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The Magical Slow Cooker » Recipes » Appetizers » Slow Cooker Salsa

Slow Cooker Salsa

by Sarah Olson on June 2, 2013 | Updated March 31, 2021 44 Comments

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tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic and onion in a slow cooker

I had to give slow cooker salsa a try, I could live on salsa and chips alone if I had too!

And I love bringing salsa and chips to summer barbecues, everyone seems to go crazy for it. This recipe for slow cooker salsa makes about 2 quarts of salsa! Enough for a big crowd, or you could freeze the leftovers in plastic containers.

I didn’t know if the ratio of ingredients were going to be right, but I nailed it! I used about 1 pound Roma tomatoes, a large can of plum tomatoes, 2 jalapeños, a white onion quartered, and 3 garlic cloves. Slow cook everything for about 2 1/2 hours on high. Then in batches, put everything in the blender, with cilantro and salt. Almost no chopping at all! I had planned to add lime juice and cumin, but didn’t, the flavor was too good already to add anything else.

tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeno in slow cooker

Recipes to use this salsa in:

  • Slow Cooker Beef Salsa Fajitas
  • Slow Cooker Steak Burritos
  • Slow Cooker Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup
  • Slow Cooker Taco Meatloaf Stuffed Peppers
bowl of salsa and chips

Recipe adapted from One Particular Kitchen Salsa Roja – seriously best salsa on pinterest!

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tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic and onion in a slow cooker

Slow Cooker Salsa

5 from 5 votes
Make homemade "roasted" salsa in your crockpot! Makes plenty to freeze for later.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 15
Calories: 21kcal
Author: Sarah Olson

Equipment Needed:

  • Slow Cooker- 6 quart or larger

Ingredients:

  • 10 Fresh Roma tomatoes about 1 pound no need to chop, or core, leave whole
  • 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes
  • 1 White onion peeled and quartered
  • 2 jalapeños tops cut off
  • 3 whole garlic cloves peeled

These items go in at the end

  • 3/4 tsp. salt put in slowly, test it to taste
  • 1 bunch cilantro
US Customary – Metric

Instructions:

  • Put the Roma tomatoes, canned plum tomatoes, onion, jalapeños and garlic in the slow cooker.
  • Cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, the tomatoes will look like they exploded, and will be a little soft.
  • In 2 batches, scoop the items and juices from the slow cooker into your blender, and add the cilantro (tear off the big chunk stems and discard, some stems are ok).
  • Pulse until salsa is the consistency you would like.
  • Put into a container.
  • Add salt a little at at time, and taste it, everyone has different preferences.
  • Serve with tortilla chips
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Nutrition Information:

Calories: 21kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 241mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 815IU | Vitamin C: 15.8mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.

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    9985 shares
    • 9373

    Filed Under: Appetizers, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

    Comments

    1. Connie Jeffrey says

      August 20, 2013 at 6:53 pm

      Ho w many jars did you get? Anyone have any idea?

      Reply
    2. Chris says

      August 13, 2013 at 11:58 am

      I just made this salsa and it’s missing something. Don’t get me wrong. It’s good but it’s just missing a flavor that I can’t put my finger on. I followed the recipe exactly. Has anyone added anything else to the recipe?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        August 13, 2013 at 9:35 pm

        Maybe add more salt, or extra cilantro? Those two things could change the flavor quite a bit.

        Reply
      • Arrica says

        August 27, 2013 at 1:49 pm

        I added some cumin and extra salt to mine.

        Reply
      • Cheryl says

        October 31, 2013 at 7:39 am

        My first batch of salsa was made per recipe as is. I agree, it needed something. With the second batch I added on packet of Sazon Goya “Con Culantro Y Achiote” (coriander & annato). What a difference. Try this and see what you think. This seasoning works well in many other recipes, so buy the box and keep some handy.

        Reply
    3. Cheryl says

      July 30, 2013 at 7:26 am

      Wow! #2 recipe I’m going to try! I have tomatoes galore in my garden and they will be put to good use in this recipe. I just have to wait for the tomatoes to turn red!!!
      Years ago a I made salsa (it was a 2 day recipe) and canned the salsa. I sterilized the canning jars first in a boiling water bath, filled the hot jars with the still hot cooked salsa, and then processed in a 15 minute water bath. The jars were suspended above the boiling water on a rack in one of those big enamel pots. When you removed the jars with the lifter to set out to cool, you’d hear the lids ‘click’ as they sealed tight. The salsa kept very well, and always tasted as good as the day it was made. I also make apple butter using the same canning method.

      Reply
      • conniej says

        August 22, 2013 at 5:21 am

        Salsa should be hot going into the jars? We are using the water bath.
        Recipe looks great

        Reply
        • Cheryl says

          August 22, 2013 at 7:23 am

          Yes. If you put cooled down salsa into the hot sterilized jars you may risk cracking the glass. Hot cooked salsa into hot jars, then into the water bath. Be sure to suspend the jars off the floor of the pan. I’ve had the bottom of the canning jar completely break away. Always check jars for small cracks or imperfections before using.

    4. Megan says

      July 17, 2013 at 1:02 pm

      Would a regular blender work for this project? I always feel my salsa gets too watery without a fancy food processor (which I don’t have). Any suggestions?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        July 17, 2013 at 8:39 pm

        I used a regular blender, just pulse it slowly, being careful not to over blend. 🙂

        Reply
    5. April says

      July 9, 2013 at 1:22 pm

      I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to spice. What level of heat would you say this recipe has?

