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I’ve been waiting all year to have fresh red tomatoes in my backyard, but this green tomato relish recipe is SO incredibly delicious that I didn’t even think twice about plucking some off the vines before they could even ripen.
Green Tomato Relish Recipe for Canning or Freezing
Due to all the chopping and simmering, this recipe will require several hours of your time from start to finish. This isn’t a common theme with my recipes, so I wanted to be sure to point that out. If you aren’t into the “canning” thing you can easily shave off some time by simply freezing the end results. Either way you won’t regret it… yum!
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I was introduced to this recipe at my canning class with Ashley Eller earlier this year. Thank you Ashley!
A Delicious Homemade Sauce, Dip, or Condiment
I occasionally get obsessed with certain recipes, and my friends, this is one of them! I don’t think it’s a secret that I am also slightly obsessed with the crock-pot refried bean recipe, and let me tell you those beans are suddenly reinvented when topped with this relish (in addition to the standard melted cheese and sour cream of course)! Not that I haven’t been caught just eating this relish by the spoonful... :) Can you tell I am smitten?
We use homemade green tomato relish on all kinds of meals, not just burgers (or beans). It’s great as a salsa style dip with veggie chips, as a topping for most meats (especially pork), and as an extra addition to vegetable dishes. It even tastes good with eggs!
If anything, I’m trying to find what this green tomato relish doesn’t taste good on.
No Sugar Relish
It might be hard to believe that a relish recipe with no sugar tastes so good, but I wasn’t going to sacrifice quality or add refined sugar to this recipe. Thankfully there’s no compromises here; the apple and bell peppers add sweetness without no sugar for a delicious relish that our whole family loves.
Chunky Green Tomato Relish
This relish recipe is already pretty chunky, but if you want chunkier relish, skip the blender step and leave your relish as-is. You could also divide the relish and blend half for a mixture of chunk and smooth relish.
For a smoother relish, puree the mixture instead of dicing it.
Recipe for Canning Green Tomatoes: The Basics
If you are new to canning be sure to check out my honey strawberry jam tutorial for some detailed instructions, but in short you will need:
- Canning pot with or without a rack (a dish towel can also be used to separate jars from bottom)
- Canning jars with either new or reusable lids (we like the freezable kind with no “shoulders”)
- Canning utensils including a jar lifter, funnel, bubble remover/headspace tool, and magnetic lid lifter
- Clean dish towels
- Sterilized tongs and ladle
- A digital or analog scale
- Optional: Thermometer and dissolvable canning labels (I love these labels…no more peeling off old masking tape!)
Also, please note it’s imperative that the rules of canning are always followed to a “T” in order to prevent spoilage or harmful bacteria in your end product!
Green Tomato Relish FAQs
Green Tomato Relish (without sugar)
Ingredients
- 4 pounds green tomatoes
- 2 pounds onions (white or yellow)
- 1 ½ pounds red bell peppers
- 1 pound apples (like Granny Smith)
- 12 cloves garlic
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar (unpasteurized)
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- 8 jalapeños
- 4 tablespoons cilantro
- 2 teaspoons cumin
Instructions
Make Relish
- Remove stem and core from green tomatoes and roughly chop into ½ inch or 1 inch pieces.
- Add to a large pot with heat turned off while you prepare rest of ingredients.
- Peel, roughly chop and add onions to pot.
- Remove stem and seeds from red bell peppers and roughly chop as well.
- Remove core from apples, discard, and roughly chop (including peel).
- Mince garlic and add to pot along with onions, red bell peppers, and apples.
- Add apple cider vinegar and salt to pot and set over high heat. When vinegar comes to a boil turn down to low and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- While relish is simmering finely chop jalapenos (only remove/discard seeds for half of them), chop cilantro, and set aside. I highly recommend wearing latex or rubber gloves while chopping the jalapenos otherwise your hands could sting for a few hours… I know this from experience!
Optional: Prepare Cans (if canning)
- Fill canning pot three-quarters full with water, cover, and set over high heat until it comes to a boil. You can either sterilize your jars in this pot of boiling water for 10 minutes or by using the heated drying cycle in your dishwasher. It’s important to keep the jars hot and sterilized until ready for use. Be sure all canning utensils have been sterilized in hot soapy water as well.
- Fill a small pot with water to sterilized lids and bands. Water for lids/bands should be hot at about 180 degrees F, but not boiling. Leave them in hot water (on simmer) until ready for use. If water gets cold remove lids/bands and heat up water to 180 degrees F again before adding them back in.
Finish Relish
- After the 1 hour and 15 minutes is up the relish should have boiled down a bit.
- Add the jalapenos, cilantro and cumin to pot and simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Use either an immersion blender or potato masher to process the mixture into a small dice, but not a puree. I highly recommending owning an immersion blender if you don't have one already...it's perfect for pureeing soups and other recipes like this relish without having transfer batches back and forth between a blender, which makes a mess!
