Easy Homemade Salsa
If you have a garden full of ripe tomatoes, peppers, and onions, this home-canned salsa recipe is a delicious way to preserve that summer harvest. It's thick, chunky, full of fresh tomato and pepper flavor and has just the right amount of heat added from my fermented jalapeño recipe. If you're swimming in tomatoes this time of year, you may also want to try my whole tomato canning recipe to stock your pantry with even more of your garden harvest.
We make several batches every summer and keep it stocked in our pantry to enjoy throughout the year. It's perfect with tortilla chips, but homemade canned salsa is also delicious stirred into my canned vegetable soup recipe, spooned over tacos, or my oven-baked chicken taquitos for an easy burst of fresh flavor.
Quick Look: Easy Homemade Salsa
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 20 minutes (plus 30 minutes to rest)
- 🕒 Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 3 quarts
- 📊 Calories: ~257 kcal per serving (based on nutrition panel)
- 🔥 Cook Method: Camp chef stove in a water bath canner
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Fresh and tangy with bright tomato and pepper flavors, balanced heat, and a zesty, slightly acidic kick.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Simple and straightforward
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Why You'll Love This Easy Homemade Salsa
Enjoy it all year: Stock your pantry with homemade salsa so you can enjoy the fresh taste of summer even in the middle of winter.
Thick and chunky: This salsa has a hearty texture that makes it perfect for scooping with tortilla chips.
No peeling or seeding: You can leave the tomato skins on, which makes preparing a large batch much faster.
Great for garden tomatoes: It's an easy way to preserve a big harvest of fresh tomatoes, peppers and onions.
Simple canning process: Once the vegetables are chopped, the salsa comes together easily and can be preserved for the pantry. If you have lots of extra tomatoes, try making my easy homemade spaghetti sauce
Ingredients
For a full list of ingredients needed to make this recipe, see the recipe card below.
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How To Make This Easy Homemade Salsa
Step 1: Chop the vegetables. Core and chop the tomatoes, leaving the skins on. Add them to a large stockpot or 18-quart electric roaster. Chop and add the onions, bell peppers, jalapeños, and garlic.
Step 2: Add seasonings. Stir in the spices, brown sugar, vinegar, and tomato paste.
Step 3: Cook the salsa. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the tomatoes and vegetables are tender, about 20–30 minutes on the stovetop or 1–2 hours in an electric roaster. Don't overcook—the vegetables should not turn mushy.
Step 4: Fill the jars. Ladle hot salsa into clean jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Wipe the rims with a damp cloth and place the canning lids and rings on the jars.
Step 5: Process the jars. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 20 minutes for quarts or 15 minutes for pints.
Step 6: Cool and store. Remove the jars and let them sit at room temperature for several hours. Check that each jar has sealed before removing the rings. Store sealed jars in the pantry and enjoy all year long.
Tips for Making This Easy Homemade Salsa
Check the seals. Let the jars cool completely before checking that each lid has sealed properly.
Leave the tomato skins on. There is no need to peel or seed the tomatoes, which saves a lot of prep time.
Adjust the heat. Add more or fewer jalapeños depending on how spicy you like your salsa.
Don't overcook. Simmer just until the vegetables are tender. Overcooking can make the salsa mushy.
Use an electric roaster for large batches. It makes it easier to cook several batches at once and is especially helpful when you have a large garden harvest.
Use a variety of tomatoes. Mixing different garden tomatoes gives the salsa great flavor and texture.
Keep the jars hot. Fill hot jars with hot salsa to help prevent temperature shock and broken jars.
Easy Homemade Salsa FAQs
Common mistakes include using overly watery tomatoes, overcooking the vegetables until they become mushy, changing the ingredient proportions in a canning recipe, and not following the recommended processing time. For the best texture, simmer the salsa just until the vegetables are cooked through.
Vinegar adds acidity to salsa, which is important for safe water-bath canning. In a tested canning recipe, the specified amount of vinegar helps create the acidity needed for safe processing and storage. Don't reduce or omit the vinegar in a canning recipe unless the recipe specifically says it is safe to do so.
Not every salsa recipe is safe for water-bath canning without an added acid. Tomatoes can vary in acidity, so don't simply leave the vinegar out of a tested canning recipe. If you want to make salsa without vinegar, use a tested recipe specifically formulated and tested without it.
After processing, let the jars cool undisturbed at room temperature for about 12–24 hours. Once completely cool, check the seals before removing the rings and storing the jars in your pantry.
Other Recipes Like This
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The Best Home Canned Salsa Recipe
Equipment
- Electric Roaster
- Roaster Liner
- Cutting Board always get the best seal rate with For Jars canning lids.
- sharp knife
- Food Processor - optional for chopping the onions and peppers
- Can Opener
- Narrow Mouth Quart Jars or Pint Jars
- Hot Water Bath Canner
- canner
- Outdoor Camp Chef Stove - optional (for processing the jars outside)
- jar lifter
- Canning Funnel
Ingredients
- 8 cups tomatoes chopped
- 2 cups onions chopped
- 2 cups green peppers chopped
- ½ of a jalapeno more if you like it spicy
- 6 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 Tbl. salt
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup vinegar
- 1 12 oz can tomato paste
Instructions
- 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. Probably only 20-30 minutes if you’re making this in a pot on the stove. Don’t overcook, you don’t want all the veggies to turn to mush.
- Ladle hot salsa into jars, leaving ½" 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.
Notes
- Leave the tomato skins on—no peeling or seeding needed.
- Use a mix of garden tomatoes for the best flavor and texture.
- Adjust the jalapeños to make the salsa more or less spicy.
- Don't overcook the salsa or the vegetables will become mushy.
- Use an electric roaster when making a large batch.
- Keep the vinegar amount and processing time unchanged for safe canning.
- Let jars cool completely before checking the seals and removing the rings.
So Good
Love this recipe!
Perfect tomato and pepper flavors
Yes! We love salsa. This looks delicious.
It really is so good!