Canning Green Beans
Canning green beans at home is an easy way to preserve them right on your pantry shelf.
Ingredients
- 9 lbs. Green Beans
- 8 1/2 tsp. Salt or 1/2 tsp per pint (optional, see note)
- Water
Instructions
- Prepare your pressure canner for raw pack by adding 2-3 inches of water to the bottom and heating it until it's warm, but not yet simmering (about 140 degrees F). At the bottom trivet. (Consult the manual for your particular brand of canner, as setup can vary between models.)
- Prepare canning jars, lids, and rings.
- Bring a kettle of water to a hard boil on the stove. This will be the canning liquid for your beans. Generally, you need about 1 to 1 1/2 cups per pint jar, so estimate about 12 cups water (or 3 quarts) for 9 pint canner batch.
- While everything is heating, prepare the green beans. First, wash them and then trim the ends, and cut off any bruised, damaged or spoiled spots. They can be left whole if they'll fit into the jars, but in most cases, they'll need to be trimmed to size (or trimmed into 1-2 inch pieces).
- Pack the green beans raw into jars, leaving 1'' headspace.
- Pour the boiling water over the top of the green beans in the jars, maintaining 1'' headspace. Debubble jars, and re-check headspace.
- Apply canning lids and rings, and seal to finger tight.
- Load the jars into the preheated canner.
- Place the lid on your pressure canner and close the bolts, but do not add the canning weight (yet).
- Turn the heat up to high and allow the canner to vent steam for 10 minutes before fully sealing the canner and bringing it up to pressure. See notes for correct pressures for your altitude.
- Process jars at pressure for 20 minutes for pints, and 25 minutes for quarts.
- When the canning time is complete, allow the canner to cool completely to room temperature. (Do not attempt to speed up the cooling process.)
- Once completely cool, remove the jars to a towel on the counter.
- Check seals, and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use. Properly pressure-canned and sealed jars of green beans will maintain peak quality on the pantry shelf for 12-18 months, and be safe to eat for much longer, provided they're still sealed. Refrigerate after opening.
Notes
Yield
This recipe is set up for a 9-pint canner batch, but you can adjust it to whatever size canner you have. I run a 30-quart all-American, which can hold up to 19 pints. For larger batches, just plan on about 1 pound of beans (unprepared, as purchased or harvested) per pint, or 2 pounds per quart. Be sure to adjust salt accordingly as well. That's easy enough to do, as everything is packed into jars before you start canning.Salt
The added salt is optional, and not required for preservation or safe canning. However, it does improve the flavor and texture of canned green beans. I do recommend adding some salt, even if you choose to reduce the amount as a personal preference. Generally, I recommend about 1/2 teaspoon salt per pint jar, and 1 full teaspoon per quart.Altitude Adjustments for Canning Green Beans
No matter the altitude, green beans are always processed for 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts, but you will need to adjust the canning pressure. When pressure canning, the total time doesn't change with altitude, but the pressure does. At higher altitudes, the food must be processed at higher pressures. The altitude adjustments for canning green beans are as follows:For dial gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure
For weighted gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure