How To Pressure Can Green Beans: A Practical Step By Step Guide

Learn how to can green beans with my straightforward recipe. It’s a great way to keep them fresh all year round.

This is a plain and simple tutorial, perfect if you’re new to pressure canning recipes.

"A clear glass mason jar filled with freshly canned green beans on a wooden surface, sealed with a metal lid and band, ready for storage."

Pressure Canned Green Beans Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes
Canning Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Serving Size 5 pints

Equipment

  • Pressure canner
  • 5 pint-sized canning jars, lids, and bands
  • Jar lifter
  • Canning funnel
  • clean cloths
  • Bubble freer or non-metallic spatula

Ingredients 

  • 5 pounds green beans
  • 2 ½ teaspoons salt optional, 1/2 teaspoon per pint jar
  • water

Instructions 

  • Prepare Your Beans: Rinse the green beans thoroughly in cold water. Trim the ends, and if desired, cut or snap the beans into pieces to fit your jars.
    "Assorted fresh green beans on a wooden chopping board, some trimmed and cut, ready for canning, with a stainless steel knife and glass jars on the side."
  • Clean Your Jars: Wash and heat your canning jars, lids, and bands by boiling them for 10 minutes or using a dishwasher on the sanitize cycle. Keep jars hot until ready to use.
  • Pack the Beans: Tightly pack the green beans into the hot jars, leaving a 1-inch headspace at the top. If using, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to each pint jar.
    "An overhead view of open mason jars filled with freshly cut green beans, with one jar being wiped with a white cloth and another jar being seasoned with salt."
  • Add Boiling Water: Pour boiling water over the beans in the jars, maintaining the 1-inch headspace. Use a bubble freer or a non-metallic spatula to remove air bubbles by gently sliding it between the beans and the jar.
    "Freshly cut and whole green beans on a wooden cutting board with a knife, ready to be canned."
  • Wipe and Seal the Jars: Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp cloth. Place the lids on the jars, then screw on the bands until fingertip tight.
    "Top view of freshly cut green beans being packed into jars with one jar being wiped clean, and another having salt added."
  • Process in Pressure Canner: Place the jars in your pressure canner, following the manufacturer's instructions. Process pint jars at 10 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes (adjust for altitude if necessary).
    "Overhead view of sealed jars of canned green beans on a checked wire rack, with a potholder nearby, ready for storage."
  • Cool and Store: Turn off the heat and allow the canner to depressurize naturally. Carefully remove the jars using a jar lifter and let them cool on a towel or rack for 12-24 hours. Check the seals, then label and store the jars in a cool, dark place.
    "Overhead view of sealed jars of canned green beans on a checked wire rack, with a potholder nearby, ready for storage."

Notes

Adjust the processing time and pressure based on your altitude as necessary.
The use of salt is optional and for flavoring purposes only. It does not affect the safety of the canned product.
Calories: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.05g | Sodium: 1190mg | Potassium: 957mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 3130IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 5mg

There’s something about the crunch and freshness of green beans that just speaks to me, especially when they’re preserved just right. My kitchen has seen its fair share of canning experiments—some hits, some misses. But, this pressure canned green beans recipe? A game-changer. It’s like bottling up a piece of summer you can enjoy any time.

Three green bean jars on a counter

Canning Tips

  • Choose the Right Beans: Look for young, tender green beans. They’re less fibrous and more flavorful, ensuring a better texture after canning. Avoid overly mature beans as they can become tough and stringy after processing.
  • Preheat Your Jars: A sudden change in temperature can cause glass to crack. Keeping jars warm until they’re filled helps maintain a consistent temperature.
  • Quality of Water Matters: If your tap water is very hard or has a strong taste, consider using filtered or bottled water for filling the jars. This will avoid any off-flavors being imparted to the beans during the canning process.
  • The Importance of Headspace: The specified 1-inch headspace is not arbitrary. It allows for the expansion of food and bubbling of boiling water during the canning process, ensuring a good seal.

