Canning salsa recipes are everywhere these days. There are so many options to try! You can experiment with canning salsa using tomatoes, corn, beans, fresh herbs, dried spices, peppers and even fruit.

There are so many canning salsa recipes that it might seem overwhelming. What I’ve done is to simply make small batches of ones that sound interesting and let my family find the ones they like best. I’d like to share with you the best we have found out of all the canning salsa recipes we’ve tried.

The Best of All the Canning Salsa Recipes

This recipe is adapted from several canning recipes I tried. I liked the spicing on this one, the roasted tomatoes from another, and then felt like it needed a little extra punch with some added garlic and lime juice.

I started with thirteen medium garden tomatoes, which I quartered and spread on two rimmed cookie sheets. I splashed them with some olive oil and put them into a 450°F oven for about an hour. While they cooked, I prepared the other ingredients. Many people like to use a food processor to make quick work of cutting up the vegetables for salsa. Even though it takes longer, I like to cut everything up with a knife. That way you can cut each item to just the right size and don’t risk your salsa becoming puree.

First, I picked five jalapeños and a bell pepper from my garden. The jalapeños I minced, seeds and all. For the bell pepper, I removed the seeds and small diced it. I used two onions – one red and one yellow. These I peeled and small diced. Also from the garden, I shucked nine ears of corn and cut the kernels off. Our chickens love the cobs to peck at so I brought those out to the girls. You could also use them to try making corn cob jelly or corn broth. So many options! Finally, I minced three large cloves of garlic. All of these vegetables went into a large pot. To the fresh vegetables, I added two cans of organic black beans, a 12-ounce can of tomato paste, a teaspoon each of cumin and black pepper, a quarter cup of salt, a third cup of apple cider vinegar, and two tablespoons each of lime juice and sugar.

By this point, my tomatoes had roasted and were looking and smelling delightful.

I took them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before putting them in several small batches into the food processor. Two things I found important for this step: 1) Do your tomatoes in small batches so that you have better control over how your food processor is working and 2) Pulse! You just want to break up the big chunks so only pulse your machine; don’t turn it on and run it. You’ll end up with puree quickly.

Finally, I added my roasted tomatoes to the pot with the other ingredients and put it on the stove on medium heat, stirring to mix everything well. I cooked it on a low simmer for about 15 minutes then filled my sterilized jars.

This recipe is not appropriate for water bath canning. The ratio of tomatoes to other vegetables is too high, taking this salsa out of the high acid category. It must be processed in a pressure canner, or alternatively, it can be frozen for later use. It is important to use the correct food preservation methods for the type of food you are saving in order to keep you and your family safe.

Pressure Canning

Pressure canning isn’t as difficult as it seems. Initially, I admit, I was terrified of it. When I read the instructions for my canner, I put it away and didn’t touch it again for nearly a year! It looked so complicated. I have done it a few times now, though, and I’m getting the hang of it. Here’s my beginner’s guide to pressure canning.

Place your jars into the canner so that they aren’t touching each other or the sides of the canner. Fill with enough water to cover the jars by an inch.

Put your lid on and turn to seal it. Remove the weight from the top of the canner.

Turn on the heat and wait until a steady stream of steam is coming out of the vent. Now, set a timer for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, carefully put the weight back on where the steam has been escaping. Watch the meter on top of the canner until it reaches the appropriate poundage.

For this recipe, at less than 1000 feet above sea level, you need 10 pounds of pressure. If you live at higher altitude, there’s a nice chart that shows how to adjust your processing time on freshpreserving.com. When the dial reaches 10 pounds, start timing for the recipe’s processing time. For the salsa, pint jars need to be processed 75 minutes. Stay near your canner and adjust the temperature to keep your pressure where it needs to be.

When the time is up, turn off the heat and let your canner return to zero pounds pressure on its own. Once it reaches zero, wait another couple minutes. Then remove your lid, opening it up away from yourself so you won’t get burned by the steam that comes out. Remove your jars and leave them sit just like you would for water bath canning. After twelve hours, check the seals, clean and label. Anything that doesn’t seal should be refrigerated immediately.

One thing I’ve noticed about pressure canning is that it seems to dehydrate the ingredients slightly so a little extra liquid to start with isn’t a bad thing.

Enchilada Sauce

Because I have had so many tomatoes – it is that time of year – I also made a batch of enchilada sauce. Enchiladas are one of our family favorite meals so I knew these jars would go to good use. The process is similar to that for the salsa.

Start with twelve pounds of tomatoes and a handful of jalapeños or several poblanos, whatever you have on hand. Quarter the tomatoes and set the peppers on top of them on the cookie sheets. Add a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Put them in the oven to roast at 450°F for an hour. Turn the peppers occasionally so that all sides get browned. The peppers might finish sooner than the tomatoes so keep an eye on them.

Let the peppers cool and remove the skins. I’ll be honest, my little jalapeño skins were not budging so I just left most of them on. If they stick it’s not a big deal. Remove the stems for sure.

Put the roasted tomatoes and peppers into the food processor and puree them. Then add six cloves of garlic and process to break the garlic up into small pieces. Finally, add your spices: three tablespoons cumin, one tablespoon chili powder, two tablespoons salt, one tablespoon paprika and one tablespoon oregano. Process to mix the spices in then empty the mixture into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes.

This, too, should be pressure canned. Follow my directions above, processing at 10 pounds pressure for 50 minutes.

Make any Meal Delicious

Obviously your enchilada sauce can be used to top a batch of enchiladas, but it also makes a wonderful topping to a morning omelet or a delicious marinade for chicken. Try it instead of pizza sauce to make a homemade Mexican pizza. The salsa, too, offers many possibilities. This morning I mixed some in with my scrambled eggs to give them an extra punch of flavor. It makes fabulous nachos and brings a lunch time wrap up levels in flavor. These are great staples to keep on hand; well worth the time to make them and the space in your pantry!

Recipes

Salsa

• 13-15 tomatoes, quartered
• 5 jalapenos, stems removed and minced with seeds
• 1 bell pepper, seeds and stems removed and small diced
• 1 red onion, peeled and small diced
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and small diced
• 8-10 ears of corn, cut off the cob
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 12 ounces tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar

1. Spread quartered tomatoes on two rimmed cookie sheets. Splash with olive oil and roast at 450°F for an hour.
2. Prepare the other vegetables and place in a large pot. Add the remaining ingredients.
3. Remove tomatoes from oven and let them cool for a few minutes before putting them in several small batches into the food processor. You just want to break up the big chunks so only pulse your machine; don’t turn it on and run it. Add tomatoes to the pot with other ingredients.
4. Put pot on the stove on medium heat, stirring to mix everything well. I cooked it on a low simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Fill sterilized jars, clean rims, apply lids and bands and process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes.
6. Makes seven pint jars.

Enchilada Sauce

• 12 pounds tomatoes, quartered
• 10 poblanos or 8-10 jalapeños
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon oregano

1. Quarter 12 pounds of tomatoes and place them on rimmed cookie sheets. Top with peppers and splash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put them in the oven to roast at 450°F for an hour, turning the peppers occasionally so that all sides get browned.
2. Let the peppers cool and remove the skins and stems.
3. Put the roasted tomatoes and peppers into the food processor and puree them. Then add six cloves of garlic and process. Finally, add spices and process once more to mix.
4. Empty the mixture into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for ten minutes.
5. Fill sterilized jars, clean rims, apply lids and bands and process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 50 minutes.
6. Makes ten 12-ounce jars.

Do you have favorite canning salsa recipes? If so, please share in the comments below.