Chipotle Tomato & Red Pepper Salsa – Preserved by Water Bath Canning

What Makes This Salsa Different from Store-Bought?

I wanted to serve a few different salsas and dips for my early-summer fajitas-and-margaritas party, so this year thought I’d save some time and make some canned salsas ahead of time. This chipotle tomato salsa is slightly smoky, tangy, and preserved by water bath canning so it’s shelf-stable. With red bell peppers, sherry vinegar, and just the right amount of chili heat, it has more depth than any of the store-bought salsas I’ve found in Germany, where there’s zero tradition of Mexican food.

What’s great about making and canning salsa at home is that you can adjust the spice level and sweetness to your liking. Just keep the vinegar ratio the same, because that’s key to safe preservation. This recipe is processed in a boiling water bath, making it shelf-stable and ready to serve year-round.

This salsa is great with tortilla chips or spooned over fajitas. My friends devoured it, and the smoky chipotle flavor makes it stand out from anything you can buy in a jar.

Chipotle Tomato & Red Pepper Salsa

Old World Preserves – Julie Kaiser

This chipotle tomato and red pepper salsa is a smoky, shelf-stable recipe designed for water bath canning. Made with tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, and warm spices, it’s preserved safely in jars for long-term storage and full of bold flavor.

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Course Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Mexican

Ingredients

  

• 1 kg Tomatoes (just over 4 cups after chopping)
• 325 g Red bell pepper (about 2 fist-sized peppers)
• 100 g Red onion (1 small)
• 5.5 tbsp Vinegar (at least 5% acidity) (80 g)
• 2 tbsp Garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp Tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Salt
• 3 tbsp Sugar (adjust if you prefer more or less sweet)
• 1 tbsp Lime juice
• 1 tbsp Coriander seeds (course ground)
• 1 tsp Chipotle chili powder
• 2 Hot peppers of your choice (to taste)

Instructions

 

Make the salsa

• Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.

  Note: If you prefer a thicker salsa, you have two options. First, before cooking, toss the chopped tomatoes with a little salt, mix, and drain them through a sieve to remove excess juice. Or, simply cook the salsa longer until it reaches the thickness you like. You can also skip both – the salsa will just be a bit runnier, which some people like.
  
• Chop the peppers and onion into small pieces.
  
• Prepare the coriander. For this recipe, I used fresh, green coriander seeds from my garden. I mixed them with the salt and then crushed them with a mortar and pestle. You can also use ground, dried coriander or fresh, chopped cilantro leaves.
  
• In a large pot, combine all vegetables with vinegar, tomato paste, salt, sugar, lime juice, minced garlic, coriander, and chili powder.
  
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer.
• Cook until the salsa reaches your desired consistency, stirring regularly to prevent sticking.
  

Canning instructions

• Ladle the hot salsa into clean jars, leaving 2 cm headspace.
  
• Wipe rims and apply lids, seals, and clamps.
• Process in a water bath canner at 100°C for 30 minutes.