A chunky, garden-fresh tomato and pepper mix for canning, cooking, and adding a little summer flavor to the pantry.

This year, my garden has been wonderfully abundant—the kind of season where the tomato vines seem to keep producing just when I think I have picked the last bowlful. I grew Beefsteak, Sunpeach, and Fresh Salsa tomatoes, along with Burpee Salsa Blend hot peppers, which gave me five different kinds of hot peppers from one packet. With so many tomatoes and peppers ripening at once, I wanted a practical way to preserve that fresh garden flavor. This homemade Rotel-style recipe was the perfect answer: bright, chunky tomatoes simmered with roasted peppers, a little citrusy acidity, and just enough seasoning to make every jar taste like summer.

What I love most about this recipe is how flexible it is. You do not need one exact pepper variety or a perfectly uniform tomato crop. The Burpee Salsa Blend made that especially fun because one seed packet gave me a range of heat, color, and flavor to work with. As long as the measurements stay consistent, the finished jars come out flavorful, useful, and pantry-ready.

Some pics of my garden and harvets.

Recipe Overview

• Prep time: 45 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes
• Processing time: 15 minutes
• Yield: approximately 4 to 5 pint jars or 8 to 10 half-pint jars

Ingredients

Tomatoes

• 8 cups diced tomatoes, measured after peeling, coring, and draining
• 5 to 4.5 pounds whole tomatoes, such as Beefsteak, Sunpeach, Fresh Salsa, heirloom, salad, or round tomatoes
• If using very juicy heirlooms, let diced tomatoes drain in a colander for about 5 minutes before measuring.

Peppers

• 3 cups chopped peppers, measured after charring, peeling, and seeding
• Use any mix of mild, medium, or hot peppers. This batch used Burpee Salsa Blend hot peppers, which grows five different kinds of hot peppers from one packet.
• The exact pepper blend can change, but the total measured amount should remain 3 cups.
• The blend makes the recipe easy to customize because you can balance sweeter peppers with hotter ones while still measuring a total of 3 cups.

Acid and Seasoning

• 1 cup bottled lime juice or bottled lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon canning and pickling salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, optional

Important safety note: Use bottled lime or lemon juice rather than fresh-squeezed juice because bottled juice has a standardized acidity level for water-bath canning.

Instructions

1. Prep the vegetables

1. Peel the tomatoes by dropping them into boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, just until the skins crack. Transfer them to ice water, and slip off the skins.
2. Remove the cores, dice, and drain. Measure 8 cups into a large stockpot.
3. Char the peppers on a hot dry griddle or in the oven, turning every few minutes until the skins are blackened and blistered.
4. Transfer the hot peppers to a covered bowl and let them steam for 10 to 15 minutes. Peel off the skins, remove stems and seeds, and chop.
5. Wearing gloves, finely mince any small hot chiles that you are using.
6. Combine all chopped peppers and measure exactly 3 cups. Add them to the pot with the tomatoes.

2. Simmer the mixture

1. Add the bottled lime or lemon juice, canning salt, cumin, and oregano to the pot.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
3. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

3. Fill the jars

1. Ladle the boiling hot mixture into warm, clean jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.
2. Run a plastic tool around the inside edges of each jar to release trapped air bubbles.
3. Wipe the rims clean with a paper towel dipped in white vinegar.
4. Center a fresh lid on each jar and screw on the band until fingertip tight.

4. Water bath processing

Jar Size	Headspace	Water Coverage	Processing Time Under 1,000 ft
Half-pint	1/2 inch	1 to 2 inches above lids	15 minutes
Pint	1/2 inch	1 to 2 inches above lids	15 minutes

 

1. Lower jars onto the rack in the water bath canner, making sure they are covered by 1 to 2 inches of water.
2. Cover the pot and return the water to a hard rolling boil. Start the 15-minute timer only once the water is boiling strongly.
3. When processing is complete, turn off the heat, remove the lid, and let the jars rest in the hot water for 5 minutes.
4. Lift jars straight out without tilting and place them on a towel or wooden board. Let them sit undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours.

How to Use Homemade Rotel

These jars are the kind I reach for all winter long. Stir one into queso, chili, taco meat, soups, casseroles, beans, or rice. The texture stays chunky, the peppers add gentle warmth, and the tomatoes bring that unmistakable garden sweetness that store-bought cans never quite capture.

If your garden is overflowing, this is a beautiful way to turn the harvest into something practical, flavorful, and shelf-stable. Each jar feels like a small reminder of a good growing season—and this year, I am especially grateful to have so much abundance to preserve.