My family loves salsa; we eat it on everything from eggs to tacos. My boys can polish off a quart of salsa and a couple of bags of tortilla chips in no time flat. Sometimes I like to serve a salsa that has a little extra nutrition, you know, to counter the bags of tortilla chips. That’s when I pull out our black bean and corn salsa recipe.

Normally I just make black bean and corn salsa as we want it but this summer I decided to can some with our garden tomatoes, onions and peppers. The texture is a not the same as making it fresh but it’s still very good and will be very convenient this winter.

You need a pressure canner to can any kind of beans or any kind of corn – in any quantities. If you don’t have a pressure canner click over to my fresh black bean and corn salsa recipe. 

I know other sites have black bean and corn salsa recipes that say it’s okay to just do a water bath, big sites that should know better, but you can’t. With the addition of both corn and beans it’s just not safe to can this salsa in the water bath canner. Also, a pressure canner is a wonderful tool and will save you time and money in the long run. 

Black bean and corn salsa can be made from mostly your garden ingredients and things you probably already have on hand. I’m a use what you have kind of cook, so if it has tomatoes, black beans, corn, onion, peppers, and lime, it’s black bean and corn salsa to me.

You can also use store bought ingredients and different quantities based on what your family likes.

Making the Black Bean and Corn Salsa Recipe

The process to make black bean and corns salsa without buying canned beans, corn, or tomato products is a two day process. But it’s not like it takes all day each day. There’s just things you’ll want to do the day before you can the salsa, like freeze the tomatoes and soak the beans.

• I like to freeze our tomatoes when we first pick them. When they thaw the skin comes right off. You can see my tomato canning process in action here. You can use fresh tomatoes but you’ll need to blanch them to remove the skins. Freezing the tomatoes is just easier.
• Soak 1 pound of black beans overnight. The next day, drain the water and rinse. Put the beans in a pot of fresh water and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• While the beans are simmering, mix the following in a large bowl.
  • 8 cups corn
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 5 lbs tomatoes – chopped
  • 9 jalapenos – chopped (optional)
  • 2 red onion – chopped (you can use white)
  • 1 cup cilantro – chopped
• Drain the beans and add them to your salsa mixture.
• Mix well.

How to Can Black Bean and Corn Salsa

1. Put on a pot (or tea kettle) of water to boil. OR heat up the tomato water from the thawed tomatoes.
2. Prepare canning jars by checking for cracks and washing in hot soapy water. You don’t need to sterilize jars when you use a pressure canner. But you can if you feel like it.
3. Prepare lids by washing and drying  (Ball®no longer recommends placing lids in boiled water to prepare them) I like to use reusable caning lids when canning things for my family to cut the cost.
4. Fill jars halfway with mixture. Do NOT pack the mixture down.
5. Add boiling water (or tomato water) to the jars leaving a 1″ headspace.
6. Put lids and and bands on the filled jars and process according the directions that came with your pressure canner for beans. For me it is for 1 hr and 15 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure for pints.

What if I don’t have a pressure canner?

If you don’t have a pressure canner but still want the convenience of ready made black bean and corn salsa you have a couple of different options.

One, you could use home canned tomato salsa and add properly canned black beans and canned  corn (pressure canned or store bought) when you serve it.

Two, you can make the black bean and corn salsa recipe but instead of simmering the black beans for only 30 minutes, cook them completely. Then put the salsa in wide mouth pint size jars and freeze them. If you are leery of freezing in glass containers I have some tips for you here.

The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables

If you you’re looking for more preserving inspiration, I know you’ll love The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables. In this book I share how to can, dehydrate, freeze and ferment almost every vegetable. I also share 100 favorite recipes for preserving the vegetables in fun way that will save you time and money later. Get your copy here. Get your copy here.

What are you canning this summer? Feel free to leave links in the comments so we can all check them out.

Thanks for sharing with your friends!