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Spicy Jalapeño Salsa is a classic homemade salsa, and it’s perfect for anyone looking to add a little heat to their plate. With plenty of fresh jalapenos, this simple home-canned salsa recipe packs a punch!
There are so many ways to make homemade salsa, and these days, you’ll find everything from tomatillo green sauce to pineapple salsa beside chips and dip at any gathering. Still, most people reach for a simple and satisfying jalapeño salsa for their day-to-day cooking.
Spicy jalapeño salsa recipes can be a bit hard to find, since the more peppers you use in a recipe, the harder it is to make it safe for home canning. This particular recipe was developed and tested by Ball Canning, so you know it’s perfect for waterbath canning.
The recipe uses a 1:1 ratio of tomatoes to Jalapeño peppers, so it does come out quite spicy (and full of pepper flavor). If you’d like to scale it back a bit, you can replace the peppers in this recipe with any type of pepper, hot or sweet. Or, it might be just simpler to make my tested mild jalapeño salsa canning recipe.
Ingredients for Spicy Jalapeño Salsa
This recipe is adapted from the Ball Blue Book of Home Preserving, and it is a safe, tested salsa canning recipe. T0 make a 3 pint canner batch, you’ll need the following:
- 3 cups tomatoes (cored, peeled and chopped)
- 3 cups jalapeno peppers (seeded and chopped)
- 1 cup onions (peeled and diced)
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cumin
Feel free to reduce the total amount of peppers and onions in this recipe, but do not increase them. Likewise, you can increase the vinegar, but you can’t decrease it.
If you’d like a more citrus-y salsa, you can substitute lemon or lime juice in place of the vinegar. Be aware that this really changes the flavor, and I’d suggest substituting no more than 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the vinegar with lime juice for the best flavor (otherwise, it’ll be really lime-y).
The salt and seasonings are optional, and you can substitute other dry spices in place of those to suit your tastes. Some people like a bit of sugar in their salsa to balance the acidity, and that’s fine for canning, too.
How to Make Spicy Jalapeño Salsa
This salsa comes together quick, once all the ingredients are prepared.
With this many jalapenos in a salsa, it takes a little while to stem, seed and dice them. For three cups of diced jalapenos, you’ll need about a dozen good sized jalapenos.
I’d reccomend wearing gloves when seeding and chopping them. (You can leave the seeds in if you want, but I find that it gives an off flavor and texture to the salsa and not really much more heat.)
Cut off the top stem end, and then slice the jalapenos in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and then dice the peppers.
Next up, you’ll peel, core, and dice the tomatoes.
Dice the onions, mince the garlic, and chop the cilantro.
Combine all ingredients in a stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Ladle into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
Process jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes (pints and half pints), adjusting for altitude.
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 Spicy 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 spicy 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.
This recipe is tested for canning in half-pint and pint jars, but there are no times established for canning quarts. Keep to pints or smaller.
Serving Spicy Jalapeño Salsa
The recipe recommends letting the flavors “mature” for 3-4 weeks before enjoying them to help round out the flavor. This salsa has more jalapenos than most, and you can substitute sweet peppers in place of some of the jalapenos for a milder salsa.
This particular salsa is great anywhere you’d use salsa, and it has a really classic flavor. I like it on my morning eggs, and I’ll use it to top avocado toast. It’s also great for topping soups, especially soups like tortilla soup.
And, obviously, it’s great on burritos, tacos, and as a dip.
Salsa Canning Recipes
Looking for more salsa canning recipes?
Spicy Jalapeño Salsa
Ingredients
- 3 cups tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped
- 3 cups jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup onions, peeled and diced
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a stock pot or Dutch oven.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Ladle the salsa into prepared jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Process jars in a water bath canner for 15 minutes (for pints and half pints).
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