Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa Recipe
Use up garden tomatoes and zucchini with this Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa Recipe, a fresh tomato salsa that yields 26 pints of salsa.
Friends, today I’m sharing a classic salsa recipe that I have canned for years, a Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa Recipe. Years ago we had 12 garden beds with a lot of heirloom tomatoes. [This post is updated and reposted from 9 years ago here on RE.]
Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa Recipe
We “put up” 26 pints of delicious sweet smokey salsa.
I love that term, “put up,” don’t you? It sounds so … old-fashioned and lovely!
I know my Mom and Grandma talked about canning that way. :)
How do you eat zucchini salsa?
This recipe yields 26 pints of delicious homemade salsa! Besides the normal way of enjoying with your favorite chips, try these ways to eat this salsa:
- This salsa is delicious served with taco salad!
- You can also substitute for half of the tomato sauce in meatloaf – so good!
- Or, dump it over scrambled eggs or omelets for breakfast or brunch!
- Also, great in breakfast burritos!
And if you haven’t tried my other canned zucchini recipe, Sweet Zucchini Relish, then you’re missing out!
Ingredients for zucchini salsa:
- Shredded zucchini
- Onions, shredded
- Green and red bell peppers
- Pickling salt
- Dry mustard + garlic powder + cumin + red chili powder
- Liquid smoke (optional, but this give a nice smokey flavor)
- White vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Cilantro
- Jalapeno peppers
- Ground pepper
- Heirloom or gardenn tomatoes (a lot of them)
- Cornstarch
- Tomato paste
When we had our garden beds, my goal was to try to not let any of of it go to waste.
How to can salsa
Canning salsa is easy!
- The first day: In a large bowl combine; Zucchini, onions, green pepper, red pepper and the salt Mix together cover and let stand over night. This is the brining process.
- The second day. Next day rinse, drain well and put into a large pot then add mustard, garlic, cumin, vinegar, brown sugar, pepper flakes, salt,cornstarch, pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, tomatoes and tomato paste. Don’t forget the liquid smoke for a “smokey” flavor.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Pour into sterilized jars and seal.
- Water bath jars for 15 minutes.
What is the best water bath canner?
I’ve been using my Graniteware Water Bath Canner for years, and it’s fantastic! It has plenty of space for jars, it heats evenly, and it’s incredibly durable. It also comes with a rack insert to make it easy to pull your hot jars out once they’re done processing, and it costs around $25. If you prefer an electric canner to save stovetop space, the Ball Electric Water Bath Canner and Multi-Cooker is another option, but it costs about $350.
Can you use frozen zucchini?
People ask me all the time and I’ve never tried it, but I would only use fresh zucchini.
Friends, this is the best salsa I’ve ever tasted. I followed the recipe exactly, and I’ve made many batches over the years!
A homemade jar of salsa
I try to use as much of my own garden produce as possible for this recipe, only buy the red and green peppers. But you can buy the onions and jalapeno peppers, etc. if you don’t grow those.
It’s always a hit, and we used to give lots away as gifts.
Everyone loves a homemade jar of salsa!
Appliances for making zucchini salsa
We love our Cuisinart food processor. It makes canning much faster and easier, than chopping or shredding by hand.
You can buy it, here.
Salsa canning tips:
-If using Roma tomatoes, you may get away with using less tomato paste.
-You can substitute parsley for the cilantro if needed.
-Always use kitchen gloves when cooking with jalapeno peppers.
Not only does this recipe call for tomatoes, which are high in acidity, it also calls for vinegar. Using vinegar with a 5% acidity also makes it safe for water bath canning. There are a few more tips below.
It’s funny, everyone seems to have a “secret ingredient” when canning salsa.
So we added in Liquid Smoke to get a “smokey” flavor.
To die for!
ENJOY!
This recipe is completely safe
NOTE: There’s lots of debate regarding whether you need to pressure can or just use water bath for canning salsa. Because this recipe has vinegar and canning salt, it adds enough preservative and brings up the acidity level to the point where pressure processing is not necessary. My recommendation for any canning is that you need to research yourself what is best for each recipe and the ingredients involved though! Please refer your safe or not safe questions to the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
More salsa recipes (that don’t require canning):
The Best Homemade Salsa Recipe
Get the Recipe:
Sweet Smokey Zucchini Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 30 cups peeled shredded zucchini
- 12 small onions, shredded (6 large)
- 6 green peppers, chopped or shredded
- 6 red peppers, chopped or shredded
- ¾ cup pickling salt
- 3 Tablespoons dry mustard
- 3 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 3 Tablespoons cumin
- 2 Tablespoons red chili powder
- 3 Tablespoons Liquid Smoke
- 6 cups white vinegar
- 2 ¼ cups brown sugar
- 2 cups cilantro, chopped
- 10-15 jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 3 tsp. ground pepper
- 15-20 cups chopped ripe tomatoes, leave skins on
- 3-4 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 12 oz. cans tomato paste
Equipment
- Food processor (I use my Cuisinart food process all the time)
- Large bowl (I like that this set includes several sizes)
- Large pot (Le Creuset pots are so great)
- Mason jars (Use these glass jars for storing dry goods, too)
- Hot water canner (This is a classic canner that's easy to use)
Instructions
- Day ONE: Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix well and let stand overnight in the refrigerator.
