Canning Green Beans: Easy How-to Guide for Beginners

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Canning green beans is one of the easiest canning projects you can try. The raw pack method preserves your fresh green beans and makes them shelf stable so you can enjoy them year-round. This canning process is easy and uncomplicated.

If you are new to canning, green beans are a great place to start! The first thing I learned to can was green beans. The cold pack method is so easy. All you need is a pressure canner, some jars and lids, green beans, water and salt. Super simple for a beginner canner!

If you’ve never preserved food by canning before, you may think it’s a lot of work, and too complicated for you to figure out. If you are a first time canner, start with some simple canning recipes like raspberry jam or green beans. These simple recipes will give you the confidence you need to dive into this wonderful world of home food preservation!

Tips for Canning Green Beans

This is a super simple pressure canning recipe with only 3 ingredients! All you need is fresh green beans, water and salt. This recipe makes 8 pints which is a canner load in some canners. In my All-American canner, I can stack pint jars on top of each other and do 16 jars at once!

I like to can my green beans in pint jars, but this recipe can also be used for quart jars. Just make sure you adjust the cooking time depending on your jar size. Process time is 20 minutes for pint jars and 25 minutes for quart jars.

Ingredients:

Fresh Green Beans: This recipe works best with fresh green beans. You don’t want to can green beans that have been frozen as they will become too soft, and the density won’t be safe for this canning recipe. Use your own green beans fresh from the garden or buy them from a farmer’s market. Approximately 8 pounds of beans will fill 8 pint jars.

Water: You can use tap water in this recipe as it gets boiled, but you can also use filtered water if you prefer. My house is on a private well, and I use water straight from my tap. You need enough water to fill each jar to 1 inch of headspace after you have placed the green beans in the jar.

Salt: The salt in this recipe is for flavor. You don’t want to can green beans without salt or they will taste very bland and unappealing. Use 1/2 teaspoon of canning salt for pint jars and 1 teaspoon of salt for quart jars.

Tools:

Canning Green Beans: How to Guide

Canning Safety First

NOTE: It is important that you use a pressure cooker and not a water bath canner. It is not safe to use water bath canning to can green beans (unless they are pickled) because they are a low-acid food. It is also important to follow a recipe with processing times and pressures that have been tested and are known to be safe. This recipe has been approved by the National Center for Home Preservation. Learn more about safely preserving green beans here and here.

Preparing Jars, Bands, and Lids

Wash pint jars and bands in hot soapy water and gather lids. Place jars upside down on a clean towel until you are ready to fill them with green beans. Make sure you have enough new lids for the number of jars you plan to process.

Heat up the Canner

Place weighted gauge pressure canner or pressure cooker on the burner with the rack in the bottom. Fill with water and heat over high heat until water is hot but not boiling.

Boil Water

Bring a separate large pot of water to a boil. Boil enough water to fill your jars after you have filled them with green beans.

Prepare the Green Beans

Use raw beans that are tender and crisp when snapped. Avoid any beans that have blemishes or rust spots. You can use pole beans or bush beans in this recipe.

While your water is heating, wash beans in cold water and strain away water.

Trim or snap off ends, remove string if beans are a string variety, and snap into approximately 1-inch pieces. Place prepared beans into a large bowl.

Fill the Jars

Fill pint jars with green bean pieces until there is a 1-inch space between the top of the green beans and the top of the jar (this is called headspace).

Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to pint jars or 1 teaspoon salt to quart jars.

Pour boiling water over the top of the green beans until the liquid reaches the 1-inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles by sliding a plastic butter knife or headspace tool between the green beans and the inside of the jar. Add extra hot water if needed to achieve a 1 inch head space.

Use a paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars clean. You don’t want any debris on the top of the jar as this could cause your jars to not seal after canning.

Place the lid and screw bands to fingertip tight. Don’t over tighten.

Pressure Canning Green Beans

Use your jar lifter and place the filled jars into the prepared pressure canner. Place the lid on the canner and turn up the heat.

Once steam starts to come out of the vent, start the timer and let the canner vent for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add your weighted gauge to the vent pipe. If you are below 1,000 feet above sea level in elevation, use 10 pounds of pressure. If you are above 1,000 feet above sea level in elevation, use 15 pounds of pressure.

Continue heating until the weight starts to rock and jiggle and steam starts escaping. Start your timer when the desired pressure is reached. Process for 20 minutes for pint jars and 25 minutes for quart jars.

After the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and allow pressure to reach zero naturally before removing the weight and the canner lid. Remove hot jars from canner and place on a kitchen towel on the kitchen counter. Allow to rest for 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove bands and check to make sure the jars are sealed.

Store at room temperature in your pantry or kitchen cupboards. Canned food stores longer if kept in a cool and dark place.

How to use Canned Green Beans

Home canned green beans can be used as a side dish for a pasta dinner, in a green bean casserole, or any other recipe that calls for canned green beans. Use them just like you would use canned green beans from the grocery store. Dinners become quick and easy when you have ready-to-go home canned food on the pantry shelves.

Growing and preserving your own food is so satisfying. Raw packing green beans is an easy way to preserve them for year-round use. Feed your family all year with food you grew and preserved yourself!

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