Key Ingredients and Tools

  • Fresh Green Beans. You’ll find these in the produce section, often in bulk or pre-packaged bags. Fresh, crisp beans are crucial for a satisfying texture after canning.
  • Canning Salt. Located in the baking aisle or near pickling supplies, canning or pickling salt is recommended to avoid cloudiness in the jars. It’s fine-grained and doesn’t contain anti-caking agents or iodine, which can affect the canned goods’ appearance.
  • Water. While not unusual, the quality of water used can affect the flavor of your canned beans. If your tap water is heavily chlorinated or has a distinct taste, consider using filtered water for a cleaner taste.
"Ingredients for canning green beans laid out on a marble countertop, including fresh green beans in a bowl, a jug of water, and a small bowl of salt."
  • Pressure Canner. A must-have for processing the jars to ensure all bacteria are killed, making your canned green beans safe for long-term storage.
  • Canning Jars, Lids, and Bands. Pint-sized jars are ideal for portion control, and using new, undamaged lids each time ensures a proper seal.
  • Jar Lifter. This tool is essential for safely removing hot jars from the canner, preventing burns and accidents.
  • Canning Funnel. It helps in transferring beans into jars without mess, ensuring a clean rim for sealing.
  • Bubble Freer or Non-metallic Spatula. This is used to remove air bubbles before sealing the jars, crucial for preventing jar breakage and ensuring proper vacuum sealing.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with grilled chicken and dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, and roasted pork.

Troubleshooting and Help

Can I use frozen green beans instead of fresh?

Sure, you can use frozen green beans if fresh ones aren’t available. Just skip the initial rinse and trim process. Keep in mind, the texture might be slightly different, but they’ll still taste great.

Do I really need a pressure canner? Can I use a water bath instead?

For green beans, you’ll need a pressure canner. Green beans are low in acid, so the high temperatures from pressure canning are necessary to safely preserve them. A water bath canner won’t reach high enough temperatures to ensure safety.

How long do canned green beans last?

When stored in a cool, dark place, your canned green beans can last up to a year or even longer. After a year, the quality might decline a bit, but they’ll still be safe to eat if the seal is intact.

What if a jar doesn’t seal properly?

If a jar doesn’t seal after cooling, don’t worry! Just refrigerate it and use the green beans within a week or two. You can also reprocess the beans with a new lid within 24 hours, but be sure to check for any issues with the jar rim or lid that might have caused the sealing failure.

Storing Leftovers

Storing Your Canned Green Beans:

  • Cool and Check: After processing and cooling (which takes about 12-24 hours), check that all jars have sealed properly. The lids should not pop when pressed in the center.
  • Label: Write the date of canning on each jar. This helps you keep track of how long they’ve been stored.
  • Dark and Cool: Store your jars in a cool, dark place like a pantry or cupboard, away from direct sunlight and heat sources. A consistent, cool temperature is ideal.
  • Shelf Life: Properly canned and stored green beans should last up to a year and even beyond. However, for the best flavor and nutritional quality, it’s recommended to use them within a year.

Freezing Instructions:

Canned green beans are not intended to be frozen. The canning process has already preserved them for shelf storage. Freezing the jars could cause them to break or the contents to expand and compromise the seal, making them unsafe to eat later.

If you have fresh green beans you’d like to freeze, blanch them first by boiling briefly and then plunging into ice water. Dry them, pack in freezer bags, remove as much air as possible, and freeze. But for your canned green beans, stick to the pantry for storage.

Follow these easy steps and my tips, and you’re all set to savor the fresh taste of green beans year-round.

"Top-down view of an open mason jar filled with canned green beans, placed next to a white dish and a fork on a wooden table."
picture of smiling female

By Katie Shaw

Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.

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2 Comments

  1. Is the nutritional information for a whole pint jar? serving size is not listed~ We will be trying this canning recipe this summer!

    Reply