Munching on nacho chips and salsa is a go-to favorite snack for in between meals or late at night. Today, we’re sharing our family recipe for making the best-ever homemade salsa for canning so you’ll never be without.
Perfectly Chunky and Delicious Homemade Salsa
The best tomatoes for making homemade salsa are roma tomatoes. They are vibrant in color, loaded with great flavor and are meaty and dry in texture, so not at all watery (relative to other tomatoes).
Additionally, garden or eating tomatoes will also work, although the salsa won’t be as rich in color as other tomatoes tend to be lighter and with more seeds. If you don’t have roma tomatoes, then be sure to add tomato paste, 1-2 cans to thicken the salsa. Add the paste in the last 10 minutes of cooking, prior to filling the jars.
Other Recipes Using Fresh Tomatoes
For more recipes using fresh tomatoes, try one of these delicious and tasty side dishes:
- Cooked Flat Beans and Tomato Sidedish
- Sliced Tomato Salad with Basil and Garlic
- Yellow Pole Bean Salad
Flat Green Beans and Tomato 
Sliced Tomatoes 
Yellow Pole Bean Salad
How Much Salsa will this Recipe Make?
The proportions in this recipe is enough for filling approximately 12 jars; each jar is 16oz in size.
Sterilizing the Jars and Lids
The goal in sterilizing your jars is to kill any microbes on the inside surfaces of the jars and lids.
Place new or thoroughly cleaned jars (ideally fresh from the dishwasher washed on hot setting) and lids in a large cooking pot filled with water and boil on the stove top for 10 minutes.
Alternatively, arrange the clean jars, open side up, in a deep, oven-safe baking dish. Place the dish with the jars into the oven and heat to 210F for 15 minutes. The jars will be sterilized – make sure not to touch the insides of the jars with anything that hasn’t been sterilized.
Just before pouring the jam into the jars, boil the rims, lids, a pair of tongs and ladel on the stove top for 5 minutes. Use the tongs to place the lids on to the jars. Do not touch any of the inside surfaces with anything that hasn’t been sterilized.
How long does homemade salsa last?
As long as the jars are properly sealed and stored in a dry and cool location, the canned salsa will last up to a year. After filling the jars, leave them to set for 24 hours.
After a day, be sure to check that the jars are sealed properly by pushing down on the center of the lid with your finger. If it clicks, then that jar is NOT sealed well. Place that jar and it’s contents in the fridge to consume as you would any other opened jars.
How to Make Homemade Salsa for Canning
Best Ever Homemade Salsa for Canning
Equipment
- Large cooking pot
- Mason Jars with lids, 16oz
- deep dish baking pan
- hand mixer
- Wok or deep frying pan
Ingredients
- 20 cups tomatoes roma
- 1 tbsp sea salt or coarse salt
- 1 tbsp ground pepper
- ½ cup vegetable oil or canola
- 10 cups chopped onions coarse
- 10 cloves garlic chopped
- 10 cups chopped bell peppers red, green or yellow
- ½ cup hot peppers optional, chopped
- ½ cup fresh basil
Instructions
Preparing the Tomatoes
- Wash tomatoes.
- Cut tomatoes in half, remove seeds with fingers and discard. Leave skin on.
- Put tomatoes on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake for 370F for 30 minutes.
- Place the soft tomatoes in a large bowl, peeling off the skin. Discard the skin or put aside to make tomato seasoning powder.
Assembling the Salsa
- Put tomatoes in a blender or use a hand mixer to chop, avoid over mixing. The texture should have some chunks throughout (not be smooth or juicy).
- Add salt and ground pepper.
- Next, add vegetable oil in a large frying pan (or walk).
- Add onion and garlic and cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Add chopped peppers and fresh basil.
- Cook all together for 10 minutes together, stirring occassionally.
- Add the tomatoes to the mixture in to wok. Switch to a larger cooking pot if needed to fill all ingredients.
- Cook for another 30 minutes, on low-medium heat setting.
- Stirring often so the salsa does not to stick to the bottom of the pot (or wok).
Sterilizing and Filling the Jars
- Sterilize the jars and lids (see above for tips).
- Fill the jars with the salsa up to 1/2" below the jar opening and add sterilized lid.
- Turn jars upside down and cover with a tea towel. Leave them to sit for 24 hours before opening.
- Check that all lids are properly sealed before putting into storage (see above for tips).
Nutrition
Like it? Pin it for later!
