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Southwestern Corn and Tomato Salsa combines sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, and a kick of flavor from spices and peppers, making it perfect for dipping or as a topping for just about anything.
Corn salsas are great because they the sweet corn adds both crunch and a bit of sweetness to balance the vinegar and heat of a traditional salsa. The thing about corn salsas though, is that they can sometimes be a bit uni-dimensional.
They have plenty of corn, but often not too much else going on in terms of flavor.
What I love about this recipe is that it has amazing, complex flavor, and it’s quickly becoming my favorite home canned corn salsa recipe.
This particular recipe is inspired by a tested recipe from The Joy of Pickling; I’ve made a few tweaks to elevate this salsa. Or, I should say, turn it into a salsa.
The original recipe is for a “Corn Relish,” but I’ve adapted it using canning-safe substitutions, and now it’s nothing like a relish and all salsa with tomatoes, hatch chili peppers, cumin, and Mexican oregano. I’ve had plenty of corn relishes, and they’re lovely beside fish cakes, or anywhere you have a dish that could use a little sweet, tangy crunch. This recipe just screams salsa to me, and when I make it, I doubt anyone would call it a relish.
Ingredients for Southwestern Corn and Tomato Salsa
This tested canning recipe is adapted from The Joy of Pickling. To make about 4 pints, you’ll need the following:
- 1 quart fresh corn kernels
- 3 cups tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
- 1 cup green bell pepper, diced (about 1 pepper)
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tsp cumin (my addition)
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano (my addition)
- ½ cup canned Hatch chilis (or fresh, roasted, skinned and seeded)
The spices in this recipe are my own additions, and you can feel free to add or change any of the dried spices and salt without impacting canning safety.
For the peppers, I’m using part bell peppers and part canned hatch green chilis to give it a southwest flavor. YOu can use any pepper you’d like, and all hatch chilis would give it a more intense flavor and a bit more heat. (Hatch Chilis from New Mexico come in Mild to hot as well, so you can adjust your heat that way.)
The hatch chilis can also be fresh, but you’d need to roast, skin, and seed them in that case.
Don’t decrease the amount of cider vinegar in this recipe, as that’s what makes it safe for canning.
How to Make Southwestern Corn Salsa
To start, combine all the ingredients in a stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. This allows the flavors to meld beautifully while the corn retains its sweet crunch.
Next, ladle the hot salsa into prepared jars, ensuring you leave a ½ inch headspace at the top.
Canning Corn Salsa
Canning this salsa is a fantastic option, but you can also store it as a refrigerator or freezer salsa. If you choose the latter, it will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer. Just make sure to use freezer-safe jars or containers!
I personally prefer to can my homemade salsas. With limited freezer space, having jars on the pantry shelf ready to go is a game-changer. Properly canned, this salsa will maintain its peak quality for 12-18 months and remains safe to eat as long as the jars are sealed. Just remember to refrigerate after opening.
For canning, follow the standard instructions: fill the jars, leaving a ½ inch headspace, debubble, adjust the headspace if needed, wipe the rims, and apply two-part canning lids until they’re fingertip tight.
Load the jars into your preheated water bath canner and bring it to a full rolling boil. Process the jars for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude if necessary (see below).
Altitude Adjustments
Since water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations, processing times need to be adjusted. Here are the guidelines:
- 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 and half-pint jars for 20 minutes.
- Above 6,001 Feet in Elevation: Process pint and half-pint jars for 25 minutes.
Southwest Corn and Tomato Salsa
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Quart fresh corn kernels, or frozen
- 3 cups tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
- 1 cup green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- ½ cup canned Hatch chilis
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a stock pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.
- Ladle into jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes (adjust for altitude).
Notes
Altitude Adjustments
Since water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations, processing times need to be adjusted. Here are the guidelines:- 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 and half-pint jars for 20 minutes.
- Above 6,001 Feet in Elevation: Process pint and half-pint jars for 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Salsa Canning Recipes
Putting up more salsa this season? Check out these canning recipes for homemade salsa:
- Green Tomato Salsa Verde
- Cranberry Salsa
- Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa
- Tomatillo Salsa
- Pineapple Mango Salsa
