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Southwestern vegetable soup brings together corn, tomatoes, tomatillos, and a mix of peppers with bold southwest spices, giving you a shelf-stable jar of meatless soup that heats into a quick dinner any night of the year.
Table of Contents
- Notes from My Kitchen
- Quick Look at the Recipe
- Ingredients for Southwestern Vegetable Soup
- Southwestern Vegetable Variations
- How to Make Southwestern Vegetable Soup
- Canning Southwestern Vegetable Soup
- Altitude Adjustments
- How to Serve Southwestern Vegetable Soup
- Yield Notes
- Tips for Success
- Southwestern Vegetable Soup FAQs
- Soup Canning Recipes
- Southwestern Vegetable Soup Recipe
- Meal in a Jar Canning Recipes
This recipe has been reviewed for safety and accuracy by a Master Food Preserver certified through the University of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
This southwestern vegetable soup comes from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, so it is a tested pressure canning recipe that’s a favorite with home canners. It is a full-packed soup, meaning the jars are loaded with vegetables and just enough tomato juice and broth to fill the gaps, and it is processed in a pressure canner the way every low-acid soup has to be.
As written it is completely plant-based, which makes it one of the vegetarian soup canning recipes I keep on the shelf.
What I like about this one is how well it takes to additions at serving time. We have stirred in a jar of home-canned beans or some shredded canned beef to turn it into a heartier meal, and once mashed it up with chipotle black bean soup and a jar of canned sausage for a Tex-Mex stew. The bright southwest flavor makes it a nice change of pace from more traditional soups, and it is an easy way to put up a corn and pepper harvest.
Notes from My Kitchen
I usually make this in late summer when the corn is in and the peppers are coming on all at once, which is the same window when I am buried in tomatoes and tomatillos. The recipe is forgiving about the peppers, so I tend to use whatever is ripe in the garden that week, and one year that meant a jar or two seasoned with pickled banana peppers when the fresh ones ran out. It still came out tasting like summer in a jar.
A batch makes about 8 pints or 4 quarts, and I tend to can it in quarts because that works well for my family. On a busy night we open a jar, warm it through, and pile on tortilla chips and a little cheese, or stir in a jar of beans to stretch it further. It is the kind of pantry soup that makes a weeknight easier.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Recipe Name: Southwestern Vegetable Soup
- Recipe Type: Soup Canning Recipe (full-packed, vegetarian)
- Canning Method: Pressure Canning
- Prep Time: About 45 minutes
- Cook Time: About 15 minutes
- Canning Time: Pints 55 minutes, Quarts 85 minutes
- Yield: About 8 pints or 4 quarts
- Jar Sizes: Pints or quarts
- Headspace: 1 inch
- Ingredients Overview: Corn, tomatoes, tomatillos, carrots, onions, bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, southwest spices, tomato juice, broth or water, hot sauce
- Safe Canning Recipe Source: Ball Blue Book of Preserving
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Similar Recipes: Southwestern vegetable soup is close to other pressure-canned soups with a southwest streak, like taco soup and southwest tomato soup. For a meatless pantry, work through the rest of the vegetarian soup canning recipes or try chipotle black bean soup.
Ingredients for Southwestern Vegetable Soup
This recipe makes a batch of 8 pints or 4 quarts, and the measurements come straight from the Ball Blue Book. The vegetables are measured by volume after they are prepped, so you will find the exact amounts in the recipe card below. Here is what each part brings to the pot:
- Corn: Cut fresh from the cob for the sweetest flavor, though thawed frozen corn works just as well. If you have extra ears, there are plenty of other corn canning recipes to use them up.
- Tomatoes and tomatillos: The pair gives the soup its southwest backbone, with the tomatoes bringing acidity and body and the tomatillos adding a tangy note. Peel and seed the tomatoes before chopping, and husk the tomatillos.
- Carrots and onions: These round out the base and add a little sweetness against the heat of the peppers.
- Peppers: Red and green bell peppers for color and sweetness, banana peppers and jalapenos for a mild kick. Pickled banana peppers work fine here if you do not have fresh. You can find more ways to put up your harvest in the pepper canning recipes.
- Cilantro and seasonings: Chili powder, cayenne, black pepper, and hot sauce carry the heat, balanced by fresh cilantro. The cayenne is optional if you want it milder.
- Tomato juice and broth or water: These make up the liquid base. Use store-bought or homemade tomato juice, and water or vegetable broth depending on what is on hand.
