Mild Jalapeño Salsa gives you fresh salsa flavor but without too much heat. This tested canning recipe is perfect for making in season to stock your pantry shelf. It’s an excellent choice for those who love salsa but prefer a milder kick.
Mild Jalapeño Salsa
My little ones love the flavor of homemade salsa, but they just can’t take the heat that their daddy loves in his spicy Jalapeño Salsa. This mild Jalapeño Salsa has just enough kick to keep things interesting, but it’s still perfect for kids and those with more sensitive palates.
I’m a medium salsa kinda girl myself, but I love this one, too, because I can really pour it on to enjoy the amazing flavor without getting overspiced. (Or, I can add a few pickled jalapenos to my meal to bring the heat up.)
One of the reasons that I love this recipe in particular is it’s a bit easier than others. The tomatoes are cored and chopped, but not peeled. That’s a lot easier than dipping each one in boiling water to peel them, and the salsa comes out better for it in my opinion. A bit more texture in the finished product, plus less work for the home canner.
You can, of course, peel the tomatoes if you prefer, but this is one of those nice recipes where peeling is completely optional and tested without peeling.
Mild Jalapeño Salsa
Ingredients for Mild Jalapeño Salsa
This is a tested canning recipe for mild jalapeño salsa adapted from The All New Ball Book of Canning. To make 3 to 4 half-pint canning batch, you’ll need the following:
- 2 lbs plum tomatoes, cored and chopped (about 10 medium)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup lime juice (fresh or bottled)
Generally, canning recipes use bottled citrus juice for a standardized acidity, but this particular recipe was tested by Ball Canning to be made with fresh lime juice if you so choose. Fresh lime juice will give you a much better flavor in the finished salsa, but either is fine for canning.
The original Ball Canning recipe says its yield is 6 half-pint jars (or 3 pints). I got just over 1 ½ pints, or 3 half-pint jars. Given that there’s barely 6 cups going into it as solids, there’s no way you’re getting that much once it’s cooked. I’ve found that yields from Ball Canning are almost always way off, usually about by this much. Keep that in mind when you’re working out of their canning books.
How to Make Mild Jalapeño Salsa
This particular salsa canning recipe is wicked simple, and you just toss everything into the pot to pre-heat before loading the canning jars.
If you’re canning, make sure you’ve prepared a water bath canner and jars before you start making the salsa. This one comes together quickly!
Combine all ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Canning this salsa is optional, and it can be safely stored as a refrigerator or freezer salsa. It’ll keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer. If freezing, be sure to use freezer safe jars or containers.
That said, I always prefer to can my homemade salsas. I’m always short on freezer space, and I love the convenience of being able to pull them off the pantry shelf any time of year. If properly canned in a water bath canner, homemade salsa maintains peak quality for 12-18 months, and is safe to eat so long as the jars remain sealed. Refrigerate after opening, of course.
Canning Mild Jalapeño Salsa
This recipe follows the standard canning instructions for most homemade salsas. Fill jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace, de-bubble, adjust headspace, wipe rims, and apply two-part canning lids to fingertip tight.
Load the jars into a preheated water bath canner and bring the canner up to a full rolling boil. Once the canner is boiling hard, process the jars for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude if above 1,000 feet in elevation.
Pint and half-pint canning jars may be used, but don’t use jars larger than a pint.
Altitude Adjustments
Water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes, so jars need to be processed a bit longer as you go up in elevation. Here are the altitude adjustments for canning mild Jalapeño Salsa:
- For 0 to 1,000 Feet in Elevation – Process pint and half pint jars for 15 minutes.
- For 1,001 to 6,000 Feet in Elevation – Process pint jar and half pint jars for 20 minutes.
- Above 6,001 Feet in Elevation – Process pint and half pint jars for 25 minutes.
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Mild Jalapeño Salsa
This Mild Jalapeño Salsa strikes the perfect balance between fresh flavors and just the right amount of heat. It’s an excellent choice for those who love salsa but prefer a milder kick.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs plum tomatoes, cored and chopped (about 10 medium)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup lime juice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a stock pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Ladle the salsa into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Process jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes for half pints and pints, adjusting for altitude.
Is this a Safe Salsa Canning Recipe?
This safe, tested salsa canning recipe follows guidelines set out by the National Center for Food Preservation.
You don’t have to can this recipe, it works fine as a refrigerator or freezer salsa as well. But, if you are canning this recipe, please follow the recipe to ensure safety.
The amount of acid in a salsa canning recipe cannot be lowered, so do not decrease the amount of vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, or citric acid. Similarly, do not change the amount of acidic ingredients (tomatoes, fruits, etc.).
Low-acid ingredients can be decreased or omitted. That means you can use fewer peppers or onions or skip them altogether, but don’t increase the amount.
In canning recipes, all peppers are considered equal, so you can substitute one type of pepper for another, provided you don’t increase the total amount. Similarly, one type of onion may be substituted for another; just don’t increase the total amount.
You can adjust the dry spices or salt to suit your tastes. Salt is not used for preservation in salsa canning recipes, just for flavor. Increase, decrease, or omit it as you see fit. The same goes for dry spices like cumin and oregano.
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