The Best Large Batch Homemade Salsa
- Michelle Finethy
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
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Large batch, restaurant quality salsa made at home using fresh ingredients perfect for canning and storing for later to always have on hand!
My family goes through an unbelievable amount of salsa which is why it was so important for me to nail down a large batch salsa recipe and I've really out done myself with this one because its just flying off the shelves in our pantry! Using all the classic flavors of the south; tomato, jalepeno, onion, garlic, lime and cilantro I've added a few extra ingredients to really make it my own that Ican't wait to share with you!
Ingredients
For a full list of ingredients, check out the full recipe card at the bottom of this page!
The Classics
Any salsa will start you with these common ingredients tomato, jalepeno, onion, garlic, lime and cilantro. These just so happen to be the only things I grow in my garden to keep up with such high demand !
The Spices
Common spices include cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, and oregano. It is also not unheard of to supplement the garlic and onion already used with their powdered versions. Just below is where I make this recipe my own.
The Extras
Spinach Powder
You read that right. I add spinach powder to my homemade salsas for the added fiber and iron nutrients in each batch. The flavor is remarkable unnoticeable! It does deepen the overall color of the salsa, but can easily be passed off as my next ingredient. Interested in more powdered pantry ingredients? I have them all listed in my Amazon Store!
Ancho Peppers
An ancho pepper is a dried, ripe poblano. Poblano peppers will turn red after their green phase if left on the plant too long. The dried pepper gives an almost smokey taste to the salsa with very mild heat. In fact, jalapeños rank higher in heat at 2,500–8,000 Scoville Heat Units than the ancho with 1,000–2,000 Scoville Heat Units.
Seasonal Sweets
If you like salsa more on the sweeter side, I can recommend adding these ingredients based off their seasonal availability as they tend to be on the pricier side when purchased out of season.
Late Spring - Mango Salsa
Late Summer - Peach Salsa
Fall - Corn Salsa
Winter - Starfruit Salsa
Recommended Equipment to Make Large Batch Homemade Salsa Fast
When you are working with such a large quantity of vegetables, I highly recommend using the proper kitchen tools to make the task that much easier and faster! Of course, chopping by hand is a solid backup but I grew tired of this after seeing how messy my kitchen got from all the tomato juices!
Food Processor
Even the smallest will do (like mine shown above) Everything goes in and after a few pulses, you ready to start simmering.
Stock Pot
I was absolutely baffled at how much space 4 lbs of chopped tomatoes could take up in a pot, let alone add all the other ingredients! Simply put, large batch homemade salsa does require a large pot.
Water Bath Canner
If your limited on kitchen storage space, the stock pot listed above can act as your water bath canner. It does require a thorough washing after simmering your salsa, but hey, us home cooks gotta do what we gotta do! Otherwise, I'd jump straight into a pressure cooker because, I promise, one day you will be brave enough to graduate to that! You simply place the lid on loose WITHOUT the weighted gauge and it acts the same as this water bath canner. We love dual purpose kitchen equipment !!! Or just go with the regular water bath canner.. that's ok too.
How to Make Large Batch Homemade Salsa
Begin by chopping tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, and garlic and adding them to a large pot to simmer.
Discard the stems and seeds of the Ancho Chili peppers and submerge them in the pot to begin rehydrating with the juices of the other vegetables.
After about 10 minutes of simmering, your ancho chilis will have softened. Remove them from the pot and chop into small pieces. This is where a food processor works best because the ancho chilis will be hot, and you can chop them along with cilantro and lime juice.
Add chopped anchos, cilantro and lime juice to the pot and continue to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until majority of juices have reduced to about a tablespoon. It is now ready to be served or added to hot jars for water bath canning !
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does this Recipe Keep in the Fridge?
This large batch of homemade salsa will keep in the fridge for up to a week when stored in an airtight container.
How Do I Water Bath Can this Recipe?
For clarification, my methods of canning this recipe is considered Rebel Canning - meaning its not an explicitly approved recipe as featured on the National Center For Food Preservation website (theirs is far more acidic with the use of vinegar) which is backed by the science of food preservation and I will always recommend doing your research before attempting ANY food preservation, including my own.
That being said here is my rebel canning method:
I ladle my hot salsa into hot jars with 1 inch of headspace
Wipe Rims with vinegar and place sterile lids and rings finger tight
Slowly submerge jars into a pot. Add more water to pot so they cover jars 2-3 inches.
Bring to a rolling boil, covering with a lid can help heat things up faster.
Only once it is at a rolling boil, do i begin a timer for 20 minutes with a lid on.
After 20 minutes, remove from boiling water with jar gripper. place on counter covered with a towel to cool over night.
Wash outside of jars and remove rings before placing in storage
Is this Recipe Spicy?
Everyone's got their own internal scale of what's spicy and what isn't. For me, I'd say middle of the road 5/10. Definitely a mild that doesn't overpower the overall taste of the salsa or dish itself. To increase the spicy level, you can include more seeds of the jalapeno, or add even spicier peppers like chilis, or habaneros.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Absolutely. Because salsa is more liquid than anything else, I'd recommend portioning it out into these Soup Savers. That way you can just pop one out of the silicone mold super easy and have it de-thaw in the fridge over night.
Video Demonstration
Did you make this recipe?
I've got my plate ready 🍽️ so be sure to tag me!
