One of my favorite tastes of the summer is that of a fresh, homegrown tomato. And one of our family’s favorite ways to eat tomatoes during the year is in a delicious, chunky, salsa. Here’s a great recipe for zesty salsa, adapted slightly from the Ball Canning Blue Book, to make do with the peppers and ingredients I had available to me.
Looks delicious doesn’t it? It IS delicious! This recipe will yield about 6 pints. This recipe uses lime juice instead of apple cider vinegar. I also used more cilantro than the original recipe called for because you cannot have salsa without plenty of cilantro.
Also, because I used what peppers we had on hand, this salsa is made with about five different varieties – everything from bell peppers to habanero. I only removed the spicy seeds from the hottest peppers, not the banana peppers or Anaheims.
Prep this recipe by removing the peels off your tomatoes. This tutorial by Jenn will show you how SO simply!
Ingredients for Zesty Salsa:
- 10 Cups chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes (about 6 pounds)
- 5 Cups chopped and seeded long green peppers (about 2 pounds)
- 5 Cups chopped onions (1 1/2 pounds)
- 2 1/2 Cups chopped and seeded hot peppers (about 1 pound)
- 1 Cup fine chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 Cups lime juice
Directions for Zesty Salsa:
1. Prep the tomatoes and prep the jars by boiling them for at least 10 minutes and place the lids in simmering water.
2. Combine all your ingredients in a large non-reactive saucepan. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Scoop the salsa into the hot jars until you’ve filled them with just a 1/4 inch of headspace.
4. Fit on the lids, hand-tightening the rings (don’t over tighten!) and process in the water bath canner for 15 minutes. Remember the timer starts only after the water is fully boiling.
5. When the time’s up, remove the jars and place them on a cooling rack or towel with at least one inch space between them so they can cool off.
What I loved so much about this recipe is the wide variety we were able to use. We used several different types of tomatoes including my favorite orange colored heirlooms, and a few different types of peppers as well.
The resulting salsa is highly flavorful, beautiful with a variety of colors, and hearty with the large chunks of tomatoes in the mix. Delicious, nutritious, and simple to make. A win/win!
Note – if you don’t yet have any of the canning supplies, you’ll need check out our canning resources page for some of our favorites.
OK so you don’t need a pressure cooker for these? That is the biggest drawback to canning for me. It scares me!
Exactly – high acid foods – pickles and fruits (tomatoes are a fruit) are high enough in acid to prevent the growth of harmful microbes WITHOUT a pressure canner. All you need is a big pot of boiling water. Easy peasy!
Tomatoes are actually kind of “on the border” of high enough acid to water bath. Please be cautious when adjusting ingredients. The addition of more than a cup of cilantro makes me pause, generally it is recommended that you NOT add fresh herbs (unless called for, and then not in excess of what is called for in a tested recipe), as they can impact the acidity of the mixture.
The official “word” from my master food preserver resource notebook says this:
“Dried spices may be added or deleted as desired. These may include salt, ground pepper, dried chili pepper, coriander, cumin, and oregano.
Don’t add more vegetables or fresh herbs than the recipe calls for.”
There is also mention of the importance of using the amount and type of acid called for. Unless you know that lime juice (and it should ONLY be bottled, not fresh) has the same standard acidity as bottled lemon juice, that is not a safe change to make.
Oops, I thought it said 1.5 cups of cilantro instead of 1 cup, so it’s not “more than a cup” addition. I am still concerned about the large increase in fresh cilantro, though.
According to the Ball Canning Guide lime and lemon can be used interchangeably as long as you use store bought (bottled) juice and not homemade – same as with lemons. The pre-made juice you buy in bottles has a set acidity that allows you to know what you’re putting in vs a natural variation you’ll get from making your own juice.
How much lime juice? You say “1 1/4 lime juice” but you don’t say tablespoons, cups? Not sure. thanks!
Oh silly oversight. Cups! I will edit the post to make sure that’s included. 🙂
Looks like a great recipe, and pressure canning scares me too. What is the yield for this recipe?
About 6 pints. 🙂
Can you substitute lemon juice for lime juice?
I did some quick research and found out, yes – lime and lemon juice FROM THE BOTTLE can be swapped out. If you wind up with more peppers in there you need to make sure you have a high enough level of vinegar/lime/lemon to keep the acidity high enough for water bath canning. See this great resource for ratios – http://nchfp.uga.edu/papers/2004/04ift-tomatosalsaPoster_combined.html
what do you mean by prep the tomatoes????? Boil them also or de-core and/or peelor wat..sorry confused
I peel mine and chop them up. In the ingredients list it called for “chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes” so I do that but kind of in a lazy way…chop them and squish the seeds out. Lol!
