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Salsa Ranchera is a classic Mexican salsa made with slow-roasted tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions. The roasting process brings out incredible flavor, and helps to ensure that your finished salsa is thick and dippable. This simple, tested canning recipe is sure to please, and it’s a great way to preserve this unforgettable salsa right on your pantry shelf.
Salsa Ranchera, also sometimes known as Slow-Roasted Mexican Tomato Sauce, is a staple in Mexican cuisine, celebrated for its smoky flavor and versatility. Traditionally made with roasted tomatoes and jalapeños, it’s commonly used as a condiment for tacos, enchiladas, and grilled meats.
The roasting process enhances the natural sweetness of the vegetables while imparting a rich, charred flavor that sets it apart from other salsas. This flavorful salsa is perfect for those who appreciate a bit of heat and depth in their dips and sauces.
Ingredients for Salsa Ranchera
This particular recipe is a tested salsa canning recipe developed by Ball Canning, and it’s adapted from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving.
To make a 3-pint canner batch, you’ll need:
- 3 lbs paste tomatoes, cored
- ¾ lb jalapeño peppers (about a dozen medium)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 medium onion, cut into ½ inch slices
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ⅓ cup lime juice
The recipe says that it makes 4 pints, but Ball almost always overestimates yields. I ended up with a bit under 3 pints, but the actual amount will vary a bit based the peel/seed ratio in your tomatoes.
This salsa is traditionally made with jalapeño peppers, but you can use any peppers you like, hot or sweet, and still have the recipe be safe for canning. That’s a great way to adjust the heat of the recipe, since with ¾ of a pound of peppers this recipe comes out quite spicy.
Make it even hotter by adding a a few very hot peppers like habaneros, or make it milder by substituting in a portion of sweet pepper.
The veggies are roasted in this recipe, which really is the key to getting great flavor.
How to Make Salsa Ranchera
To start, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).
Once it’s hot, arrange all the vegetables—tomatoes, jalapeños, onion, and garlic—on a baking sheet.
Roast them for about 20 minutes, then remove the garlic cloves to keep them from overcooking. Rotate the baking sheet and let the other vegetables continue roasting for another 20 minutes until they’re soft and starting to char.
After that, let the roasted veggies cool enough to handle.
While the veggies are cooling, prepare a water bath canner, jars, rings, and lids.
Then, peel the tomatoes and chop them coarsely. You can chop the onions as well. If you want, slip the skins off the jalapeños (though leaving them on is perfectly fine), remove the stems, and decide whether you want to take out the seeds for a milder salsa or leave them in for some extra heat.
Now, combine all the ingredients—chopped tomatoes, diced jalapeños, onions, garlic, salt, cilantro, and lime juice—in a stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. This ensures the salsa is heated through for a hot pack, and helps distribute the lime juice to make sure everything is properly acidified for canning.
Notes: Peeling and seeding the jalapeños is optional. The peels aren’t tough like those of other peppers, and leaving the seeds in will give you a spicier salsa.
Canning Salsa Ranchera
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 often short on freezer space, and I love the convenience of being able to pull them off the pantry shelf any time of year.
After simmering, ladle your salsa into prepared canning jars, making sure to leave a ½ inch headspace. Cap the jars with two-part canning lids and twist the rings on to finger tight.
Finally, process both pint and half-pint jars for 20 minutes in a water bath canner. (This recipe has not been tested for quart jars.)
If properly canned in a water bath canner, homemade salsa maintains peak quality for 12-18 months and is safe to eat as long as the jars remain sealed.
Remember to refrigerate after opening!
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 salsa ranchera:
- For 0 to 1,000 Feet in Elevation – Process for 20 minutes.
- For 1,001 to 6,000 Feet in Elevation – Process for 25 minutes.
- Above 6,001 Feet in Elevation – Process for 30 minutes.
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Salsa Ranchera
Ingredients
- 3 lbs paste tomatoes, cored
- ¾ lb jalapeño peppers, about a dozen medium
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 medium onion, cut into ½ inch slices
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ⅓ cup lime juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Arrange all vegetables on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves, rotate the sheet, and continue baking for another 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool, then peel tomatoes and coarsely chop. Chop onions.
- Slip skins from jalapeños (optional), remove stems, and finely dice.
- Combine all ingredients in a stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Process half-pint jars for 15 minutes and pint jars for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
Notes
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 salsa ranchera:- For 0 to 1,000 Feet in Elevation – Process for 20 minutes.
- For 1,001 to 6,000 Feet in Elevation – Process for 25 minutes.
- Above 6,001 Feet in Elevation – Process for 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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.
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