How to make and can THE BEST Green Tomato Relish. This simple canning recipe is made with green tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. It’s a great recipe to save for unripe garden green tomatoes!
Unripe Green Tomato Relish
The end of garden season brings some high fives. Look at you with all your canned roma tomato sauce, half sour pickles and candied jalapenos! It also often brings a lot of unripe green tomatoes!
I have lots of green tomato recipes that I make that I’ll soon be sharing, like green tomato jam, pickled green tomatoes, fried green tomatoes, green tomato salsa, and green tomato cake, but one of my favorite ones is green tomato relish because it uses up so much of our green tomato harvest! It’s also an amazing recipe to share with family and neighbors, or add on top of your hot dog casserole.
This will make (12) 1-pint jars or (6) 1 quart jars of relish.
How Many Tomatoes Should I use?
I know many recipes call for an amount of tomatoes (example: 20 tomatoes), but I know the size of a tomato is subjective. To make it easier, I weighed mine for a more exact amount. You will need 11 pounds of tomatoes for this recipe.
How to Make Green Tomato Relish
Using a food processor or blender, chop up the tomatoes, onions and peppers until they are “relish” texture. Do each separately, first the tomatoes, then the onions, then the peppers. This always gets a little messy for me. 🙂
Place cheesecloth over a large colander in the sink and add all of the chopped tomatoes, onions and peppers, allowing it to sit on the cheesecloth to drain. I like to press down with my hands and then let it sit for 30 minutes to make sure all the extra water drains out.
In a large pot, add tomato relish mixture and the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil for a few minutes. Note: the recipe card is at the bottom of the post with full ingredients/instructions.
Now let’s move on to the next step for a full canning walk through!
How to Can Relish
Sterilize jars. This will make (12) 1-pint jars or (6) 1 quart jars of relish.
Add relish to the jars, filling to the top, removing any air bubbles. Screw the lids on top.
Carefully place jars in a large pot, filled with boiling water. Make sure the jars are covered by 2 inches of water. At full boil, cover pot with a lid and process for 30 minutes.
Carefully remove jars from the pot, using canning tongs and place on a towel covered table, making sure they aren’t touching. Allow to cool completely.
Once cool, press down each top to make sure they were properly processed. The lid shouldn’t pop up and down.
How long will canned relish last for?
If properly stored in a cool dark pantry or cabinet, unopened jars of relish will last for about 2 years.
Hope you like this green tomato relish! Enjoy those end of season green tomatoes! 🙂
Pin for later:
Green Tomato Relish (canning option)
PrintIngredients
- 11 pounds green tomatoes
- 8 cups onions equals about 8 large onions
- 3 red bell peppers halved, seeds removed
- 3 green bell peppers halved, seeds removed
- 3 cups white sugar
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons celery seed
- 3 tablespoons mustard seed
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
How to Make
- Place tomatoes, onions, green peppers and red peppers in a food processor and pulse until "relish" texture. You can do the tomatoes first, then the onions, and then the peppers. You will probably need to do this in batches and it might get a little messy.
- Place cheesecloth over a large colander in the sink and add all of the relish, allowing it to sit on the cheesecloth to drain. I like to press down with my hands and then let it sit for 30 minutes to get out all of the extra water.
- In a large pot add tomato relish mixture, sugar, apple cider vinegar, celery seed, mustard seed and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce to a simmer, stirring often for 5 minutes.
How to Can:
- Sterilize jars. This will make (12) 1-pint jars or (6) 1-quart jars. I always recommend wide-mouth jars as they're easier to fill.
- Add relish to the jars, filling to the top, and use a butter knife to press down to remove all air pockets from the sides. Add lids on top and then screw the bands on.
- Place a canning rack in the bottom of a large pot, filling it halfway with boiling water. Carefully (!) lower the jars into the pot using a lifter, leaving about 2 inches between each jar. If your pot isn't big enough you might need to do this in batches. If needed, pour additional boiling water into the pot so all the jars are covered by 2 inches of water.
- At full boil, cover with a lid and process for 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove jars from the pot and place on towel covered table, making sure jars aren't touching and are a few inches apart from each other. Allow to cool completely.
- Once cool, press down each top to make sure they were properly processed (the lid shouldn't pop up and down).
- Store your canned relish in a cool dark cabinet or pantry. If stored properly, unopened relish will last for about 2 years.