The peppers are where you have the most room to make this your own. The recipe uses about 3 cups of peppers in total, and you can use any mix of sweet and hot peppers you like, or even all one type, as long as you keep that total amount the same. It calls for red, green, banana, and jalapeno, but that split is up to you.
If you would rather a less tomato-forward soup, you can use all vegetable broth in place of the tomato juice. What you should not do is stir in anything that thickens the pot, since flour, cornstarch, rice, pasta, and dairy are not safe to pressure can in a soup. Those go in when you reheat a jar to serve.
Southwestern Vegetable Variations
This is a tested recipe from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, and the processing time and pressure are what make it safe. Because it is built on low-acid vegetables, it has to be pressure canned and cannot be water bath canned or have its time shortened. The tomatoes, tomatillos, and tomato juice carry the acidity and most of the liquid, so keep those as written.
You have room to adjust the pepper mix as long as the total stays at about 3 cups, and you can swap the tomato juice for broth for a lighter soup. Hold off on thickeners, dairy, pasta, rice, beans, and meat until serving. If you want to change the vegetables more than that, follow the USDA guidance for building your own soup canning recipe instead, and note that the choice guidance uses longer processing times of 75 minutes for pints and 90 for quarts to cover a wider range of vegetables.
How to Make Southwestern Vegetable Soup
Like most canned soups, the work here is mostly in the prep, since everything gets washed, chopped, and measured before a short simmer. This is a hot pack recipe, so the soup is brought to a boil and simmered briefly before it goes into jars, which fills them cleanly and helps the heat penetrate.
Set out bowls so you can measure each vegetable by volume as you go, since the recipe is balanced around prepared amounts rather than whole vegetables. Once everything is chopped and measured, the rest comes together quickly.
Prepare the Vegetables
Wash everything well, then cut the corn from the cob and measure it out, or use thawed frozen corn. Peel and seed the tomatoes and chop them to measure, and husk and chop the tomatillos.
Slice the carrots into rounds, chop the onions, and chop all of the peppers, both sweet and hot. Mince the cilantro. Measure each one into its own bowl so everything is ready to go into the pot at once.
Simmer and Pack the Jars
Combine all of the vegetables, the tomato juice, the broth or water, and the seasonings in a large stockpot. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Ladle the hot soup into your prepared jars, leaving one inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles, adjust the headspace if needed, wipe the rims clean, and set the lids and bands on fingertip tight.
Canning Southwestern Vegetable Soup
This batch is sized to fit a standard canner load, and pressure canning has a minimum of 2 quarts or 4 pints, so plan to fill the canner. The yield lands at about 8 pints or 4 quarts depending on how full your vegetables measure.
To can, prepare your pressure canner, jars, and lids. Load the filled jars into the canner and add two inches of simmering water. Lock the lid into place, turn the heat to medium-high, and vent steam for a full 10 minutes before adding the gauge or weight. Bring the canner up to 10 pounds pressure for a weighted gauge or 11 pounds for a dial gauge, adjusting for your altitude as shown below.
Process pint jars for 55 minutes or quart jars for 85 minutes (1 hour and 25 minutes). When the time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner return to zero pressure on its own, with no forced cooling. Remove the jars, let them cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check the seals, label, and store.
Altitude Adjustments
With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change. Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning southwestern vegetable soup:
For dial gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 2,000 feet: 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet: 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet: 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet: 14 lbs pressure
For weighted gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet: 15 lbs pressure
How to Serve Southwestern Vegetable Soup
This soup is good straight from the jar, just heated and topped with a handful of tortilla chips, a little shredded cheese, or a dollop of sour cream. It also makes a solid base for a heartier meal, so stir in a pint of home-canned beans or some shredded chicken, pork, or beef once it is warming on the stove.
For something different, mix it with another jarred soup for a fusion stew. We have made a mashup with chipotle black bean soup and a jar of canned sausage, finished with shredded cheese and a few dashes of hot sauce. A scoop of cooked rice in the bowl stretches it into a full dinner.
Yield Notes
A full batch yields about 8 pints or 4 quarts. The exact count shifts a little with how generously your vegetables measure and how much you reduce the soup during the simmer.
If you have a larger pressure canner, the recipe doubles cleanly to fill it. If you scale it down instead, keep in mind the pressure canning minimum of 2 quarts or 4 pints, and hold the proportions steady rather than swapping vegetables in and out.
Tips for Success
Measure your vegetables by volume after they are chopped, not before, since the recipe is balanced around quarts and cups of prepared vegetables. That is especially true for the peppers, where the total of about 3 cups is what keeps the batch in line with the tested recipe.
