Chipotle Salsa Recipe – A Hint of Smokiness
This Chipotle Salsa has a wonderfully deep, smoky flavor that adds an irresistible flavor to each bite. It’s one of my favorite salsas for canning, which means you can enjoy the bold taste of summer even when it’s snowing outside!
If you’ve been following BCC for a while, you already know we love our salsas. Just take a look at how many we’ve shared so far! This one stands out for its rich, smoky depth thanks to the magic of chipotle peppers.
What Are Chipotle Peppers?
Chipotle peppers are actually ripe, red jalapeños that have been smoked and dried. (If you let green jalapeños stay on the plant longer, they’ll turn red.) These are then rehydrated in adobo sauce, a savory blend of tomatoes, onions, garlic, vinegar, and spices. Holy cow, what a flavor punch!
💡 Lightbulb moment: I should definitely make Chipotle in Adobo from scratch. Excellent suggestion, dear reader! Got more ideas? Let me know in the comments—I love hearing from you!
What You Need
- Jalapeños: Use only red, ripe jalapeños. Do not use green jalapeños.
- Tomatoes: Fresh, ripe tomatoes from the garden are best. If you would like to peel the tomatoes, use the instructions in this post.
- Garlic: I like roasted garlic, but fresh garlic cloves will work as well.
- Onion: You can use yellow, white or red. I prefer yellow or white.
- Peppers: Fresh bell peppers, any color.
- Lime Juice: Use bottled lime juice if you are canning it.
- Salt: Use canning or kosher salt if you are canning it.
- Cumin: Ground cumin. Be sure to read the notes in the recipe card. Start with two tablespoons and adjust to your taste.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley is best but dried parsley will work. If using dry parsley, halve the quantity.
- Oregano: Again, fresh oregano is best. If you use dry oregano, halve the quantity.
How to Make Chipotle Salsa
Salsas are really easy. It looks like a lot of steps, but there is really little hands-on time.
First thing to do is rough chop your fresh tomatoes. You could use canned tomatoes, but the salsa will not compare to ripe, fresh tomatoes. Peel them if you’d prefer.
Place tomatoes in a large stainless steel saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a fast simmer. Simmer for about 1 hour.
I used roasted garlic; this photo is 14 cloves. If using fresh garlic, use only about 7-10. Dice up onions
Add the onion and garlic to the tomatoes in the pot.
Mince up about 7 peppers from a can of chipotle in adobo sauce. Add adobo juice to equal 1/2 cup.
Add to the pot. If you like a smooth salsa, purée the mixture. Be careful not to burn yourself.
Dice bell peppers; any color will work.
Add peppers, lime juice, and dried spices to the pot. Cook down for another 30 minutes, or until desired thickness is reached.
Once the desired consistency is reached, add fresh spices to the pot for the last few minutes. Meanwhile, as salsa cooks down, wash jars and lids. The jars don’t require sterilization since the salsa will be processed for 20 minutes.
Fill jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace at the top. This is my handy-dandy canning tool set. (affiliate link)
Wipe the edges of jars with a clean paper towel. Fix the two-part lid. Screw the band fingertip tight. You can see that the active time for this recipe is approximately 20 minutes. The best part, though, is that you have lots of salsa to keep you warm all winter long!
Get the canner water hot. Wash the jars and lids. Add the clean jars to the canning pot to heat. Once the jars are filled, add them to the canning pot. Bring the water in the pot to a boil. Once the water is boiling, set the timer.
When the processing time is complete, remove the pot from the heat, carefully open the lid, and partially lift it off the top of the canning pot. Let it rest like that for 5 minutes.
Then, remove the lid and let the jars rest in the canning pot for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
After resting, remove the jars onto a kitchen towel placed on your counter and let them thoroughly cool for 12-24 hours, undisturbed. You may hear the lids pinging sometime in the next hour. This is music to a canner’s ears. It is due to the reaction of the lids being sealed to the jar.
Check the seals. Press down in the middle of the lid. If it flexes up or down, the jar is not sealed and should be refrigerated and used first.
Then, remove the bands. Gently pick up the jar by the lid to check the seal further. Again, if it is not sealed, use it first.
