My Home-canned Salsa, In Pictures

Salsa is one of my favorite things to can at home. Not only am I addicted to chips and salsa (probably my favorite snack), but I use salsa in lots of other recipes as well. Homemade salsa is very time- and labor-intensive, but also fun because you can change the recipe to your satisfaction.

I have been doing home canning for 5 years now, and I've tweaked my salsa recipe almost every year. I started with the recipe in my trusty Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, and have since modified it enough that I feel comfortable calling it my own. I really enjoy the results, so I decided to record my salsa-making this year, in case anybody else wants to try the recipe. Here goes...

First, obviously, you'll need your raw ingredients (NOTE: I did a triple batch of salsa, so the quantity of ingredients may look quite large in some pictures):

About 7 lbs of tomatoes (preferably vine-ripened; they're more acidic and will thus can better).

Then you'll need peppers--3 different kinds, to be exact:

12-14 Anaheim (green) chiles (or to taste);

4-6 jalapeno peppers, or to taste; and

3 serrano chile peppers, also to taste. Notice that in this picture I'm halving and seeding all the chile peppers; that's an essential step for ALL the chile peppers listed above. Also, WEAR GLOVES when cutting and seeding the peppers, as I'm doing here; otherwise, the capsaicin in the chiles will burn your hands and whatever else you touch (in fact, if you handle as many chiles at once as I do, you may feel a burn even through the gloves; this will wear off after a few hours and a few good hand-washings).

Now we get to an important step, but one that adds a GREAT flavor to your salsa--grilling the peppers!! Grilling peppers will mellow their sharp taste, but will also loosen up the capsaicin, which will leach into your salsa and actually give it more of a "kick." If you don't like your salsa too hot, you may want to skip this step, but the additional smoked flavor is worth it for me!!

These days, I grill the peppers (and the garlic; see below) a day or two before actually canning the salsa. There's two reasons for that; it gives the flavor more time to mellow out, and--more importantly--it saves time on the day of canning.

I use my handy-dandy George Forman family-size grill; I do this because I don't have a full-sized, outdoor grill. If you've got one, use it! It will probably go faster and the grilled flavor will be even more pronounced. This device works pretty well too, though. After heating it up...

Just put the pepper halves on the grill, then close it up and let them roast for about 5-7 minutes, until their skins start to burn and bubble, like so:

Yum ... and while the peppers are all grilling, you can prepare the garlic,

 You'll need about 5-10 cloves of garlic per batch (I tend to err on the high side, 'cause I love me the garlic!) Just be sure to peel the cloves completely. Then, when the peppers are all grilled, you can grill the garlic too...

Mmmmm...tasty! Can you tell my poor grill has been getting a workout by looking at this picture? It's kinda grimy (sorry!). Anyway, grilled garlic, like the peppers, will have a much more mellow, richer flavor, and it makes the salsa quite tasty.

Once I'm finished grilling, I like to put my ingredients into sealable Ziploc bags, and then to refrigerate them until needed (usually, a day or two later). That way, they don't spoil, and the flavor stays locked in:

First steps completed! Then in a day or two, the REAL work begins...


First, you'll need to dice the tomatoes, and then let them drain in a colander for about 25-30 minutes, to let a little of the extra juices out. Each batch will require about 14 cups of diced tomatoes, give or take a cup.

After you've drained them a bit, it's time to stew the tomatoes. Place them in a large pot (stainless steel, if available), and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat and let them simmer for just over 1 hour, until the whole mixture is thickened:

While the tomatoes are simmering (be sure to stir them occasionally!), you can prepare your other ingredients:

You'll need 2 cups of chopped onions per batch. Before chopping...

After chopping! Boy, I had some weepy eyes, let me tell you. You'll also need (per batch):

1 teaspoon each of salt & pepper;
2/3 can (or 6 ounces) of tomato paste; and
1 cup of lime juice (the original recipe I used called for vinegar, and you can use that if you're on a budget--lime juice costs quite a bit more than vinegar. However, if you can, I strongly recommend the lime juice; it adds a much fresher, more natural flavor than the vinegar, and still has the same preservative properties). You'll also need:

1/2 cup fresh (NOT DRIED) cilantro per batch. You'll have to chop it up; this picture was taken fresh out of the bag, before I snipped it.

Once the tomatoes have stewed long enough, and the other ingredients are ready to add, it'll be time to mix them all together. Probably the easiest way to add the halved peppers (and the onions, if you so choose) is to puree them in a blender or food processor (I used my blender). Here's how:

First, I put a few cups of stewed tomatoes in the blender;

Then, I add the peppers and garlic;

Then, blend away!! The mixture will turn a weird greenish color, but that's expected. Then, you pour the blended mixture back into the remainder of the stewed tomatoes in the large pot:

Then, stir it all together! If you want to puree the onions as well, just repeat the last 4 steps above, using the salsa from the big pot. Or, if you want, you can just add the chopped onions to the salsa as is; it depends on how chunky you like your salsa.

At this point, you'll also want to add the lime juice, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Then, return the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for about 10 more minutes before removing it from the heat. This would be a good time to sterilize your canning lids;

prepare your canner (I use a non-immersive steam canner; it can't hold as many jars as a hot-water-bath canner, but it heats up MUCH faster and saves a lot of time!); and last but not least,

feed your hungry baby. Oh, wait...I guess I'm just using any excuse to show what a cute little girl I've got. Seriously, though, keep in mind that canning salsa (ESPECIALLY multiple batches of it) is a time-consuming process that will take several hours. If you have small children, be prepared for interruptions, and schedule meal-times during "simmering" sessions, so you can work efficiently!

Once your salsa is removed from the heat, it's time to ladle it into warm, clean jars:

I usually use pint jars, since the recipe yields about 5-6 pints of salsa, but sometimes quart jars will be necessary, as was the case this time, when my batches turned out bigger than I thought. Once the jars are filled about 1/2" from the top, make sure the top rim is clean, then screw on the lid and ring tightly. Once all the jars are filled, it's processing time!

Once your canner is fully heated (i.e., at a full boil), set your timer and process the jars for 15 minutes (that's for pints; if you're processing quarts, increase the time to 20 minutes). Obviously, the lid for my canner hasn't been put on yet in this picture (it's just off to the left); during processing, the lid will be on tight and the salsa jars won't be visible.

After they're done processing, carefully remove the jars from the canner & place them in a safe place (translation: away from your kids!) to cool. Make sure the jars aren't touching each other. As you can see in this picture, I like to invert the jars, just to keep the heat on the lid a little longer and insure that it seals properly. It's probably an unnecessary step, but I like to be overcautious.

Let the jars completely cool (this will probably take several hours or overnight). And Voila!! You've done it!

Behold the fruits of my labors! I got 15 pint jars, 3 quart jars, and a bunch left over in the Tupperware on the left--quite a good haul. And how did it taste?

Not bad, in my opinion. It was still a little warm when I first sampled it, and the true flavor won't be known for a little while (it takes a few weeks for the chile juices to completely saturate and "heat up" the salsa, and all that happens in the jar after it's been canned). However, I think it turned out well. Not quite as spicy as my batch the year before, but less tomato-ey than the year before that.

Now, I'm not pretending to be an expert on making salsa OR canning. But this is the method that I've found works best for me, based on a few years' worth of attempts. I'm very happy with the results. If you'd like, try it out and see if it's best for you too! Good luck!