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Homemade Salsa

Categories Appetizer/Snacks, Easy Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthy Recipes, Sauces, Side Dish, Vegan/Vegetarian

I love salsa and during the summer I always have lots of tomatoes on hand from my garden so I make alot of different salsas. This homemade salsa recipe is easy to make, it is a cooked salsa so it can be bottled and water bathed so you can have salsa all year round.

When you are making a cooked homemade salsa and plan on water bath canning it then I highly suggest removing the skins. This can be done by washing the tomatoes thoroughly and placing them in a heat proof bowl, boil a large pot of water. Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes and let sit for 5 minutes or until the skins start to buckle and break. Drain the hot water and pour cold water over the tomatoes. The skins will then come right off. In the preserving world we call this “slipping the skins”. Remove the area where the stem was then you are ready to make your salsa.

The peppers can have the skins left on or they can also have the skins removed by roasting them then removing. The heat preference is totally up to you, I will give you some ideas on how much to use to achieve different heat levels in the recipe below.

What you need to make homemade salsa:

Makes ~32 ounces

  • 4 cups tomatoes – peeled and diced
  • 1 onion – finely diced
  • 1 green bell pepper – diced, these can also be roasted with the skins removed if desired
  • 1-2 jalapeno peppers – 1 jalapeno without the seeds will be mild, 2 with some seeds will be medium, 2 with full seeds will be hot.
  • 1-2 tablespoons sugar – depending of your sweetness level desired
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 8 cloves garlic – minced
  • 1/3 cup white vinegar

Instructions

  1. If you want a picante style salsa, blend everything up before making or use an immersion blender.
  2. In a heavy bottomed pot, add the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, sugar, salt, garlic powder and vinegar and bring mixture to a boil.
  3. Reduce to a simmer and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the salsa gets to your desired thickness.
  4. Cool and seal if you are using it immediately.

If water canning follow these instructions:

  1. Spoon into sterilized glass jars.
  2. Place a lid on the jar and gently screw on the lid, don’t over tighten it, in fact, you want it to feel fairly loose, this will help the seal to form when you can these because extra air will seep out during the boil time.
  3. We don’t need to pressure can these, though you can if you want to. The addition of the vinegar and acidity of the tomatoes will help bacteria not to grow. If you are worried you can test the acidity of your mixture with strips that test it. The only concern in this recipe is the peppers because they are generally low in acidity and can encourage bacteria to grow in them over time.
  4. Boil water in a water canning pot, place in boiling water for 10 minutes.
  5. Carefully remove and let the jars cool 24 hours on the counter before checking for a seal and tightening the lids.
  6. To check for a seal press in the middle of the lid, if it is pressed down hard and have very little to no give or bounce back when pressed then it is sealed. If it pops back up you will need to clean the lids and rims of the jar and water bath them again for 10 minutes for them then wait an additional 24 hours to see of a seal forms.

Here are a few other salsa recipes:

Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Homemade Salsa

Easy homemade salsa that can be canned if desired.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Sauce
Cuisine: Salsa, Sauce
Keyword: appetizer, Bell Peppers, Salsa, side dish, Tomatoes
Servings: 32 ounces

Ingredients

  • 4 cups tomatoes – peeled and diced
  • 1 onion – finely diced
  • 1 green bell pepper – diced these can also be roasted with the skins removed if desired
  • 1-2 jalapeno peppers – 1 jalapeno without the seeds will be mild 2 with some seeds will be medium, 2 with full seeds will be hot.
  • 1-2 tablespoons sugar – depending of your sweetness level desired
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 8 cloves garlic – minced
  • 1/3 cup white vinegar

Instructions

  • If you want a picante style salsa, blend everything up before making or use an immersion blender.
  • In a heavy bottomed pot, add the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, sugar, salt, garlic powder and vinegar and bring mixture to a boil.
  • Reduce to a simmer and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the salsa gets to your desired thickness.
  • Cool and seal if you are using it immediately.
  • If water canning follow these instructions:
  • Spoon into sterilized glass jars.
  • Place a lid on the jar and gently screw on the lid, don’t over tighten it, in fact, you want it to feel fairly loose, this will help the seal to form when you can these because extra air will seep out during the boil time.
  • We don’t need to pressure can these, though you can if you want to. The addition of the vinegar and acidity of the tomatoes will help bacteria not to grow. If you are worried you can test the acidity of your mixture with strips that test it. The only concern in this recipe is the peppers because they are generally low in acidity and can encourage bacteria to grow in them over time.
  • Boil water in a water canning pot, place in boiling water for 10 minutes.
  • Carefully remove and let the jars cool 24 hours on the counter before checking for a seal and tightening the lids.
  • To check for a seal press in the middle of the lid, if it is pressed down hard and have very little to no give or bounce back when pressed then it is sealed. If it pops back up you will need to clean the lids and rims of the jar and water bath them again for 10 minutes for them then wait an additional 24 hours to see of a seal forms.