Today I'm making an easy homemade sweet salsa canning recipe from the Ball Home Preservation Cookbook! This is a great way to use a lot of tomatoes or preserve your garden harvest!
This homemade canned salsa recipe adds the sweetness of peaches, pears, and honey to mellow out the heat of traditional salsa. It's the perfect topping that takes grilled fish, chicken, and veggies to the next level! This recipe makes 6 pints. Salsa flavors meld together and blend during shelf storage. The optimal flavor is said to be after 3-4 weeks of storage!
My son LOVES homemade canned salsa and goes through it super fast, so I need to make a ton!
Homemade Sweet Salsa Fresh Ingredients
- Fresh tomatoes - 4 cups of peeled and chopped ROMA tomatoes.
- 2 cups peeled, pitted, and chopped Peaches -
- (Submerge in ¼ cup lemon juice to prevent browning before you use them.)
- 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped Pears -
- (Submerge in ¼ cup lemon juice to prevent browning before you use them.)
- 1 large seeded and chopped red bell pepper.
- 1 cup finely chopped red onion
- 3 Jalapeno peppers that have been seeded, deveined, and chopped small.
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup honey
- 1 lemon - juice and zest
- ¼ cup of a good balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint - chopped fine.
TOOLS To Help You Make Large Batches Of Salsa
Food Processor
Jar Lifter
Hot Water Bath Canner
Pint Size Mason Jars
Ball Blue Book
Canning Funnel
Canning Lid Magnet Lifter
Prep Ingredients, Tomatoes, Peaches, Pears
To peel tomatoes, peaches and pears, place them in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds till the skins start to crack! Then immediately dip them in cold water, and slip the skins off easily! Then chop, pit, and core your peaches and pears. Chop your tomatoes and put them in a colander to drain off excess liquids!
How to Make East Homemade Sweet Salsa
Before you start making salsa, you need to prepare your large pot canner, canning jars, and lids.
- Prep your water bath canner, jars, and lids.
- In a large-sized stainless steel pot add your prepped tomatoes, peaches, pears, chopped red pepper, onions, and jalapenos.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
- Add cilantro, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and chopped mint.
- Reduce your heat to a gentle simmer for about 5 minutes or till slightly thickened.
How To Hot Pack Canning Salsa Into Jars
Now it's time to start canning your sweet salsa!
- Ladle your hot salsa into sanitized jars, LEAVE ½ inch unfilled at top of the jar (called headspace.)
- Remove air bubbles by running a butter knife around the inside of the jar.
- Wipe the rim of the pint mason jar clean with a clean towel.
- Center hot lid onto jar and screw on the band (to hold the lid) and tighten to finger tight.
Water Bath Canning Homemade Salsa Jars
Fill your water bath canner with enough water to cover all 6-pint jars by a couple of inches. Then, place prepared jars of salsa into the canner, bring it to a boil, and cover with the lid!
After your canner is boiling, continue to process jars for 20 minutes. Then remove the canner lid, and let it cool for at least 5 minutes.
Remove hot jars with a Ball Canning Jar Lift, and set them on a clean cloth or hard surface.
Let cool, and store jars for future use and enjoyment! (This sweet homemade canned salsa also makes a great Christmas gift with tortilla chips for family and friends!)
Processing Time
The processing time for this easy homemade sweet salsa canning recipe in pint jars is 20 minutes after the boil has started.
TIPS for Homemade Sweet Salsa for Canning Success
If you like heat, you can leave the seeds or veins in your jalapenos, or hot peppers! If you want a more mild salsa, use less jalapenos!
Make sure you wife the rim of the jar well, because This is a professionally tried and true tested recipe - DO NOT add extra ingredients to this salsa before canning it... Doing so will affect the acidity of salsa and can make it unsafe. You can always add ingredients after opening a canned jar before serving!
This is the best fresh salsa recipe but does not use tomato paste, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, green peppers, tomato sauce, poblano peppers, garlic cloves, white vinegar, or banana peppers. If you'd like to use other ingredients you may consider my other homemade salsas like: Chunky Salsa for canning and Mild Salsa for Canning!
How To Peel Tomatoes and Fruit for Canning
Place tomatoes and fruit into a pot of boiling water. Let them sit there for 30 to 60 SECONDS or till you see their skins start cracking. Then remove them right away and place them in a sink of very cold ice water for a short dip. Remove from cold water and skins will just slip right off!
How To Prevent Fruit From Browning
When you cut or peel fruit the oxygen hit it and they start turning brown pretty soon. You can prevent browning fruit by using a commercial product like the Ball Fruit Fresh Product protector. Use according to instructions on the container. Or, do what I do in the recipe, and place your chopped fruit into a blow of lemon juice and drain right before using!
How To Seed & Chop Peppers
My best advice is to use plastic gloves to protect your hands from hot peppers that can get into your eyes and irritate your skin... Then wash your hands really good after cutting hot peppers!
Using a sharp paring knife, cut jalapenos into quarters lengthwise. Then cut away the seeds and the ribs that hold them from each jalapeno pepper quarter. Of course, if you want a spicier salsa, just leave the seeds and membranes intact!
How To Serve Homemade Sweet Salsa for Canning
There are so many ways to use this salsa! It's great over eggs, with chips, stir 11/2 cup salsa with 16 oz cubed cream cheese and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. Stir well and serve hot with your favorite crackers, sliced sourdough bread or tortilla chips! This salsa is also awesome served with grilled flatbread!
How To Use Salsa For Quick Dinner
You can use this homemade sweet salsa for a quick chicken dinner too! Just combine 1 cup of this sweet salsa with 1 cup of your favorite Mayo and mix well. Place chicken breast in a casserole dish and spread the salsa mixture over the top. Sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs, or buttered dry stuffing and bake at 350 for 45 minutes till the internal chicken temperature reaches 165 degrees F!
Add one jar of salsa to a crockpot with 3 chicken breasts. Let cook all day on low, then shred chicken in salsa and juices and spoon over rice!
You May Also Enjoy These Canning Recipes
Chunky Salsa Canning Recipe
Mild Salsa Canning Recipe
Sweet Salsa Canning Recipe
Cowboy Candy, Candied Jalapenos Canning Recipe
Applesauce Canning Recipe without sugar!
Perfect Pickled Beets
Pickled jalapenos
Zesty Salsa Canning Recipe
Pie Cherry Canning Recipe
Zucchini Pineapple Canning Recipe (Mock Pineapple)
Thank You so much for stopping by the farmhouse! If you like this recipe, I'd love a 5 star review, and tag me on Instagram with your yummy creations@Farmhouse_Harvest!
Sources:
National Center for Home Food Preservation - USDA Applesauce Recipe