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        July 9, 2013 at 6:38 pm

        It depends on the jalapeño, on a scale of 1-10, ours turned out to be a 5. You can always blend up the salsa with one jalapeño at a time. 🙂

        Reply
    6. carol says

      July 7, 2013 at 5:39 pm

      Could regular tomatoes e used and could I freeze the salsa instead of canning?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        July 7, 2013 at 6:14 pm

        Yes, regular tomatoes would work fine, just weigh out about a pound of them. I freeze this salsa myself, works great!

        Reply
        • Amanda says

          May 5, 2014 at 8:38 am

          Can fresh plum tomatoes be used instead of the can??

        • Sarah Olson says

          May 5, 2014 at 9:38 am

          Yes that would work fine!

    7. Lisa says

      July 1, 2013 at 7:09 pm

      Love, love, love this salsa recipe. Taste just the the Mexican restaurant salsa that we enjoy so much. Thanks for sharing Sarah.

      Reply
    8. Melissa says

      June 25, 2013 at 10:15 pm

      Do you have to remove the skin on the Roma tomatoes?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        June 26, 2013 at 9:21 am

        Nope, the skins get blended up. 🙂

        Reply
    9. alisa says

      June 22, 2013 at 7:01 am

      Can you add extra veggies, like bell peppers?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        June 22, 2013 at 9:14 am

        Yes, bell peppers would be great in this salsa!

        Reply
    10. betty curb says

      June 21, 2013 at 4:33 pm

      i have done some canning tomatoes do not need to be pressure canned.
      they are ok in a water bath. have made lots of salsa. just take finished product and put in jars leavings head space and water bath about 30 minuites. that will seal them and yu can store them

      Reply
    11. janice wiggins says

      June 18, 2013 at 5:49 am

      my husband loves this recipe, hes eaten this salsa everyday since I made it ty, I love it because its so easy.

      Reply
    12. Staci Street says

      June 11, 2013 at 12:34 pm

      I am making this right now but i replaced half of the can tomatoes with Fire Roasted tomatoes. I hope it turns out ok!

      Reply
    13. Erin @ One Particular Kitchen says

      June 2, 2013 at 3:18 pm

      I never even thought of using the slow cooker! Brilliant!

      Re: canning, there’s a lot of discussion about that on the original post, but bottom line seems to be pressure canning would be okay, water bath canning would not.

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        June 2, 2013 at 3:23 pm

        Erin, I was so skeptical about the salsa in the slow cooker, because your original recipe is amazing. But it worked great! Thanks for the canning info 🙂

        Reply
      • nancy says

        May 29, 2014 at 8:31 pm

        Tomatoes can be water bath canned or pressure canned. I usually pressure can only because most tomatoes varieties grown today have a low ph. Adding lemon juice, which you don’t really taste in the finished the product, makes sure it’s safe to water bath.

        Reply
      • Khadija says

        September 4, 2014 at 9:55 am

        I used to can salsa all the time. A water bath is fine.

        Reply
    14. Jennifer Taylor says

      June 2, 2013 at 8:40 am

      This sounds amazing! Yum! I can’t wait to try it! Thank you for posting the recipe 🙂

      Reply
    15. Lisa says

      June 2, 2013 at 7:39 am

      I love salsa and love the use of the crockpot in making this one. Do you think you could can the salsa instead of freezing it?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        June 2, 2013 at 7:56 am

        I’m not a canning expert, but think there has to be a perfect ratio of acid in it, like lemon juice. If anyone know how to convert a recipe to a canning recipe, please comment! 🙂

        Reply
        • Robin Smith says

          June 29, 2013 at 12:48 pm

          I have canned salsa for years. There is enough acid in tomatoes that no other is needed. I just put it in my jars and do a water bath for 20 minutes. I always have mine eaten in 6 months to a year. Ready for the next year’s tomatoes to come off in the garden. However, I have never used to canned tomatoes to make my salsa only fresh. Could that be the lemon juice difference?

        • Linda Smith says

          July 28, 2013 at 2:50 pm

          I have canned crockpot salsa for several years and do not do the hot water bath. There is acid in the tomatoes and also vinegar added. Has anyone besides me done this before. It is so fresh tasting and easy to make. No preservatives at all, just garden fresh produce.

        • jennie says

          August 4, 2013 at 2:45 pm

          I can tomatoes every year and I have never done the water bath. I am VERY careful to boil the jars and lids(and bands) for about 10 minutes before pouring salsa or tomatoes in the jars. Have had only one come unsealed in years and no problems about bacteria.

        • Anonymous says

          July 19, 2019 at 7:53 am

          Unless you are using green ones and then you need to salt them and leave them overnight to get enough acid.

        • liza peterson says

          August 24, 2015 at 5:08 am

          It is OK to can tomatoes, but salsa is not acidic enough in a waterbath without adding a lot of vinegar or lemon juice. There are recipes for canning salsa but I have never found one I like–too acidic. It is OK to can it with a pressure canner. I did a lot of research on it a couple of years ago because I always canned salsa assuming it was OK. I never had a problem, but I guess botulism is a problem you only have once!

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