Keep the simmer gentle rather than a hard boil so the corn and peppers hold their shape on the way into the jars. And resist the urge to thicken the pot or add beans before canning. Both are better stirred in when you reheat a jar to serve.
Before you head to the recipe card, here are a few questions that come up often with canned southwestern vegetable soup.
Southwestern Vegetable Soup FAQs
No. Southwestern Vegetable Soup contains low-acid ingredients, so it is not safe for water bath canning. You need to use a pressure canner to make safe, shelf-stable jars.
Yes. The recipe uses about 3 cups of peppers in total, and you can use any mix of sweet and hot peppers you like, or all one type, as long as you keep that total the same. Even pickled banana peppers work. Just do not increase the overall amount of peppers beyond what the recipe calls for.
Stir cooked beans or shredded meat in at serving rather than before canning. Adding them to the jars changes the density of the soup, and this recipe was not tested that way, so keep them as a serving-time addition along with toppings like cheese or sour cream.
Properly processed and sealed jars keep for about 12 to 18 months in a cool, dark place, though they stay safe longer. Refrigerate after opening and use within 3 to 4 days.
There are so many soups worth putting up for the pantry. Try a few more of these soup canning recipes:
Soup Canning Recipes
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Southwestern Vegetable Soup
Equipment
- Canning Jars, Lids and Bands
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 quarts corn kernels, uncooked
- 1 quart tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 2 cups tomatillos, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 3/4 cup banana peppers, chopped
- 1/4 cup jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 3 Tbsp cilantro, minced
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne powder, optional, for heat
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 quarts tomato juice
- 1 cup water or vegetable broth
- 4 tsp hot sauce
Instructions
- Wash and chop all of the vegetables. Peel and seed the tomatoes, and husk the tomatillos.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Prepare a pressure canner and hot jars.
- Ladle the hot soup into the jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
- Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims, and apply lids and bands to fingertip tight.
- Process at 10 lbs pressure for a weighted gauge canner or 11 lbs for a dial gauge, adjusting for altitude.
- Process pints for 55 minutes or quarts for 85 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the canner return to zero pressure naturally. Cool the jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check the seals before storing.
Notes
Adjust your pressure for elevation: Dial Gauge Canners
- 0–2,000 ft: 11 lbs
- 2,001–4,000 ft: 12 lbs
- 4,001–6,000 ft: 13 lbs
- 6,001–8,000 ft: 14 lbs
- 0–1,000 ft: 10 lbs
- Above 1,000 ft: 15 lbs
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looking to stock the pantry with full dinners in a jar? Browse a few more meal in a jar canning recipes:
Meal in a Jar Canning Recipes
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Do not have a pressure canner any more. Can this recipe be frozen?
Yes, this works just fine as a freezer recipe. Enjoy!
This is good. Can I add a little cooked turkey to each jar?
Yes, you can. If you do that, you’ll need to follow the “hearty soups” protocol described in this post on how to create your own meal in a jar canning recipe: https://creativecanning.com/choice-meal-in-a-jar-canning-recipe/
The main difference is that you’ll be processing the jars for 75 minutes for pints and 90 min for quarts.
Enjoy!
This is good. Got 7 qts, it makes a lot. I made it a little too hot by using a jar of my tomato juice which was hot. I will be careful with the peppers next time. Cooked a pot roast last night and will cube whats left in it for lunch today.
Lovely! It’s one of my favorites and I’m so glad you like it!
I bought a big bag of mixed frozen vegetables. Is it okay if I use the amounts added up. Also I am using can tomatoes and tomatillos. Is it safe to do that. I know this is switching the recipe but summer is gone and I want to can soup. I bought myself a presto electric canner for Christmas and this sounds good. Susie
Yes, you can make the changes you mention, that’s fine. In that case, you’ll be following the guidelines for hearty soups from the University of Alaska. I have those outlined here: https://creativecanning.com/choice-soup-canning-recipe/
Just make sure you use enough broth or water, as frozen and canned veggies don’t let off as much water as fresh ones. You want to make sure you have enough broth to cover everything and keep things from being too dense. Enjoy!
I’ve made a lot of vegetable soup canning recipes, and this one is by far my favorite. It has so much flavor! And it works really well when combined with other similar recipes, like a can of black beans or a can of chicken. Delicious on its own, but it’s also a really versatile meal base.
My wife and I prepare 16 pints of this vegetable soup every six months. It’s a great recipe.
That’s great to hear! We really love this one too.