- Day TWO: Rinse and drain the zucchini and onion mixture well.
- Put into a large pot with all other ingredients.
- Bring to a boil; simmer for 15 minutes.
- Pour mixture into hot jars and process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Hi there! I love this recipe and have made it several times – it ALWAYS gets rave reviews!! I’m planning to can this weekend and wondered if I might be able to use a steam canner? I have a water bath canner, but it would be great to have both going at once and cut down a bit of the canning time. Do you know if there would be any issues in doing so? Thanks in advance.
I have never used a steam canner. I’m sorry I can’t make a recommendation for that :)
I made this last year, but I can’t remember if I took the seeds out of the tomatoes or not. Is that something that I should be doing?
You do not need to remove the seeds from the tomatoes!
oh this sounds sooo delicious and I’m excited to give it ago. my question was kind of answered by another lady that said she cut the recipe in half. for me by myself it’s still a bit too much. I was wondering if I cut it down by half again if you thought there would be any sort of safety issues?
You can cut the recipe in half!
What can I use instead of tomato paste
Hi Bette, we only recommend following the recipe exactly how it is written.
excellent
First time making sweet smoky zucchini salsa. I cut the recipe in half and didn’t put all the hot peppers in. Only used one big red Chili pepper and didn’t put in any cornstarch.Was nice and thick . Very tasty,will make this recipe again for sure. I got 16 pints .
I was wondering what the brining does for this recipe?
Do you know if it is possible to use canned tomatoes for this recipe?
Hi Robin, I would only use fresh. But if you do make it with canned, tell us what you think?
do you have a small batch recipe?
Hi Sarah, we’ve only made this big recipe (many times). You can cut it in half if you need to.
Are any kinds of squash good with this recipe? I have tons of summer squash.
Hi Matt, we’ve only made this with yellow and green zucchini. We haven’t made it with other summer squash. Let us know if you try it.
Can you use cherry or Roma tomatoes in this recipe?
I would think that you could, as long as they are juicy!
Is this recipe safe to can if you cut it in half?
Hi Karen, I’ve never halved this recipe, but I don’t see why you couldn’t.
I have made this salsa twice and just love it! I added roasted Chile peppers instead of liquid smoke and it is just so yummy. This is a five star for me for sure.
So easy and delicious! First timer and easy to follow!
You call for 5-15 cups tomatoes. What is best, 5-10-15? Is it still safe to guess with these? I am trying it today. Sounds good but want to be safe,
Hi Susie! I just looked at the recipe and it’s 15-20.
15-20 cups chopped ripe tomatoes, leave skins on
I was looking for something fun and interesting to use my glut of zucchini and my home canned tomatoes and I was surprised by this recipe. Very tasty. I didn’t think it needed the cornstarch. If I thought it did, I would have added clearjel to make it safe for canning. Excellent. I’ll make it again for sure. Thanks!
Making this again, canning it this morning. Forgot to add cilantro, but it still tastes wonderful. My zucchinis are still going strong. This salsa may now be my favorite way to use large zukes…this and bread. thanks again.
I don’t normally comment on recipes, but OMG this is so good!
We cut the recipe in half due to supply and space constraints. We did a combination of white and apple cider vinegar and added some cayenne pepper.
Next year we plan to double our zucchini plants so we can make more. I wonder how this would be on top of rice with some blackbeans for a meatless meal….
So happy you enjoyed it. It’s our fave, too!
Question. Why do you leave tomato skins on? I just have a issue with skins and usually peel most of my stuff. Just a texture thing with me.
Absolutley no need to peel the tomatoes at all for this recipe. If you prefer skinless, totally up to you :) Either way, it’s a delicious recipe.
It’s that time of year again! Zucchini are starting to pile up on my counter, and I am so excited to put up some of this fabulous salsa this week. I tried it for the first time last year and it was just amazing. Like others have said, I gave some away as gifts and anyone who tried it has asked for more. THE BEST.
Is it possible to make this in a small batch and just put it in the refrigerator vs. canning it?
Yes, of course! I’d use it up within a week or 2 though, in the fridge!
So yummy! The perfect Christmas gift here in Australia 😁
Can anyone tell me what shelf life you recommend?
Thanks for a great recipe.