Black Bean and Corn Salsa
This black bean and corn salsa with canning instructions is a delicious dip you can enjoy all year long to give your tacos and nachos punchy flavor with a healthy dose of vegetables.
I love to make this with end-of-season tomatoes when the garden is winding down. It’s just a personal preference that makes sense in my brain, because I think of canning beans as a fall/winter project, so this one straddles the line.
What I love about this salsa is that it’s a great stand-alone dip. No need to add anything to it – it’s already got the beans, the corn, the onions. Just add some tortilla chips and you’re ready to go. This is also a fantastic salsa to serve with chicken.
Ingredients for making black bean and corn salsa
- Black beans. You can cook your own, or use canned beans.
- Corn. Fresh, frozen, roasted, or canned corn can be used, depending on what you have on hand or your taste preference.
- Tomatoes. I recommend a beefy canning tomato such as Roma.
- Bell peppers. I like to use a mix of red bell peppers for sweetness, and green a stronger pepper flavor.
- Onions. I use red onions, but yellow are also good.
- Jalapeños. I use one in the recipe below, but you can make it as spicy, or mild as you prefer.
- Cilantro. A requisite flavor in salsa. If you don’t like cilantro, Italian parsley can be substituted
- Tomato sauce. If you’re serving this salsa fresh, you may choose not to add tomato sauce. However, for canning, this is necessary as you need a sauce to submerge your salsa in.
- Lime juice. Flavor, and if you’re canning it, an acid to bring the pH of your salsa down for preservation purposes.
- Cumin, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt. The things that take your salsa from a vegetable combination, or a powerhouse of flavor.
Recipe changes and substitutions
You can easily tweak the seasonings in this recipe to fit your taste preferences. Spices are all up to you. I would caution you though not to add more seasonings too quickly. Give your salsa time to marinate before you dump another tablespoon of cumin in it. You will get more onion flavor a week after canning than you will the first day. Just something to keep in mind.
Other things that can be substituted? Canned diced tomatoes for the fresh tomatoes, beef broth in place of the water, parsley instead of cilantro.
How to make Black Bean and Corn salsa
- De-seed and dice tomatoes. (note: I do not peel tomatoes. You’re dicing them up fairly small, so peels aren’t really a problem)
- De-seed and dice bell and jalapeño peppers, and dice onion.
- Mince cilantro
- Combine prepared vegetables with remaining ingredients, and stir well.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or proceed to canning.
How to can black bean and corn salsa
- Prepare canning jars by cleaning and sterilizing. I use a combination of half pint and pint jars to can this recipe, but the size of jar is up to your preference.
- You will also need canning lids and a water bath canner. I get replacement lids in bulk from Denali canning. Ball also work well.
- Fill your canner 2/3 full with cool water, making sure the canning rack is inside.
- Ladle salsa into prepared canning jars, leaving half in headspace.
- Wipe rips with a soft cloth to remove debris, and screw down lids and rings firmly, but not overly tight.
- Place jars into water bath canner, and add more water if necessary so that it reaches a depth of two inches above the jar lids.
- Place lid on canner, and heat over medium-high heat to a rolling boil.
- Process pints or half pints for 25 minutes, or quarts for 45 minutes.
- Remove canner from heat and let cool 20 minutes or so. Remove jars, and let finish cooling, undisturbed, for 24 hours.
- Check seals, wash jars if needed, and store in a cool place out of direct light.
More Canning recipes for you
- How to can salsa verde
- Peach salsa canning recipe
- Homemade traditional salsa
- How to can beans
- 5 minute black bean tacos
Black Bean and Corn Salsa
- Yield: 16 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 5 cups black beans (cooked, drained, rinsed)
- 4 cups corn (fresh, frozen, canned and drained, etc.)
- 2–2 1/2 pounds tomatoes (four cups when de-seeded and diced)
- 2 large red onions
- 1–3 jalapeño peppers (depending on your heat preference)
- 4 cups tomato sauce
- 1 cup water or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 Tablespoon salt
Instructions
- Deseed and dice tomatoes, and all peppers.
- Peel and dice onions.
- Mince cilantro.
- Combine all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
- Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to a week, or proceed to canning instructions.
To can:
- Prepare water bath canner with cool water.
- Sterilize canning jars. I typically can salsas in half pint, and pint jars, but that’s a preference based on how much we use in one meal.
- Ladle salsa into canning jars leaving a half inch of headspace.
- Wipe rims with a soft cloth to remove any debris, and screw down canning lids and rings fingertip tight.
- Arrange jars in canner, and add more water if needed so that it reaches a depth of at least two inches over the top of the jars.
- Heat over medium-high heat to a rolling boil, and process pints or half pints for 25 minutes, or quarts for 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool 20 minutes to an hour.
- remove jars from canner to finish cooling undisturbed for 24 hours.
- Check for seal, wash jars if needed, and store in a cool place out of direct light.
