Homemade Rotel made with tomatoes and green chilies is a great and easy tomato canning recipe. Rotel is a great pantry staple for spicing up Mexican recipes. It is great to be able to make your own tomatoes and green chilies to suit your taste and to preserve them for use all winter long.
Rotel is so convenient for adding flavor to dishes like tacos, casseroles, soups, or making salsas or dips. You can make your Rotel mild or spicy, depending on your personal preference.
Canning your own rotel from homegrown tomatoes and peppers is much more healthy and affordable than the canned version from the grocery store, and by canning several pints at a time, you can stock your food pantry and have a can of Rotel tomatoes available any time! My homemade version of diced tomatoes and green chilis does not have preservatives and of course, homegrown and homemade always tastes better.
My harvest of tomatoes and peppers from my vegetable garden this year was abundant and great to be able to can salsa, pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and rotel!
Ingredients for Rotel – Tomatoes and Chilies
- 12 cups of Tomatoes: Chopped
- 1 cup Peppers: Chopped, Jalapeno, Anaheim or Poblano
- 2 tsp Canning Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice for each Pint Jar: Optional to use lime juice or citric acid
- Optional: 1 tsp oregano, cilantro, black pepper
Steps for Preparing Rotel – Tomatoes and Chilies
First, rinse the tomatoes and peppers. I use all varieties of tomatoes out of my garden including cherry tomatoes, but Roma tomatoes and other types of paste tomatoes are best for sauce.
Add the tomatoes whole to a food processor and chop them up. Then add them to a large stock pot.
I never peel my tomatoes and after running them through a food processor you do not notice the peels. I peeled at one time and found it so time-consuming. If you prefer to peel, here is a good article that shows you how to do that. I also try to avoid peeling my peaches and apples. The only time I peel apples is when I make the apple pie filling. Here is an apple/potato electric peeler I purchased from Amazon that I love and is a great way to quickly peel apples and potatoes!
Cut the peppers up and deseed and chop the peppers in a food processor. Wear gloves if you are going to touch the inside of the hot peppers.
How many and what peppers are optional, depending on how much heat you like in your salsa. For a more spicy version, use more jalapenos or serrano peppers. I like mild salsa, so I use mainly Anaheim peppers. The quantity of peppers should stay the same with the ratio of tomatoes and with the lemon juice to make it a safe canning recipe.
Add the chopped peppers to the stock pot.
Add the remaining ingredients. Heat on medium-high heat to a slight boil and reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or more.
Steps for Canning the Rotel – Tomatoes and Chilies Recipe
Ladle the hot Rotel into canning jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to each jar. Adding lemon juice to the jars, helps ensure that this recipe has the correct acidity level for water bath canning.
Wipe the rims of the jars, remove the air bubbles and place lids and add screw bands. Add the filled jars to the boiling water bath and process jars at a full rolling boil for 20 minutes.
I use the Ball electric water bath canner for water bath canning and love it. Tomatoes are a low-acid food, therefore are canned using the water bath method.
Remove the hot canning mason jars from the boiling water canner after the processing time with a jar lifter and place the sealed jars on a kitchen towel on the counter. Do not disturb for 24 hours.
Crowd Pleaser!
This homemade Rotel is a simple recipe with fresh ingredients and fresh flavor. It is perfect to go with your favorite Mexican dishes, plus sauces, soups and party dips. I love Rotel in many of my favorite dishes including cheese dip, chili recipes and rotel dip recipe with ground beef.
For more of my canning recipes and other favorite recipes, plus posts about other homestead-type activities, such as gardening and raising chickens, go to my website at www.HawkPointHomestead.com. For updates, please follow my Facebook page at Hawk Point Hobby Homestead.
See my other related canning recipes:
- Zucchini Relish
- Cilantro Lime Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce
- Peach Salsa
- Peach Jalapeno Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- Pickled Cherry Tomatoes
- Roasted Tomato Spaghetti Sauce
- Salsa Recipe with Roasted Tomatoes and Peppers
- Roasted Tomato Sauce
- Peach Pepper Jelly
- Bread and Butter Pickles
- Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles
- Dill Pickles
- Cucumber Relish
- Green Chili Peppers
- Pickled Radishes
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Homemade Rotel - Tomatoes and Green Chilies Canning Recipe
Homemade rotel made with tomatoes and green chilies is a great and easy tomato canning recipe. Rotel is a great pantry staple for spicing up Mexican recipes. It is great to be able to make your own tomatoes and green chilies to suit your taste and to preserve them for use all winter long.
Ingredients
- 12 cups of Tomatoes: Chopped
- 1 cup Peppers: Chopped, Jalapeno, Anaheim or Poblano
- 2 tsp Canning Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice for each Pint Jar: Optional to use lime juice or citric acid
- Optional: 1 tsp oregano, cilantro, black pepper
Instructions
1. Rinse the tomatoes and peppers
2. Chop up the tomatoes and peppers with a food processor and add to a large pot
3. Add the remaining ingredients
4. Simmer for 10 minutes or more
5. Ladle the rotel ingredients into canning jars
6. Add lemon juice to each jar
7. Wipe rims, remove air bubbles, and add lids
8. Place the jars in a water bath canner and process at a rolling boil for 20 minutes for pints.
9. Remove the hot jars with a jar lifter and set them on the counter. Do not disturb for 24 hours