We have a tutorial about how to blanch tomatoes which is an easy way to remove the peels http://www.untrainedhousewife.com/a-how-to-guide-to-blanching-and-peeling-tomatoes
I just made 3 batches of this salsa and LOVED it, then last night I was sharing the recipe with a friend that is an avid canner and she said she was a bit concerned with the acid levels it might have with having so many cups of peppers. Are the ratios in this recipe safe and USDA approved for safe water bath? I am so worried that I might not be able to keep these.. I hope that is not the case. I have tried to research myself and see if this recipe is acceptable but couldnt find anything.
This is straight out of the Ball Canning Book – the updated version pictured here and linked in the post – http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0972753702/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0972753702&linkCode=as2&tag=associatedc0e-20 I didn’t change the ratio of elements at all only changed the types of peppers used so the recipe is as safe as Ball Canning Blue Book makes them. It’s tasty isn’t it!? 🙂
It is OMG amazing!!! Now I did alter it a little myself since I didn’t have enough Peppers, As far as I was told that it is perfectly safe to go less just not more on the peppers. Am I correct?
Yes – the tomatoes and lime/lemon are what keep the acidity high enough to be safe. More peppers than this Ball Canning approved/tested ratio would lower the acidity too much but fewer peppers would keep it acidic enough.
We had slightly less than the recipe called for as well because I used what we had on hand and it was a big mix of things. Lol!
Really good isn’t it? I’m totally in love with this recipe.
Thanks for the recipe! I was wanting to make the zesty salsa recipe from the Ball blue book but I prefer lime and more cilantro. Glad I found your post!
When you say long green peppers, do you mean bell peppers or poblano peppers?
We actually had one bell pepper and the rest were a mix of poblano, banana, and jalapeno because that’s just what I had on hand. I didn’t end up buying anything except lime juice for this recipe. 🙂
I’ve just read about 10 salsa recipes and this one sounds fabulous! Reading the comments it sounds like you use lime juice from a bottle in this recipe? Is there a difference? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen bottled lime juice at the store. I’m heading out today and will look but wonder if I can substitute lime juice straight from limes.
Great question….the answer is no I would not recommend it. Bottled lime or lemon juice has an average PH that can be counted on for safety in the water bathed recipes. Fresh from the fruit will naturally vary and you’d have no way to know for sure what the pH level was and to ensure a safe level. Lime juice is usually right next to the bottled lemon juice.
If you use homemade lime juice I would pressure can the salsa to make sure it’s safe for long-term storage.
Thanks for the reply! I’m a beginner canner and did not know that. Fortunately I found the lime juice. 🙂 I decided to roast all my onions, peppers, and garlic. I’m also using whichever peppers i happen to have ready in my garden but am otherwise following the recipe. I can’t wait to try it!!!!!
I think I’m the best recipe finder ever. This salsa rocks! I had a small jar-worth left after canning 6 pints and ate some warm with chips. Yum! This might just be my new official canning salsa. And I’ll be sure to check out other recipes on your blog. Thanks again!!!
Hey I was wondering about the flavor of this. Im about ready to start a major batch of salsa and wanted to pick your brain a little. This looks good to me Im also a cilantro lover and I like to go heavy on the Garlic. Im a little concerened about the flavor the apple cider vinegar. I do not like a sweet salsa and I wondered if the White vinegar is acceptable. Also I think the flavor of red onion is better will that be an issue? Have you ever added smoke flavoring?
Our salsa was a touch on the sweet side because we didn’t use the spicy peppers but if you did use spicier peppers I think it would be fine. The apple cider is not as noticeable as the lime/cilantro. Overall the taste is very FRESH. Smoke flavoring would give it a different level but I think I would achieve that through roasted the garlic first or sauteeing the onions instead of adding more liquids that could change the pH balance of the recipe too much.
Quick question. Really want to try this recipe. But I only have a pressure canner. Not a bath canner. Can I pressure can this? And if I can. What pressure for how long?
All you need for a water bath canning is a big enough pot to put your jars in and have them still be covered by the boiling water. I just use a big stockpot and do it in batches
This sounds very good!! I’m new to canning and was wondering if you can add fresh corn and still do a water bath?
Just made my first batch of this salsa & we love it! 2 questions: it came out a bit watery, how do I reduce that? And, once canned, what’s the shelf life?
How Long after you can the salsa should you wait to eat it?
We usually eat some right away and I’ve never had a batch last more than three or four months no matter how much I make. LOL!!
Can I add black beans & corn raw or canned or frozen…