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Jars of our favorite garden salsa recipe cooling on a wire rack on a granite countertop, mugs hanging above.
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Our Favorite Garden Salsa

This fresh garden salsa is the perfect way to use ripe tomatoes, peppers, onions, and herbs straight from the garden. It’s simple to make, easy to customize, and bursting with fresh flavor—perfect for chips, tacos, grilled meats, or preserving the taste of summer.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 45 minutes
Course: Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: chips and salsa, fresh, from the garden, healthy recipes, homemade, make-ahead, meal-prep, party recipes, spicy
Servings: 5 pints
Calories: 197kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 8 pounds Ripe paste tomatoes See note
  • 2 cups Mild Green peppers (Anaheim or poblano) Seeded and diced
  • ⅓ to ½ cup Hot peppers (Jalapeño or Serrano) Seeded and diced
  • 2 cups Onions Diced
  • ½ cup Fresh cilantro Chopped
  • ½ cup Lime juice Fresh or bottled
  • ½ cup White vinegar 5%
  • ⅓ cup Tomato paste
  • 5 cloves Garlic Minced
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds toasted and crushed
  • 1 teaspoon Black pepper

Instructions

Peel and prep tomatoes.

  • Wash tomatoes and remove stem ends.
    A close-up of a pile of fresh, ripe red tomatoes, some still attached to green stems—perfect for trying out our favorite garden salsa recipe.
  • To peel, bring several inches of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Immerse tomatoes a few at a time for 30 to 60 seconds until skins split.
    Whole tomatoes boiling in water, with bubbles forming on the surface—a key step for our favorite garden salsa recipe.
  • Transfer to cold water, slip off skins, and discard.
    A bowl of tomatoes in ice water with ice cubes floating on the surface—perfect for prepping fresh ingredients for our favorite garden salsa recipe.
  • Remove cores and seeds, then chop. Measure 15 cups of chopped tomatoes and place in a large colander set in the sink. Drain for 30 minutes so your salsa is not runny.
    Chopped tomatoes draining in a metal colander on a wooden surface, ready to be used in our favorite garden salsa recipe.

Simmer tomatoes to thicken.

  • Transfer drained tomatoes to an 8-quart nonreactive pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 1½ hours, stirring often, until thickened to your liking.
    Close-up of chunky red tomato sauce with visible herbs and vegetable pieces, just like our favorite garden salsa recipe.

Add remaining ingredients.

  • Stir in peppers, onions, bottled lime juice, 5% white vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, salt, crushed cumin seeds, and black pepper. Return to a boil, then simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
    Chopped cilantro, onions, and green peppers on a bed of diced tomatoes—ready for mixing into our favorite garden salsa recipe.

Fill jars.

  • Prepare clean, hot jars. Ladle hot salsa into jars leaving ½-inch headspace. Wipe rims clean. Apply lids and rings until fingertip tight.
    Hand wiping the rim of a glass jar filled with chunky homemade salsa using a white cloth—preparing it fresh from our favorite garden salsa recipe.

Process.

  • Place filled jars on the rack in a boiling-water canner with water covering lids by at least 1 inch. Return to a vigorous boil and process for the time in the table (see notes). When time is up, turn off heat and let jars rest in the canner for 5 minutes. Remove to a towel-lined counter. Do not tilt. Let cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.
    A jar of tomato salsa, made with our favorite garden salsa recipe, is held with blue tongs above a pot of hot water during canning.

Check seals and store.

  • Remove rings, check seals, wipe jars, label, and store in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use within 1 year. Refrigerate after opening and enjoy within 1 to 2 weeks.
    Several mason jars filled with our favorite garden salsa recipe, sealed with metal lids, sit on a cooling rack.

Notes

Tomatoes: I love using Roma or San Marzano tomatoes, but you can use whatever you’d like. Peel, core, seed, and chop them roughly and then measure 15 cups of chopped tomatoes.
Processing Times for Hot-Pack Pints:
0 to 1,000 ft: 15 minutes
1,001 to 6,000 ft: 20 minutes
Above 6,000 ft: 25 minutes
Phoenix metro is just over 1,000 ft, so use 20 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1074mg | Potassium: 2327mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 393IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
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