Every year we plant a backyard garden and always get a lot of zucchini. For some reason, zucchini grows extremely well in my backyard. This year we planted only 4 plants and so far, we’ve gotten over 18 large zucchinis from them! So, what do I make with all of the ones that we harvest? Well, I’m going to tell you!
I like to use them to make sweet bread, homemade muffins, toss shredded zucchini into omelets, use them to make jam, pickles, relish and all kinds of other things. There is a LOT that you can do with them!
Today I’m sharing with all of you my recipe to make homemade zucchini relish. You’ll need a water bath canner to process them. Once they’ve been properly processed, they will keep for up to 1 full year in your pantry.
- 2 cups chopped zucchini (3 medium)
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 2 tbsp. Ball Salt for Pickling & Preserving
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. celery seed
- 1 tsp. mustard seed
- 1 cup cider vinegar, 5% acidity
- Prep: Wash zucchini, green & red bell peppers under cool running water. Remove stems & blossom ends from zucchini and chop zucchini (skin on) until you have 2 packed cups. Peel onion & chop. Measure 1 cup and set aside. Chop the red & green bell peppers until you have a 1/2 cup of each one. In a large mixing bowl combine together the chopped zucchini, green bell pepper, red bell pepper and onion. Sprinkle the 2 tbsp. of Ball Salt for Pickling & Preserving over the top. Cover bowl and let stand for 2 hours. Drain vegetables, rinse vegetables under running water and drain again.
- Cook: Combine granulated sugar, spices & cider vinegar in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer. Add vegetables; simmer for 10 minutes.
- Fill: Pack hot relish into a hot jar, leaving a 1/2″ headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim. Center lid on jar and adjust band to finger-tip tight. Place jar on rack elevated over simmering water in a boiling water-bath canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
- Process: Lower the rack into the simmering water. Water must cover the jars by 1″. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover the canner and bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool for 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner. Do not retighten bands if loose. Let jars cool for 12 hours. Check seals. Label and store jars.
Additional Tips: Always use freshly picked and undamaged zucchini. Instead of chopping it, I shred it up in my food processor or blender which saves me a lot of time. In other words, I chop it up into large pieces, toss into the food processor and let it do all of the work.
In a few days I’ll be publishing my recipe on how to make canned homemade zucchini pickles, so look for that one next!
* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!
I never thought about using zucchini to make relish . I think that it is a great idea. I love your recipes.
I like the spices you use for this. Food processors can be such a big time saver.
I bet this tastes delicious! I have never had zucchini this way. But it sure does look great in the jar. Well i will save this canning recipe too. Can’t wait until I start. Thank You for this awesome canning Recipe..