The Best Home Canned Salsa Recipe – Easy (Video)

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This recipe for home canned salsa is the best and reminds me a lot of thick and chunky picante sauce!  I’ve made different salsa recipes over the years, and once I found and tweaked this recipe, there was no turning back!  It really is the best salsa recipe there is, and we’ve been canning it for several years now.  I make it in the summer when the tomatoes, onions and peppers are ready to harvest from the garden.  We can it up and then enjoy it all year long with tortilla chips, and in different recipes like enchiladas, tacos and even soups.  

There’s nothing better than opening a jar of homemade salsa in the middle of winter, and enjoying the fresh taste of summer.  This delicious salsa never disappoints, and if you like a thick and chunky salsa, then this recipe is for you.  It tastes so much fresher than anything you’ll be able to buy at the store, and if you grow your own tomatoes, onions and peppers in your garden, then you can make this amazing salsa for just pennies per jar.  

The canning process for making this homemade salsa recipe is also simple, which is helpful since it always needs to be made in the summer when things are busy.  The easiest way to make it is in an electric roaster, and that way I can easily turn down the heat if I need to go make supper or help the kids with something, and still keep it from burning.  I also like to use a roaster liner so I don’t have to scrub the roaster pan when done (see the video below).  What takes the longest amount of time is chopping the veggies, but I use a food processor for chopping up the onions, peppers and garlic which also saves time.

Our Favorite Ways To Enjoy This Home Canned Salsa

• Open a jar of salsa and enjoy with tortilla chips.  Perfect for a game night or a simple picnic
• In taco soup or chili
• In chicken or beef enchilada filling
• On baked potatoes with sour cream and cheese
• In taco salad

Tips For Making Home Canned Salsa

• Chop the tomatoes, peppers and onions coarsely, so you end up with a chunky salsa.  
• Plan ahead and make sure you have plenty of tomato paste on hand, as that is what thickens the salsa.
• Use a food processor to chop the onions, peppers and garlic.  This can save you a lot of time!
• Make the salsa in an electric roaster if possible and use a plastic roaster liner to save on dishes.  I figure about 5 batches of this salsa fits into an 18 quart roaster.  I just chop my tomatoes until the roaster is close to full.  Then I measure my seasonings and tomato paste accordingly for 5 batches.  I usually make about 3 roasters full of this salsa every year and that’s usually enough to get us through the year.
• It’s always nice when you can do your canning outside.  I use a two burner camp chef stove, a double sink and a table.  It saves so much mess in my kitchen.
• I always can it in narrow mouth quart jars because the vinegar in it keeps it from spoiling in the refrigerator after being opened, and it saves on lids to can it in quarts versus pints.

Simple And Fresh Ingredients

Fresh Tomatoes

I use a variety of tomatoes in my salsa.  Just a mix of whatever kind of tomato that’s ripe in the garden when it’s time to make salsa.  The combination of heirloom and non-heirloom tomatoes gives this salsa a nice flavor.  Its nice to use some paste tomatoes like roma tomatoes that aren’t quite as juicy, but any kind of tomato will work just fine.  I always leave the peelings on my tomatoes for salsa, and no one ever knows the difference.

Onions

If you plant your onions early in the spring, they will be nice and big by the time the tomatoes are ready for salsa making.  My favorite onions for salsa are candy onions or yellow spanish sweet onions.

Bell Peppers

You can use any color of bell pepper that you have ready in your garden.  I prefer to let my green peppers ripen fully and turn color because they are healthier and easier to digest, so a lot of times I wait until my peppers are red and yellow before harvesting.

Jalapeno Peppers

You can add more jalapenos if you like a hotter salsa, but this recipe is family friendly, so we try to keep the heat to a minimum.  Garden fresh jalapenos can vary greatly in how hot they are, so it’s best to heir on the side of caution.

Garlic

We raise our own garlic in our garden and usually harvest it around the first part of July.  That means that there’s plenty of garlic to use when it’s time to make salsa.  It’s okay to add extra garlic to this salsa in my opinion.  You just can’t have too much garlic!

Cumin

I buy all of my dry spices in bulk from Azure Standard.  It saves a lot of money and keeps me from having to run to the grocery store all the time.

Salt

Black Pepper

Brown Sugar

This cuts the acidity in the tomatoes and really brings out the flavor in the salsa.

White Vinegar or Lemon Juice

This helps to give the salsa it’s flavor and makes it taste more like picante sauce.

Tomato Paste

This ingredient is super important as it improves the tomato flavor and makes a thicker salsa.  Using tomato paste to thicken your tomato recipes really stretches your good garden tomatoes and makes them turn into a lot of quarts of food quickly.  If you have a lot of extra tomatoes, you can also dehydrate them, grind them into powder and use that to thicken tomato recipes as well.

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Tools You May Need

Electric Roaster

Roaster Liner

Cutting Board

Sharp Knife

Food Processor – optional for chopping the onions and peppers

Can Opener

Narrow Mouth Quart Jars or Pint Jars

For Jars Canning Lids

I always get the best seal rate with For Jars canning lids.  

Hot Water Bath Canner

Outdoor Camp Chef Stove – optional (for processing the jars outside)

Jar Lifter

Canning Funnel

How To Make The Best Home Canned Salsa Recipe

Core raw tomatoes and chop into large stockpot or roaster, leaving the tomato skins on.  I usually make 5 batches of this in an 18 quart roaster.

Add chopped onions, bell peppers, jalapenos and garlic.

Add spices, brown sugar and vinegar.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  I usually start out at 350 degrees in an electric roaster.

Reduce heat to a simmer.

Add tomato paste and stir gently.

Simmer until tomatoes and veggies are cooked through, usually 1-2 hours for a full roaster because it cooks slower. The simmering only takes 20-30 minutes if you’re making this in a pot on the stove because it cooks faster. Don’t overcook, you don’t want all the veggies to turn to mush. (See video below)

Ladle hot salsa into jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace at the top of the jar.

Wipe rim of each jar using a damp cloth. 

Place a For Jars canning lid on each jar and a canning ring.

Processing Time

Process in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes for quarts, and 15 minutes for pints.

Allow to sit at room temperature for a few hours.  Check to make sure each jar is sealed before removing the rings.

Place on your pantry shelf and enjoy all year long.

If you try this recipe and love it, please come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @wagonwheelhomestead21.  I can’t wait to see what all you make!