This uncomplicated salsa adds some fresh coriander / cilantro for a fresh taste.
You can take it as hot or as mild as you wish.
The recipe comes from the Ball / Bernardin Complete book. The authors note, “In addition to making a great dip for corn chips, this salsa works well as a condiment for fajitas, burritos and quesadillas.”
The salsa has a bit of liquid that you can drain off if you want when you open a jar, and a mild heat that slowly builds, if you use a milder chile such as jalapeno.
The recipe
Jar size choices: Quarter-litre (½ US pint / 250 ml / 8 oz) OR half-litre (US pint / 500 ml / 16 oz)
Processing method: Water bath or steam canning
Yield: 4 x quarter-litre (½ US pint) jars
Headspace: 2 cm (½ inch)
Processing time: 15 minutes for quarter-litres (half-pints), 20 minutes for half-litres (US pints)

Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Home-canned tomatillo salsa from the Ball / Bernardin Complete book.
Ingredients
- 900 g tomatillos (chopped. 5.5 cups / 2 lbs, measured after prep)
- 175 g onion (chopped . 1 cup / 6 oz, measured after prep)
- 150 g chile peppers (chopped fresh hot green. 1 cup / 5 oz, measured after prep)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons coriander (aka cilantro. Fresh. Finely chopped (measured after prep)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt (OR non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub)
- ½ teaspoon chile flakes
- 250 ml white vinegar (5% or higher. 1 cup / 8 oz)
- 4 tablespoons lime juice (50 ml / 2 oz)
Instructions
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Husk tomatillos, wash stickiness off them, chop, add to a large pot.
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Wash onion, peel, chop, add to pot.
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Wash pepper, remove seeds, chop, add to pot.
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Peel and mince garlic, add to pot.
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Wash and chop the fresh coriander (cilantro), add to pot.
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Add all remaining ingredients to pot.
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Bring to a boil, stirring often.
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Lower to a strong simmer, and let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
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Ladle hot salsa into hot jars.
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Leave 2 cm (½ inch) headspace.
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Debubble, adjust headspace.
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Wipe jar rims.
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Put lids on.
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Process in a water bath or steam canner.
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Processed 15 minutes for quarter-litre (half-pint) jars; 20 minutes for half-litres (pints).
Reference information
How to water bath process.
How to steam can.
When water-bath canning or steam canning, you must adjust the processing time for your altitude.
For salt substitute, Herbamare Sodium-Free was used as it is non-bitter and non-clouding.
Australia and New Zealand vinegar strength special notes.
Recipe notes
- The pulse button on a food processor makes quick work of the chopping.
- For the hot pepper, we used 2 fresh green poblanos and one fresh green jalapeno for a somewhat hot taste. For hotter, you could use all jalapeno. By fresh, we mean as opposed to dried.
- If you don’t care about keeping the salsa all green, you may use any colour of fresh chile peppers.
- Instead of 4 cloves of garlic, you can use 2 teaspoons of minced garlic from an oil-free bottle of minced garlic.
Recipe source
- Tomatillo Salsa. In: Bernardin Guide to Home Preserving. Toronto, Canada: Bernardin Ltd. 2013. Page 58.
- Tomatillo Salsa. In: Kingry, Judi and Lauren Devine. Ball / Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving. Toronto: Robert Rose. 2015. Page 212.
Modifications:
- None
Note: the Ball / Bernardin Complete recipe, identical in all other ways to the Bernardin Guide, calls for only 125 ml (½ cup) of vinegar. We contacted Bernardin in Dec. 2016 to them to ask which version is correct. They said go with the 250 ml (1 cup), so we have.
Safety Check

A pH of 3.68, tested a month after canning.
Nutrition information
Regular version
Per 2 tablespoons
- 26 calories, 38 mg sodium
Salt-free
Per 2 tablespoons
- 26 calories, 3 mg sodium
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
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