Dee says
Found your recipe, but there’s no need to soar the tomatoes overnight in salt? And what is the purpose of soaking in salt overnight?
Pamela Reed says
Nope, no overnight salt soak needed. That step is usually for drawing out moisture and preserving texture, but here the cheesecloth draining and simmering already do the job.
Heather says
Do you really only cook this for 5 minutes? Is that long enough to cook the onions?
Pamela Reed says
Hi! The onions are finely chopped up in a food processor so they dont need lots of cook time. You will bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Hope that helps!
Kassy says
I don’t have a canning rack, how can I ‘can’ the jars.
Jan Lamb says
Love this recipe! Quick and easy and tastes delicious 💖
Kim says
I don’t have a lot of time , can I let it cook all day in crock pot on low?
Michael Williams says
I just finished preparing one batch of your relish recipe. My yield was 28 half pints, or 14 pints. I guess Brooklyn farm girls must use that new math, that Missouri Farmers don’t know how to do. The taste was good though.
Jo-Anne Morefield says
I only have 9 pounds of green tomatoes. Can I add extra peppers to make up the difference?
Pamela Reed says
You sure can!
Nancy says
Why a thirty minute process time? That seems a bit long with small jars. If the jars are boiled and the relish is boiled, then processing should take fifteen minutes at a full boil. Correct me if I am wrong. Thanks!
Pamela Reed says
Hey Nancy, I always process this relish for 30 minutes for successful canning. Hope this helps, enjoy the relish!
Kim says
I can’t have sugar, can I use honey?
Pamela Reed says
You can, but I’d use less! Start with half and add more if needed per taste. Enjoy the relish!
Kim Smith says
You are my “go to girl” when it comes to garden veggie recipes. Thank you for so many FABULOUS posts 🙂 We are making this relish now with the green tomatoes left in our garden.
Renee M says
Can I halve this recipe? I have green tomatoes but don’t think I have 11 pounds. If I halve it, is it pretty much half throughout all the ingredients?
Pamela Reed says
Yup, you got it!
Laura koch says
I had the green tomato relish from a friend . Loved it so much that I got the recipe from her! Will be making this! Yum
Debby Montague says
Loved this recipe. Reminds me of my mom’s. I’ve made 4 different batches for a total of 16 half pints and 12 pints. Yummy
Debbie says
Do you have to take the skin off of the tomatoes
Pamela Reed says
Nope!
Kim says
Hello, do I need to use citric acid or is the 5% vinegar enough to preserve.
Julie Hensler says
Thanks for a great recipe! We had to pull all our green tomatoes before the frost – only had 9# so adjusted best we could. We added 4 small jalapenos (no seeds) but probably could of done a few more. Will def make again!
Sue Bodishbaugh says
My family has a severe onion allergy. Could I substitute more green tomatoes for the “onion amount”? I’d thought of half tomatoes and half peppers.
Terri says
Very tasty recipe. I had to add more vinegar & sugar because mine was a bit dry, but the flavor is great. I reserved a bit & added jalapeño peppers for those who like an added bite. It also was yummy. Thank you for a great recipe!
Kathy Lizer says
Can I make this snd freeze it instead of canning it?
Carol says
I am cooking 6 pints right now!!! I have just a bout 1 cup left over I couldn’t fit in the jar. Can I eat it like that if I use it soon? PS, this is my FIRST canning experience!!!
Karen says
Turned out really good. I cooked it in 2 batches and added a green and red hot pepper to one batch. Love the spicy one! I didn’t feel I had enough liquid, so added more apple cider vinegar. Next time I will save the juices from the onion and add it if I need more liquid.
Cindy Elias says
Can I use red wine vinegar?
Emily Landry says
How long should the relish stay sealed before opening and eating for the best flavor?
Pamela Reed says
Hey Emily, you don’t need to wait – start enjoying the relish right away!
Sharon DuBois says
I found this recipe as I had an abundance of green tomatoes. Just tried today and it is Delicious!! This one is a keeper 🥰
Pamela Reed says
So happy to hear you liked the relish Sharon! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Pat Summerford says
Going to make today
Monica Yelton says
This is the only relish I’ve ever made. Store bought does not compare.
Pamela Reed says
This makes me so happy!! Thanks for letting me know you liked it Monica! 🙂