Canned zucchini salad is an old Russian recipe using zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes. These 3 summer vegetables combined and spiced up with lots of garlic make a very delicious dish.
Served as a side dish with some baked potatoes, or whole-grain rice, it makes a real dinner.
Traditionally the peppers and tomatoes are sliced, but if you don’t like the tomato skin in the dish you can either peel them beforehand or finely chop the tomatoes.
This is very easily done in a Vitamix on low. I find the blender does a better job than a food processor. I also often add the garlic right into the blender, it saves me some shopping. The zucchini can also be either peeled or not, depending on the variety and size of it.
Variety-wise I use whatever is growing in our garden. Red, yellow, or orange peppers will work. Costata Romanesco zucchini is my favorite, but any other works too.
The canned zucchini salad recipe is very similar to canned zucchini tongue but still different enough that I like to make both for variety. And there are always lots of zucchini to work with, aren’t there!? Let’s get started:
- 1 kg (6 cups) diced zucchini
- 1.5 kg (7½ cups) tomato
- 4 big bell peppers
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt (1 teaspoon is enough)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional)
- 1 cup 5% white vinegar (See note)
- Wash and slice tomatoes and peppers
- Dice zucchini into ½-1 inch cubes.
- Cook tomatoes with sugar (or honey) and salt - cook for 10 minutes
- Add all other ingredients - cook for 20-30 minutes or till done.
- Ladle into sterilized jars
- Wipe rims, apply lids, and screw on bands
- Process in a water canner for 20 minutes
Note: This is a traditional recipe with homegrown, sun-ripened ingredients, use at your own risk. The original recipe is asking for 1 tablespoon 9% vinegar, I adjusted it to 1 cup 5%. It is up to you how much you use just not less than the original recipe. You can find the original recipe: here.
We recommend boiling the preserve before use in a saucepan, even if you detect no signs of spoilage.
- At altitudes below 1,000 feet, boil foods for 10 minutes.
- Add 1 minute for each additional 1,000 feet of elevation.
Zucchini salad goes great with lentils and rice. For the Mujadara recipe and more ideas on using home-canned food in meals go here.
I have also pressured canned this recipe without the vinegar. Pressure canned it is not a salad anymore, but a base to a yummy soup. Just add beans and maybe some corn and there you have a meal.
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Usually I’m buried in zucchini but with all the rain & cooler temperatures I’ve had they are just now flowering! A warming trend is starting so I might get a few. This looks delicious and the fact that I can pantry it and use it through winter is wonderful!
When you pressure can, what’s the pounds and time?
The pounds depends on your elevation, for time I used 20 minutes, like a tomato sauce.
Will I need to add any canning ingredients to can this?
Have you ever had the store bought Del Monte Zucchini with Italian style tomato sauce?
How does this compare to that?
Cuz that is my ultimate goal.
Do I need to add citric acid?
Or pickling crisp granules?
This will be my family recipe from here on out.
So knowing is important
Hi Nicole, I use the recipe as is. You can add any spices you like, however do not add any vegetables without adjusting the acidity. Being a traditional recipe, it is low on acidity, if you feel better to add more, go for it. All at your own risk.
Thank you for this recipe, it’s delicious. This is my first year of preserving and I am having a bumper crop of zucchini so this is great. I made my first batch a week ago and everyone who has tasted it has taken a jar!! I had to use tinned tomatoes as mine aren’t ripe yet do I can’t wait to try it again with fresh. Thank you again.
How many pints does this recipe make
10 cups would be 5 pints.
I made this today, and will definitely make it again when I have fresh garden produce. I made a couple of changes because I did not have green bell pepper in my garden. In place of the bell peppers, I diced up 6 hot peppers (a hybrid variety of some kind), one yellow onion, and several stalks of celery. I chopped a combination of cherry, yellow heirloom, and sauce tomatoes in my food processor. The final product is more soup-like but is absolutely delicious!
Very creative! Just make sure your acidity is still okay. You might also like the Ikra recipe, your version is very similar to it.
Could I freeze the recipe instead of can it?
I haven’t tried it. I would think that the freezing would make the veggies a bit softer, but you never know till you try. Make half the recipe, eat some fresh and freeze some, how is that? Let us know how it goes.
Is the sugar for preservation or taste? Not crazy about sweet things. Just curious!
Taste, leave it out if you want.
When do you add the oil and vinegar? Is it served hot or cold? Sounds wonderful!
Traditional canning uses vinegar at the end of the cooking process. The idea is that it could evaporate. Oil can be added whenever. Personally, I do not know if it makes a difference when those two are added to the recipe.
Can you cut the skin off the zucchini?
For sure. If the zucchini is more mature, I would recommend peeling it.
I made this for the first time this summer. I have been searching for years for a way to can zucchini that produced something wonderful to eat. This recipe is the answer I was searching for! I just opened my first jar of it, and oh my goodness, it is delish!! I had it over tortellini. Very yummy! What I love about this recipe is that it uses the abundance in such an easy-to-prepare way. Thank you, Anna, for sharing your canning recipes. I believe you’ve shared several this year (2021…or maybe I just found them), and I’ve been so thankful to glean from you. I’m adding this as a permanent entry in my canning notebook. This is a wonderful way to preserve garden-fresh flavors. It’s like opening a jar of summer. Please keep sharing your recipes! Thank you!!
So happy to hear you like it, Julie. Most of the recipes I share are traditional recipes that have been around for generations. So I have no claim to them being my. Like you I am so grateful that they are shared around and we can use them.
Hi Anna,
Could you please tell me when is the vinegar added
In the original recipe, it is added at the end of the cooking. The common belief is that vinegar can evaporate to my knowledge that is not true. So you can follow the practice and add it at the end, just before it is done cooking, or add t whenever you want.
Anna, I noticed you have yellow and red tomatoes in your prep bowl. I have a bumper crop of yellow tomatoes coming on (the reds aren’t doing so great this year). Do you think it would be okay to use all yellow or more yellow than red tomatoes in this recipe? Should I possibly increase the vinegar since yellows are low acid? Should I pressure can if I use all yellow? I’m pondering. Thanks for any clues.
I would be more comfortable with pressure canning if using all low-acid tomatoes.
Do you eat this hot or cold?
We like both. However, if in doubt about the acidity, hot is better. Just boil for about 10 minutes and serve.
Made my first batch this year. I did go and watch the movie to get a better idea of how long it shoulkd be cooked to get the right texture. I think I left my zucchini pieces a bit big. I’ll be doing that differently next time.
Expiriance is the best teacher, isn’t it. The cooking time depends a lot on preference. Tasting them is a good option.