To Freeze
- If you are freezing, this point divvy up relish among freezer safe containers and once cool transfer to freezer.If using glass jars be sure to leave enough room at the top for the relish to expand during freezing. You can skip the remaining steps.
To Fill Jars for Canning
- Turn relish back up to a boil.
- Remove jars from hot water, shake out excess water, and set near pot.
- Using a sterilized ladle and funnel, fill the jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace at the top.
- Slide a non-metallic utensil into jar to remove any air bubbles.
- Wipe off rim of jar with a clean cloth.
- Using sterilized tongs (or magnetic lid lifter) carefully place lids onto filled jars. You can touch top of lids once they are on jar, but do not touch underneath or on inside of jar to keep everything sterilized.
- Screw on bands by only touching the outside, although bands should not be too tight.
To Process Jars
- Bring water in canning pot back up to a boil.
- Using jar lifter carefully transfer jars to canning pot. Jars should not directly be touching the bottom of the pot and instead be separated either by a canning rack or simple dish towel.
- Once water comes back to a boil start timing from that moment and process jars for 15 minutes.
- After time is up using jar lifter carefully remove jars from boiling water and transfer them to a clean dish towel. Let jars rest until they cool.
- If jar lids haven’t already popped/sealed you should hear the sound… and if a jar doesn’t seal within 24 hours transfer it to fridge and eat within 3 – 4 weeks.
Joy says
Hi. I made this relish this weekend and it is delicious! I did not blend it at all, but left it chunky and used it as a salsa with tortilla chips. I made a huge amount of it with all the green tomatoes from my garden. I can see using it on so many things - burgers, tacos, chicken, as a dip...so many things. I saw the nutrition facts; what serving size are the based on?
Thanks!
Lynn says
Hi Lisa,
Do you think this recipe will work with ripe tomatoes? I love the idea that it is without sugar!!
Thanks for your thoughts.
Lynn
Addison LaBonte says
Yes, enjoy!
Marie Overgaauw says
After making this twice I wondered if I could add some olive oil. What would you recommend? We love this recipe. Great addition to multiple dishes. Thank you:)
Vickie says
Where is all the sodium coming from? 1801 mg seems like an excessive amount per serving.
Jason Leake with 100 Days of Real Food says
Hi Vickie - Thanks for catching that...the serving size was listed as 6 pints (the recipe yield) instead of 2 tablespoons (standard serving size for salsa). I have updated the recipe so it should be accurate now :)
Elisa says
There is no rhubarb in the recipe.
100 Days Admin says
Correct. We have not tried this recipe to include rhubarb, but feel free to give it a try and let us know. - Nicole
Tambrisha says
Could you replace the Jalapeños? I know that not everyone in the house would appreciate their addition. Just add more bell peppers?
100 Days Admin says
Yes! That would be fine if they aren't everyone's favorites. - Nicole
Dora says
I will give it a go and let you know! I need to reduce the quantity of the ingredients though, as I don't have a lot of rhubarb. Thank you :D
LARA says
Wow! I just made this relish this morning. It is amazing:) I will definitely make this every fall when the frost hits and I have an abundance of green tomatoes still on the vine. Thank you!
Dora says
This sounds delicious...I'm looking for a 'no sugar' recipe for rhubarb relish. Do you think this recipe will work (replace tomatoes with rhubarb)? Thanks!
100 Days Admin says
Hi Dora, we have not tried that with this recipe. If you think you'd enjoy those flavors with rhubarb as a substitute, let us know how it turns out if you give a try! - Nicole
Kathy from Westminster says
I love this recipe, but I had my doubts. How could green tomato relish be good without sugar? It’s so good. I had my three friends over for cards and served it with cream cheese and crackers. They all copied the recipe. The only change I made was to put in 3 jalapeños instead of 8 and I put in fresh cilantro when I served it. Thank you.
100 Days Admin says
So glad you gave it a try! - Nicole
Debra T. says
I was looking for a recipe for green tomatoes that I didn't have to can.
This looks great. How long can you keep it in the freezer? And is the consistency mush when its thawed?
100 Days Admin says
It should keep good for about 8 months or so. The consistency may breakdown over time. - Nicole
Darcia b says
When I processed my jars I never covered the jars in water because I didn't know I had to, for the hot water bath. They all seem to be sealed well. Are they safe to store?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi there. This might help: http://foodinjars.com/2009/11/how-to-check-that-your-seal-is-good/comment-page-1/.
Darcia b says
When I processed my jars in the boiling water bath I did not cover the jars with water since I didn't know I should. If they are sealed properly are they safe to store? The seals all are seem good, except one.
Travis Walker says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Very well detailed instructions. I would love to try it out in my kitchen and share this recipe with my friends.
Billy says
What sort of recipes / dishes do you use this on? Is it more of a condiment or do you include it inside of dishes? Thanks for your reply! This looks delicious regardless.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi. It's a condiment and is good on lots of things. I like it on fried fish. :)