shelf? Could I keep it refrigerated and if so for how long? many thanks.
Hi Paula, I’m not sure how that will affect canning safety, but it can be frozen for several months or refrigerated for 1-2 weeks.
We have made this recipe for the past 3 years. Always the best! We call it our “liquid gold”!
Can I use basil instead of cilantro?
It will change the flavor, but yes, in terms of canning safety, you can substitute fresh basil.
I am following the recipe, using garden tomatoes so draining them really well. I made a batch with habanero peppers instead of jalapeño peppers. And no cilantro because we don’t like it. Will the ph still be ok?
If you’re not making this recipe to can it, do you still have to do the boiling? I’m assuming if you’re not, you can just throw it all in the blender and pulse it? That’s what I’ve done with all other salsa recipes I’ve made. Thanks!
You can definitely try that – I think cooking it for a few minutes deepens the flavor, but you could see how you like the “fresh” flavor without cooking.
My recipe calls for 1/2 cup vinegar…do you truly use 1 1/4 cups ? All other ingredients are identical.
Yes, this recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups vinegar (for proper pH and canning safety).
Thanks for the recipe! I was wondering if you’ve ever tried adding 1 TBS lemon or lime juice instead of apple cider vinegar for the acidity? That vinegar flavor was so strong and not good to me. My only change was I didn’t add sugar, seasoning, or cilantro- I have a seasoning kit for salsa so this is a great base. I add the seasoning & cilantro fresh after opening my canned salsa to give it more of a fresh salsa appeal.
This recipe is good. I forgot to drain the juice, I added the tomato paste which helped thicken it up. I wished I didn’t add the sugar. I added it, only because I wasn’t sure about my tomatoes. Next time I will not add the sugar. Although sweet it had a nice kick to it. Very good.
I was half way down simmering the salsa, when I realized I forget to drain the juice from the tomatoes. Will it still be okay?
It still taste good.
It will be fine from a canning safety standpoint.
This was wonderful! Swapped some of the jalapeño for hotter peppers but left everything else exactly the same. Best salsa I’ve had in a very long time. The trick with the tomatoes saved so much time and work too!!
Just wondering if you could use lime juice instead of lemon juice?
A lot of people have made that substitution (I haven’t personally).
Can I use just lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar? I haven’t made this recipe yet. But I have made many of your other recipes. It’s great to find a site that you can trust when the cook says it’s good. I have tried some sites and thought what are you thinking… this tastes horrible. Thanks for all your recipes.
I believe others have subbed in lemon or lime juice for the apple cider vinegar. I haven’t done that personally and I’m not sure how it affects the pH or canning safety to make that substitution.
I looked online and it says you can for those interested. But it has to be lemon juice from the jar. Not fresh.
I smoked my 1015 onions, bell peppers and jalapeños for a smoked salsa. AMAZING!! Fabulous recipe !
This is my third year using this recipe. It is the very best. I have shared this recipe with other family members and they are in total agreement that it is the best. Thank you
Can I blanch and freeze tomatoes to use later in the year for your recipe?
Yes!
This was my question too. I’ve got quite a few ripe Roma tomatoes from my 2 plants but they have just as many that aren’t ripe yet. I was hoping to figure out how to go about freezing them? How do you blanch them?
Thank you!
Hi Missy, I actually just put the ripe tomatoes in a freezer ziploc gallon bag and freeze them without cooking/blanching. When the tomatoes thaw, the skins fall right off.
Do you put the entire tomato in the freezer whole and not cored? Or do you quarter the tomatoes? What if the canning tomatoes are large? Will that work as welll? I did a combination of canning tomatoes and romo tomatoes. I have an abundance of tomatoes that I want to freeze to make more later. Can you describe exactly how you freeze yours?
I don’t quarter them first, I put them in the freezer whole. It should work with any kind of tomato – the freezing and thawing process loosens the skins of the tomato.
OMG! AWESOME!!! Gave some to my friend and we’re canning double batch today!!!
So I chopped my romas before peeling. Will this recipe still work? Drain at this point? haven’t made this recipe, but had so many tomatoes from garden I wanted to can.
