How to Pressure Can Green Beans

CANNING GREEN BEANS IS A GREAT WAY TO PRESERVE THEM FOR LATER USE. TODAY I’M EXCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU EXACTLY HOW I USE MY PRESSURE CANNER TO CAN ENOUGH GREEN BEANS EACH YEAR TO LAST OUR FAMILY THROUGH THE WINTER MONTHS.

Since everyone at our house loves our home pressure canned green beans so much, I try to put enough up each summer and/or fall to last us through the winter. My goal is to have enough to last until about June of the following year which is when we usually start getting fresh green beans from our garden again.

Advantages of Canning Green Beans

One of the biggest advantages for me to having canned green beans is that my family loves them so they eat them. It is always good to have food on hand that your family will eat.

Another big advantage is that they last for a really long time and are shelf stable. That means that I don’t have to worry about losing all of my beans due to a power failure like I would if they were in the freezer.

And lastly they don’t take up valuable room in my freezer. Frozen green beans are pretty bulky and we really need our freezer space for meat, fruit, and some other vegetables like corn on the cob. Considering the amount of beans we put up every year we would probably need another freezer just for them.

Preparing your green beans for pressure canning.

There are a few things that you will need to do to get your green beans ready to be canned. Mainly they need to be washed well, snapped, and destringed ( I’m not really sure that is a word) but if your beans have strings you will really want to get rid of those strings before you try to eat them.

I did a whole post and video about how to prepare your beans to get the best results from your canning so I won’t repeat all of that again, but if you haven’t seen that post and would like to read it you can find here.

Also if you are totally new to canning and aren’t really sure what all you need to have in order to can your green beans I have a post and video about getting started canning here.

Pressure canning green beans is not hard.

I know that when it is all new to you it can seem a little bit intimidating. Canning is just one of those things that you have to jump into and the more you do it the easier it will become.

The instructions for canning are basically the same for everyone except the fact that your altitude will determine how long and what pressure you need to use to can your green beans.

Here is a chart from SDSU Extension showing the adjustments needed. Be sure to look at the pressure canning part, not the boiling water bath canning and find the type of pressure canner you have (either weighted gauge or dial guage) to determine if there is an adjustment you need to make for canning your green beans.

Steps to Pressure Canning Green Beans

Gather your canner, jars, rings, and lids. Wash your jars in hot soapy water, rinse well and keep the jars warm in a pot of hot water until you are ready to place your beans in them. (I use my boiling water canner.)
Remove your jars from the water and sit them on a dishtowel when you are ready to fill them with beans.
Fill each jar with your washed and snapped beans. Leave 1 inch of head space at the top.
Add 1 tsp of salt per quart jar or 1/2 tsp of salt per pint jar to each jar.
Fill each jar with hot water to just covering the top of the beans leaving the 1 inch head space.
Run a plastic spatula inside each jar carefully to remove any air bubbles.
Wipe the rim of each jar carefully with a clean rag to remove anything that might be on them that could prevent your jars from sealing.
Heat the amount of jar lids that you need in a small pot of water, don’t bring them to a boil.
When your lids are heated, carefully remove each one with a magnetic wand and place the lids on your jars with the sealing part down.
Screw on your jar rings, tighten until you feel some resistance.
Place the amount of hot water your canner takes into the canner, mine takes 2 quarts. Check to make sure how much yours needs. There should be a few inches of hot water in the bottom of your canner.
Place each jar into your steam pressure canner, make sure your rack is in the bottom of your canner.
Put the lid on your canner and make sure it properly locks in place.
Bring the water in your canner to a boil and let steam escape for 10 minutes, leave the vent open. After 10 minutes place the weight on the vent.
Bring pressure to 10 pounds and keep pressure steady during the whole processing time. Process quarts for 25 minutes and pints for 20 minutes. This is for altitudes at or below 1000 feet above sea level. If you are using a dial gauge or at a higher altitude check the chart here to find out exactly what time and pressure you need to use. There are plenty of other charts online so you may find one specifically for your area.
After the processing time is up, turn off the heat under the canner and let the pressure return to 0 naturally. Be sure to leave the weight on during this time. After it is at 0 pressure remove the weight. Let the canner cool a bit more before opening it.
When you open your canner be very careful because it is still full of hot steam and could possible burn you. Always tilt the lid toward you so that the steam will go away from you. ( I usually crack my lid and leave it sitting loosely on my steamer letting the steam escape and it cool even more before I lift that lid off)
After you remove the lid allow the jars to sit in the steamer about 10 more minutes to adjust to the change in temperature.
Remove the jars from the canner with your jar lifter or an oven mitt and place them on a dish towel on the counter. I like to also cover mine with a dish towel. Let them sit like this for 12-24 hours to continue cooling and sealing.
After your jars have cooled check each one to see if it is sealed by pressing down on the center of the lid with your finger. If the lid is pulled down to the jar and doesn’t flex when you push down on it, it is sealed. You also should not be able to lift it with your hand.
Remove the rings from your sealed jars and wipe your jars down with a damp rag if needed. Label and store.

Wow that sure seems like a lot of instructions but once you get used to it, it will start to become natural to you. If you would like to watch me do this in my kitchen here is a little video that I made for you, maybe it won’t seem as complicated after your watch the video.

I’m so glad to have you here today and I hope that this post has inspired you to do some canning yourself. I think that you will love the benefits of being able to can your own green beans and other foods just as much as I do.