Label jars with contents and the date. Store in a cool, dark place for at least a year. Avoid areas with large temperature fluctuations.
Do not stack jars on top of each other. This can compromise the seals. If you run out of room on your shelf, use a sheet of cardboard or a thin piece of wood and place that on top of a row of jars. Then you can put jars on top of that. This will distribute the weight evenly.
Before using any canned goods, always inspect the packaging and the food itself. Make sure that it looks and smells as it should. If it doesn’t, it’s best to err on the side of caution and discard it.
More Delicious Salsas
- Green Tomato Salsa
- Salsa Verde
- Roasted Garlic Salsa
- Peach Salsa
- Strawberry Salsa
- Roasted Corn and Bean Salsa
Helpful Tools
- Water bath canning pot
- extra large bamboo cutting board
- Canning tool set
- canning bands
- canning lids
- pint jars
- half pint jars
- ladle
Why You’ll Love This Salsa
The best part? You’ll end up with a batch of salsa that keeps you warm through winter. It’s spicy, smoky, and packed with flavor. And honestly, once you try it, you’ll never want to buy store-bought again.
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Chipotle Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 cups (4.5 lbs.) roughly chopped, rip tomatoes
- 14 cloves (about 2 heads) roasted garlic can substitute fresh garlic but cut down quantity to 7 or 8 cloves
- 1/2 large yellow, white or red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup chipotle peppers, chopped plus adobo sauce to equal about 1/2 cup
- 3 small bell peppers, any color, diced (3/4 cup)
- 4 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp Salt
- 6 tbsp ground cumin ***see important note below
- 1/2 cup parsley, fresh, can substitute cilantro If using dried, use 1/4 cup“
- 1/4 cup oregano, fresh, diced (heaping 1/4 cup) if using fresh, use 1 tbsp.
Instructions
- Chop tomatoes, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to a slow simmer. Simmer for about 1 hour.
- Add onions, garlic and chipotle peppers with the adobo sauce. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Add bell peppers, lime juice, salt and cumin. Simmer again for another 30 minutes, or until it is the consistency you prefer.
- Add parsley and oregano. Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
- If canning, wash and sterilize jars, pack salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Attach lids. Process for 20 minutes in water bath canning pot. Adjust for altitude. See the adjustment in the notes below. Allow to cool to room temperature. Check the seal after 24 hours. Any lids that flex up and down must be stored in the refrigerator. Store in a cool, dry place.
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!Notes
Nutrition
Originally published August 8, 2018. Updated June 24, 2025.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you click the link and purchase something, at no additional cost to you. See FTC Disclosure, here.
- Recipe Name: Chipotle Salsa
- Type: Condiment
- Main Ingredients: Ripe tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobo, garlic, onion, bell peppers, lime juice, cumin, parsley or cilantro, oregano
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours (20 minutes active time, 1 hour 40 minutes inactive time)
- Yield: 6 pints (192 tablespoons)
- Flavor Profile: Smoky, spicy, bold
- Storage: Shelf-stable when canned properly; refrigerate unsealed jars
- Bonus Tip: Adjust chipotle quantity for desired heat; blend tomatoes before simmering for a smoother texture
Too much cumin by a lot. I’ve been making salsa for years and hoped this would be something new and delicious. The chipotle flavor was nice, but not the amount of cumin. I would at least halve it. Thanks for the recipe!
I have to admit that I am a cumin addict. It’s one of my favorite spices. I’ll make a note in the recipe. Thanks for your take on it Candice!
Am I reading correctly? Do you not have to peel the tomatoes? Also, I’m a canning newbie and kinda terrified – is this enough acid?
No, Monica, I do not peel the tomatoes. You can if you like, but it is not imperative. And yes, this is enough acid! Thanks for checking out the recipe!
Do you can 1/2 pint or pints?
I do a few of both, depending on how big my batch is. My family goes through salsas pretty fast. If you don’t use a lot of salsas then use 1/2 pints, so they are used up faster after opening. Thank you for your question, Debbie!
This looks so tasty, and I’m a sucker for chilis in adobo. I have a bunch of mason jars leftover from a recent project, and you’ve given me an excuse to learn how to use them for their actual purpose!
It is fun! I think you may like it! Thanks Crystal!