One of the first garden recipes I ever wanted to develop was the PERFECT salsa recipe. For me the perfect recipe is medium heat, chunky, and includes cilantro.
Of course if that isn’t your idea of the perfect salsa, you can always make some tweaks to it! I make some suggestions below for variations.
I titled this ‘garden fresh’ salsa – but I use whole frozen tomatoes. Read below how I do that. Even though I use them frozen, the salsa still turns out just like you used fresh tomatoes!
Tools for garden salsa
I’m always a fan of using what you have, however, the first year I tried making this recipe, I did it all by hand AND I had to split it into 2 pots because I didn’t have one that was big enough! Here are the tools I recommend now:
- 20 quart stock pot – I love having one that shows the measurement on the inside so I have an idea of how many jars I need to prepare as I’m cooking.
- Chopper – I resisted one of these for years because I never minded chopping an onion. Well when you have a recipe like this, it’s SO worth it. Can’t believe I waited so long!
Ingredients
- Tomatoes – read below on how to use fresh or frozen.
- Yellow onions
- Anaheim peppers – if you can’t find these, you can substitute green peppers and reduce to 5 peppers.
- Jalapenos – Read below on ways to manage the heat if you want something milder.
- Habaneros – Read below on ways to manage the heat if you want something milder.
- Cilantro – I would not substitute dry, stick with fresh.
- Fresh garlic – Use fresh garlic! It makes a difference!
- Cumin
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Apple cider vinegar
- Lime juice
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
Instructions
- Roughly chop tomatoes and put them into the pot. See below for how I do it.
- Chop the onions and anaheim peppers into bite sized pieces and add to the pot.
- Remove the seeds from all the habaneros and half of the jalapenos, chop into ⅛” pieces and add to the pot.
- Finely chop the cilantro and garlic and add to the pot.
- Add the cumin, black pepper, salt, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, tomato sauce, tomato paste into the pot.
- Stir the contents of the pot and place on medium/high heat to bring it to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
- While the salsa is simmering, fill the water bath canner and begin to heat up the water so it’s ready for canning when the salsa is ready.
Canning instructions
- Once the salsa is done simmering, fill clean jars to 1” headspace.
- Wipe the rims of the jars before placing rings and lids on, fingertight.
- Place the jars into the canner.
- Wait until the water is boiling and start your timer for 15 minutes.
- Once the jars have processed for 15 minutes, remove them to a place where they can rest untouched for 24 hours.
Storage
- After the jars have sat for 24 hours, test the lids to make sure all of them are sealed properly. If one didn’t seal, put it in the refrigerator to use right away.
- Remove the rings from the jars and wipe the jars, if necessary.
- Label the jars with the contents and year made.
- Store the jars in a cool dark place!
Using frozen tomatoes for garden salsa
My tomatoes come off the vine incrementally over the garden season, so I prefer to freeze mine. Plus I don’t get LOADS of tomatoes like those with longer growing seasons do. By freezing them, I can see how many I end up with and make a plan for what needs to be replenished in the pantry.
Another advantage to freezing is if you are overwhelmed with produce, you can deal with them later! All I do is remove the stems, wipe them with a damp paper towel, place them whole in a gallon plastic bag, and toss them in the freezer.
When I’m ready to make salsa, I place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and allow them to thaw for a few hours. When they are partially thawed, I start roughly chopping them. I leave any water on the tray – the extra liquid isn’t needed in the salsa.
I don’t peel the tomatoes for this garden salsa and I think they blend and cook just fine. If you want to remove them, wait until the tomatoes are mostly thawed and you’ll be able to take the peels off really easily.
Variations to make the perfect garden salsa
- Don’t like it chunky? No problem! Pulse it in a blender or use an immersion blender until it’s the perfect consistency!
- Need to dial back the heat? There’s a few ways to reduce the heat. Remove all the seeds from the jalapenos. You can omit the habaneros all together.
- Can’t find anaheim peppers? Replace them with green peppers!
Homemade Garden Salsa With Canning Instructions
Equipment
- 1 Canning Pot
- 1 Vegetable Chopper optional
- 1 Large Stockpot
Ingredients
- 10-11 lbs tomatoes 14-16c chopped and drained
- 3 large yellow onions 6c, diced small
- 7 anaheim peppers diced
- 10 jalapenos half seed, half with seeds, diced
- 4 habaneros seeded and diced
- 2 bunches cilantro stems removed, chopped finely
- 2 heads fresh garlic minced
- 4 tsp cumin
- 4 tsp black pepper
- 4 tbsp salt
- 1 c apple cider vinegar
- 1 c lime juice
- 4 c tomato sauce 32oz can + 15 oz can
- 4 c tomato paste 5 6oz cans
Instructions
- Roughly chop tomatoes and put them into the pot.
- Chop the onions and anaheim peppers into bite sized pieces and add to the pot.
- Remove the seeds from all the habaneros and half of the jalapeños, chop into bite sized pieces and add to the pot.
- Finely chop the cilantro and garlic and add to the pot.
- Add the cumin, black pepper, salt, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, tomato sauce, tomato paste into the pot.
- Stir the contents of the pot and place on medium/high heat to bring it to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
- While the salsa is simmering, fill the water bath canner and begin to heat up the water so it’s ready for canning when the salsa is ready.
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