{recipe & free printable} Canning Homemade Salsa & Free Printable

We had a bushel of fresh tomatoes sitting on our counter for a few days and I needed to use them QUICK!  So... I decided to make and can some fresh salsa.  I did some research online and canning acidic items can be tricky.  From what I've read you really need to make sure you add enough lemon/lime juice or vinegar to counteract the tomatoes acidity and prevent it from harboring botulism. So... here we go...

Items needed (for 1 batch):  I made roughly 7 batches and it yielded in 5 jars for canning, plus a little bowl full for immediate consumption.

3 Fresh/Ripe Tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 White Onion, roughly chopped

1/2 Bunch of Cilantro

3 Chili Peppers (I prefer to use jarred peppers, because then I can use roughly 1 teaspoon of juice from the jar)

1 1/2 Teaspoons Lime Juice

Garlic Salt (to taste--but I typically use 1/2 Tablespoon)

*This salsa is a bit spicy so if you have a milder taste omit one of the chili peppers and cut down the amount of chili pepper juice you use from the jar.

To make pico de gallo I would just cut all of the ingredients into like sized bite pieces and mix together, but to make the salsa below I put everything into my food processor and pureed it until smooth.  I wasn't sure it was going to turn out, but low and behold it tasted great!

 Now onto the canning part...because the recipe is raw you will need to process it in the water bath longer than if you had cooked the salsa over the stove top first.  Ladle the salsa into the sterilized jars leaving some space on the top.  Cover with your lids and place your jars into the water.  Make sure there is roughly 1-2 inches of water covering the top of the jars once the basket is submerged.

 Next, taking into consideration where you live and how high of an altitude you reside in will determine how long you process your jars in boiling water.  We live in zone 2 according to the lid of the canner so once the red needle reached the green area on zone 2 I began my timer for processing.  I processed this salsa for 75 minutes because the ingredients were raw going into the jars.

 Once processed, take them out and let them cool before attaching any labels.  Check the lids for air tightness.  Push the middle of the lid and if it pops back they haven't processed long enough. Make sure you store in a neutral environment-- not too cold, not too hot, not too sunny...etc.  I put my jars in the pantry.

 Yum!  It was pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Next time we'll heat the salsa up in the microwave, add some grated cheddar cheese and eat it with chips.  Enjoy, we sure did!
Oh and of course you need a printable label to go along with your jars of salsa.

Download FREE Printable HERE