Spicy Corn Relish Recipe with Olives (Water Bath Can)

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Spice up your dishes with this easy homemade corn relish recipe that’s both spicy and irresistibly good! Perfect for adding a little zip to your favourite dishes, this corn relish is flavored with tangy olives, sweet red peppers, and hot peppers (that you can tailor to your tastes). It’s a great way to use seasonal produce and water bath can it to enjoy all year. You and your friends and family will love this relish for topping everything from burgers to nachos!

Looking for more flavorful corn recipes? Try Simple Corn, Pepper and Onion Sauté, Creamy Fresh Baked Corn Recipe (a family favorite!), or Simple Sausage Pie with Corn & Easy Press-in-Pan Crust.

This corn relish recipe hits all the marks for our family – it’s tangy, spicy, and naturally sweet from the corn, plus it has the unique flavor of green olives which takes this condiment to a higher level.

Over the years of preserving our family’s corn harvest (which was easy to grow using this truly weed-free method!) I’ve made other types of canned corn relishes and they were just okay (unlike this fermented corn relish which is the BOMB on salads and tacos, although it doesn’t store for more than a few months).

So when I found a canned corn relish version from BHG that had a green olives variation I knew I had to try it to see if the olive flavor made a difference.

But of course I had to make some (safe) changes along the way including using mild hot peppers and a few spicy hot peppers in place of green bell peppers and reducing the sugar by a lot (with an option for zero sugar!).

The result is this next-level corn relish canning recipe that we’ve been putting on tacos, nachos, burgers, salads, and inside of wraps. It’s just so good!!

I hope you give this a try and see if you like it, too.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

When canning you must follow the recipe ratios and only a few things can be changed (like dry spices, sugar, and substituting one vegetable for another – but not the amount). Here are the areas you can try to make this your own if you’d like:

Peppers: The total amount of peppers is 4.5 cups and these can be any combination of peppers you’d prefer. Want less spicy? Don’t use the jalapeño. Want all sweet bell peppers? You can go that route and even use yellow and orange peppers.
Olives: If green olives aren’t your favorite, you can use canned black olives.
Vinegar: You can use all vinegar or 3.5 cups plus .5 cup of bottled lime or lemon juice.
Honey: The original recipe called for almost 2 cups of sugar! I decreased it to 1/3 cup honey and it was still more sweet than Brian or I prefer because the corn itself is so sweet. So I’ve made the honey optional (I don’t use it anymore). You can use cane sugar if honey is not possible.
Dry seasonings: The combo I use produces a great flavor, but you can adjust these or omit any you want – they don’t impact the safety of the recipe.

Let’s Make This Corn Relish Recipe

Here are a few helpful tips – the full instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the printable recipe card below.

spoon in open jar of corn relish from above

You are going to love how simple this recipe is – only three basic steps:

Prep and add all ingredients to a large stock pot. Yep – super easy! I used a 12-quart pot which held all the ingredients easily, but an 8-quart would also work.
Cook & prep canning supplies. Boil and then simmer the relish. While that’s simmering you can fill your canner (a stainless steel canner is the BEST) and wash six pint canning jars, lids and rings. Prep a filling area with a damp cloth, canning funnel, jar lifter, and non-metallic spatula or chopstick (I like to use a small tray that I can then easily clean).
Fill jars and can. Fill a jar one at a time with the relish, use the chopstick to remove air bubbles, adjust headspace, wipe rim and attach lid. Place in the elevated canning rack and repeat with remaining jars before processing for the time specified.

Need a water bath canning refresher or tutorial? Check out this page for all the steps plus a video that will walk you through.

Jami’s Favorites

Here’s the exact stainless canner model I bought and have been using since 2016. It works for glass surfaces with it’s flat bottom and has a glass lid, making it easier to monitor.
I use a flat rack similar to this in it – love the flat – won’t go back to divided racks again!
Here’s a newer canner-rack combo with good reviews (and higher price), but for sure works with induction if that’s an issue.

Storage

Once your jars are cooled, you should check the lids by pulling gently on the edges to make sure they are securely sealed (refrigerating any that didn’t seal).

Label with the contents and the month and year and store on your pantry shelves for up to 18 months.

Canning Alternative: you can keep the jars in the refrigerator where they will store wonderfully for up to three months.

corn relish used on chicken tortilla wraps

What is corn relish used for?

Here are some ways to enjoy this spicy corn relish:

As a topping for tacos (really yummy with fish tacos).
Sprinkled over nachos or enchiladas.
Alongside grilled chicken, steak, or pork.
Inside a simple cheese quesadilla or wrap sandwich.
Spoon onto a green salad.
Topping a hot dog or sausage dog.
Spoon over a burger or pulled pork sandwich.
As a dip for chips.
Added to grilled cheese sandwich.
Inside an omelet or over scrambled eggs.

Spicy Corn Relish Recipe with Olives (Water Bath Can)

Easy corn relish recipe with both sweet & hot peppers, and tangy green olives to can and use for topping everything from burgers to nachos.

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Canning15

Total Time1 10

Yield:

Author: Jami Boys

Equipment

8 to 12-quart stockpot
water bath canner
6 pint canning jars
6 lids (new) and rings (can be used)

Click for Cook Mode

Ingredients

8 cups corn kernels, about 16 medium ears
2 cups chopped sweet red pepper, about 2 large
2 cups chopped mild green hot peppers, like poblano or anahiem
1/2 cup diced jalapeno peppers (can omit for less spice)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup coarsley chopped green olives or black olives
4 cups vinegar option: 3.5 cups vinegar + 1/2 cup bottled lime juice
1/3 cup honey optional*
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoon salt, to taste
2 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder (do not use fresh)
1 teaspoon cayenne, optional
1 teaspoon turmeric, optional
1 teaspoon cumin. optional

Instructions

Add all the ingredients into a large nonreactive stockpot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
While the relish is cooking, prepare your boiling water canner, 6-7 pint jars, and lids. See this video for more details. (See notes for canning alternative.)
Using one warm pint jar at a time, pack the relish into the jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Run a non-metallic spatula inside the jar to release air bubbles. Attach lid to be finger-tip tight (not too tight) and place in rack of canner over simmering water. Repeat with remaining jars (if you are left with some that won’t fill a jar, keep it in the refrigerator to eat right away).
Lower rack into water in canner, bring to a boil and start timing 15 minutes to process the jars, adjusting for elevation. Lower heat a bit to keep the water so it's not boiling too hard (check throughout the process to make sure it's evenly boiling).
When the timer goes off, remove the canner lid, turn the heat off and let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes. Then remove the jars one at a time to a towel lined surface where they won’t be disturbed for 12-24 hours.
After cooled, remove the rings and check all the seals by gently trying to remove lids. Fully sealed lids should not move. Any that aren’t sealed can be refrigerated.
Label and date the lids and store the jars in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months.

Notes

*With the sweet corn we found even this reduced amount of sugar more sweet than we’d like so I omit it now. If you want to add the sweet, but can’t use honey, use cane sugar instead.

Canning Alternative: you can keep the jars in the refrigerator where they will store wonderfully for up to three months.

-High Altitude Adjustment: If processing at an altitude of higher than 1000 feet above sea level you’ll need to adjust the processing time according to this chart.

-If you have any jars that didn’t seal (which is rare!), store them in the fridge and use first.