Best Copycat Rotel Recipe (Canned Tomatoes & Chilies)
Use this easy copycat Rotel recipe to make canned tomatoes and chilies at home! Fresh and flavorful for canning or freezing to use in dips, casseroles & soups all year.
Servings: 6 pints
Calories: 7kcal
Equipment
- large stock pot
- water bath canner
- canning jars and lids
Ingredients
- 12 cups cored, peeled, and quartered tomatoes, about 12 pounds (or 32 medium-round tomatoes)
- 1 cup finely chopped chili peppers- anaheim, poblano, or other mild pepper *
- 1 tablespoon canning salt or pure sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander (powdered dried cilantro seed)
- Citric Acid to add to jars if canning: 1/4 teaspoon for each pint 1/2 teaspoon for quarts OR 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice for pints (2 tablespoons for quarts)
Instructions
- Wash, core, peel and quarter tomatoes. Add to a large stockpot.
- Wash, stem, and seed chilies (leave the seeds to increases spiciness if you'd like). Finely chop by hand or cut into large pieces and finely chop in a food processor.
- Add chilies, salt, pepper, oregano, and coriander to tomatoes in stockpot, bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- While tomato mixture is simmering, prepare canner, jars and lids (see note for a tutorial for water-bath canning).
- To clean, hot, pint canning jars, add 1/4 teaspoon citric acid or 1 tablespoon lemon juice (if using quart jars, add 1/2 teaspoon citric acid or 2 tablespoons lemon juice).
- Ladle the tomato-chili mixture into each jar, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove bubbles with a spatula, wipe rims, and attach lids.
- Add jars to canner, cover, bring to a boil and process 40 minutes for pints (50 minutes for quarts), adjusting heat as needed to maintain a soft boil. When timer goes off, remove lid, turn off heat and allow jars to sit in canner 5 minutes.
- Remove jars from canner to a towel-lined counter and let cool 12 to 24 hours. Remove rings for storage and check lids to be sure they've sealed (gently pull up with your fingers). Refrigerate any that didn't seal.
Notes
*Add in 1-3 jalapeños for spice, if desired, as part of the 1 cup total chilies.
TIP: Use 10-ounce canning jars to replicate the size of Rotel cans. Process the same time as pints.
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.
To Freeze Instead of Canning:
- At step 3, remove from heat and let cool a bit before transferring to freezer-safe containers (if using plastic, cool completely before transferring).
- Label and date containers and freeze for up to a year.
- Note: if freezing, you could leave out the citric acid if you want, but since it is an ingredient in the commercial Rotel, it may affect the flavor.
Nutrition
Serving: 2tablespoons | Calories: 7kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.6g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 82mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g
