This post was originally published in March, 2018. The recipe has been updated. Please see recipe notes.
I keep thinking that as I get older time won’t go by so quickly. Wrong! Time seems to fly by even faster than ever. This is my way of explaining why it’s taken me so long to post this recipe for green tomato salsa! I suppose it’s all in your perspective. Instead of thinking that I’m ‘late’ in writing this, I should probably think that I”m sharing this recipe BEFORE you need it.
Ha! Problem solved.
So. Flashing back to November when we finally got a killing frost. (Global warming isn’t real, my ass!) We harvested a pretty good sized amount of green tomatoes.
We love fried green tomatoes but with this amount, I had to think a little bit out of the box. Thankfully I have a nice collection of Ball Blue Books. They are THE go-to guide for canning recipes. If you can find older copies, even better. Ladies back in the day knew how to preserve, or ‘put up’, the bounty of their summer harvest so it could be enjoyed later and the older editions have recipes that are hard to find.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have one of these books. You can also visit their website which has a great recipe for Green Tomato Salsa. You can also do a Google search for inspiration.
Bottom line is that you basically need to chop up a bunch of green tomatoes, peppers, onions and jalapenos – add some cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper and vinegar. Cook it and then jar it up!
Chop, chop, chop, chop.
Chop all of the veggies. I chopped mine fairly uniformly. Not too big. Not too small. Basically you want the consistency of a chunky salsa. You could use a food processor. Just be sure not to make it too liquid. Again, you're looking for a chopped consistency.Fast forward, it’s now March and we only have one jar left. We’ve been eating it with chips and pureeing it to make a sauce which is outstanding on steak, chicken and fish. So, folks, we have a winner!!!!!
If you’ve never canned before, this is a good place start. Would love to get your green tomato recipes or salsa recipes. Drop a link to your favorite in the comments.
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33 comments
Adds keep covering up the ingredients and I can’t remove them. This is very frustrating!
I’ve tried to duplicate the issue on my desktop and laptop and am not having the issue. The last ingredient in the list is vinegar . . . then the instructions. Let me know if you’d like me to email you the recipe! 😊
Do you leave the skins on the tomato or peel?
I leave the skins on but I imagine you could peel them in you like.
Do you core them? I don’t mind the seeds and the ‘maters are small. Thanks!
If the core is big, I’ll cut them out. Normally, though, I just toss everything into the food processor and just remove any blemishes. Let me know how yours turns out!
I would suggest substituting something other then vinegar for the acidity so as not to give the salsa the vinagery taste. Maybe lime juice or citric acid so it doesn’t affect the flavor at all. I made the recipe and was kind of thrown off by the vinegar taste.
Have you made a batch with out the viniger, and with the citric acid?
Yes. Can U email me the recipe. Am confused. If cooking till veggies are soft x then adding vinegar.. what liquid ate the veggies cooking in? They will make their own. But not at the beginning.
Hi Anita. Great question! If you run the veggies through a food processor, there’s plenty of liquid. You’ll see that’s what I did in the photos showing how I made the recipe. Place the processed veggies in your pot and then cook until they’re soft. Good luck!
PS – You should be able to print the recipe or use the share link to email it. Hope this is helpful.
processing time please😉
15 minutes. Let me know how it turns out!
Making now. Smells amazing! Great use of green tomatoes.
Great!!!! Let me know if/how you modified yours.
Would it freeze ? It’s hard finding canning lids
It might. I’ve never tried it and I’m not sure how freezing would affect the consistency. I use it a lot to add to soups, stews and sauces so if you’re going to cook with it, you should be fine. If you’re going to eat it fresh, it will be probably be very liquid-y (is that a word???) when you thaw it. I agree. Finding lids right now is a major pain so if you try freezing it and it works I’ll add your recommendations to the recipe. Good luck!
I love it, I added sweet corn and black beans. Delicious, husband can’t get enough.
Terrific idea! Will have to give it a try. Glad hubby is happy!
Can I use fresh limes instead of bottled lime juice?
I only use vinegar for this recipe. I’ve never tried fresh lime juice. Give it a go and let me know how you make out!
Are you using white or apple cider vinegar and regular salt or pickling salt?
I use white vinegar and kosher salt. Hope that’s helpful!
What a delicious salsa! It came out spicier than expected; my jalapeños weren’t overly hot. I used 1/4 cup lime juice and 1/4 vinegar.
I’m curious what the shelf life might be?
Properly processed home canned foods have a long shelf life – 12 to 18 months. Ours never lasts that long. 😊
I’m always looking for new recipes for canning and hubby saw this a couple days ago. So I Made this today and was pleasantly surprised how tasty it is. I opted for 2 TBS of red wine vinegar and 1/4c. of lime juice in ln place of 1c. vinegar. I also use citric acid.
Glad you are enjoying this! I also appreciate the recipe notes.
Really enjoyed this recipe. If you add a pint of chicken broth and blend until smooth, it makes a wonderful green enchilada sauce!
That’s a fantastic idea! And I will definitely be following your recommendation. Please be sure to leave a review too. Thank you!
Like this. Going to pull my green tomatoes. I added some red bell and a few hot peppers. I would add alittle more salt. I didn’t find the vinegar too strong. It probably depends on the tomatoes. Will make another batch tomorrow.
So glad you enjoyed it! It’s a good base recipe and you can add whatever you want to it, like hot peppers. Sounds great!
Made it yesterday with the last of my tomatoes. I love fresh salsa from the garden and was not a fan of canned but hated to see so many green tomatoes (and a few reds go to waste. I substituted a cup of lime juice for the vinegar. Added a mango ( I freeze them in season). And a bit more cumin. Used just a few jalapeño and some bell peppers. Came out great! Was a hit with my whole family. Will definitely keep this recipe for next year! Thanks!
I just picked the last of mine too and will be whipping up a batch. Love the idea of adding mango! If you wouldn’t mind, please rate the recipe. It really helps others when deciding if they should go for it.
Could you pressure can this recipe? I don’t mind waterbathing it but I just got my first pressure canner and I’m having a lot of fun using it so I’d prefer pressure canning at the moment.