Homemade Salsa for the blender and freezer

Homemade Salsa is a homegrown, homemade tomato-pepper condiment made for nachos, chip dipping and lots of other Mexican Cuisine uses. Try it on burritos, huevos rancheros, in casserole, enchiladas, taquitos….so good! It’s also Low-​Fat, Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-​Free and Gluten-​Free!

When you have a kitchen drowning in tomatoes and peppers, making salsa must happen! I have a  Fresh Tomato salsa recipe  I made last year. This year I wanted another recipe, more Pace Picante, with no cilantro. I don’t like cilantro (my husband does). This year’s recipe for homemade salsa includes cilantro, but I didn’t put any in mine.

This Homemade Salsa is inspired by our friend Chris. Chris and his wife have made their own, excellent salsa for many years with their garden grown Roma tomatoes. So Dave requested Chris’ recipe and this is what he got! Chris emailed him this picture! We laughed and laughed!!

Notice! There is not a single measured ingredient! Chris and his wife make their recipe by taste every year.(I think he was being funny, but it’s true!) For a gardener that actually makes sense. Every year the crops will be different. We try different varieties of vegetables and our salsa has in it most often what we grow. It creates a rather unique experience in the kitchen every year. 

I wrote down the proportions I used. Even my method is different than Chris’. I made my salsa in my huge soup pot. I had a TON of peppers to use  So my salsa uses a lot of peppers. I needed to cook the recipe so I can freeze the salsa.

To make this recipe like Chris. Make it as a small batch.  Just put everything you see on the envelope picture in the blender and push the pulse button until it’s as chunky or fine as you desire. I have made it in the blender. It’s very Pico De Gallo that way and EXCELLENT raw. (you will have to guess on the proportions though)

We love this Homemade Salsa. My son in law took a pint over to his house for game night. The football spectators devoured this salsa before the game finished! This recipe is really very similar to Pace’s. We love their salsa. We love this one too!

This year I have my lovely freezer waiting in the basement. It is already full of peppers and tomatoes that I dried in my Harvest Maid food dryer.

If you have dried tomatoes and peppers they are great for thickening the salsa to your desired thickness. Sun dried tomatoes can also be added for extra flavor and thickness. I make a marinara sauce that would be great in this recipe instead of the canned tomato sauce, as well.

Homemade Salsa From The Back of the Envelope Recipe Notes:

You’ll notice Chris’ recipe is different from mine. I cook mine, he doesn’t. We enjoy his version using the blender. It holds several days in the refrigerator.  But you must use the cooked method if you choose to freeze this salsa!

I am using different tomatoes and peppers than Chris calls for.  Paste type tomatoes require less cooking down. Use what you have and adjust the recipe accordingly.

I made a huge batch of salsa so I have extra to freeze.  In this post I give directions for quick peeling tomatoes. I did not peel my tomatoes this time. We love salsa with some texture and fiber!

I also use tomato paste and dried tomatoes in my recipe. This is because my tomatoes are too juicy for the perfect saucy consistency we need for salsa! 

If you use Roma or Plum tomatoes for salsa and then you may follow Chris’ recipe more closely. We loved the addition of the dried tomatoes and peppers for that extra sweet zing in the salsa. But I wouldn’t have needed them if I had used Roma tomatoes.

Dave suggested the balsamic vinegar addition to my recipe. It was perfect! Just the right amount of piquant sweetness to blend the salsa flavors together. Serve this salsa fresh from the pot. Hot or cold! It freezes well and if you prefer to pressure can this recipe it makes great gifts.

Go to the National Center For Food Preservation Salsa Canning Page for more information on canning.

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