I’ve never made the recipe without peeling the tomatoes, so I’m not sure. The taste can be different (possibly bitter) with the peels, as well as the texture. And I’m not sure how leaving the peels on affects pH (I’m guessing not much, but I don’t know).
Peeling the tomatoes is also important for food safety – washing does not necessarily remove any bacteria, mold, or fungus on the outside of the fruit. This link has direct quotes from both the USDA food safety guidelines and National Centre for Food preservation.
https://www.healthycanning.com/peeling-tomatoes
Also – I love this recipe and it has surpassed the generational family recipe as the new favorite.
I love, love this recipe!! To drain the chopped tomatoes, I used a small colander over a bowl and stirred several times. By the time I was done, I had enough juice left to make a quart of tomato juice which I canned also. Great use of the byproduct. Thanks!
Is there something else I can use in place of a can of tomato sauce for the same ph? That’s the one thing I don’t have in my cupboard. I have tomato paste, canned tomato soup, a can of diced tomatoes.
I can’t recommend a substitute for the tomato sauce without compromising canning safety – sorry!
For the 16oz tomato sauce that is required for safe ph… does it have to be a store bought jar/can of sauce? Or can I use my own garden tomatoes to make the sauce (in addition to the 10 cups drained)?
I think that’s been discussed in the comment thread below…it really boils down to personal preference and judgment. For the most precise canning safety, I think the recommendation is to use storebought tomato sauce as the pH of homemade tomato sauce can change. How much? I’m not sure the differences, but that’s what I’ve gathered from reading the comments.
Very good flavor but too salt. over powers the flavor. I also used salsa peppers instead of. Jalepinos
This recipe looks delicious! Quick question, if I do not want to can the salsa, do I still cook it? Thank you!
No, it doesn’t need to be cooked if you aren’t canning it – it’s really a matter of preference (if you don’t plan to can it). The flavor is different cooked vs uncooked.
Hi! I have a question about the jalapeños. Where I live I buy the huge ones that are like 4 inches long. Do you have a weight conversion for peppers? I’d rather omit the bell pepper and add extra jalapeños or spicier peppers. Thanks!
I don’t have a weight conversion, sorry. I’ll weigh them next time I make this – but with the size of jalapenos I normally use, the five jalapenos called for in the recipe is probably roughly equivalent to about 3/4 cup finely chopped jalapeno peppers. You can add more or less for less/more heat.
Made this and it’s awesome! Question, though…. I’m drowning in jalapenos and don’t yet have enough tomatoes for another batch. I need to can the peppers so they don’t go to waste. What’s your opinion on using water canned peppers or pickeld peppers? I know the process is different, but I’m concerned pickling them will impact the flavor too much. Thanks!
What about chopping and freezing the peppers?
This is what I do, and then just toss them in when the next batch of tomatoes is ready. It always works for me!
I love this recipe. I like poblano peppers over jalapeño peppers so i substituted and is awesome.
Love it! Was shocked at how easy your technique for peeling the tomatoes is!
This is the BOMB of salsa!!! Made 1 batch yesterday and back to the produce stand to buy 25lbs more Roma tomatoes today! Didn’t use all the tomatoes, will make marinara with the rest. Followed the recipe, my family went nuts! Fresh salsa, no more store bought jar stuff for us! Made 27 pints more today. Gonna make more when tomatoes are really plentiful.
Thanks for the best salsa recipe!!❤️❤️❤️
This recipe is a crowd pleaser! I’m not a canner, but I love making this salsa because everyone likes it so much. I often skip the processing and just put it in the frig. It disappears so fast there is no need to can it.
The recipe stated that the tomato paste was optional if you want a thicker salsa. Is that correct? I would have thought the added paste would make it thicker.
It is optional – meaning, use the tomato paste if you want a thicker salsa. Leave it out if you are ok with slightly thinner salsa.
Can I prepare the salsa and refrigerate it over night and finish cooking and canning it the next day?
Yes, I believe so.
Can you use white of red wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar?