How to Pressure Can Potatoes
Boring? Yes. Useful? Extremely. We always use these for Sunday mashed potatoes (they’re creamy and perfect), and I throw them into soup all winter long. And don’t be nervous about pressure canning: it’s just prepping the veggies, giving them a quick boil, and letting the canner do its thing. Once you make your first batch, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to try this.
This is perfect when you find potatoes on sale or when you’ve got more than you can use fresh. Instead of watching them sprout eyes in your pantry, you can turn them into something useful that’ll last months.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
Yukon gold potatoes will keep their shape the best. Avoid Russets as they can become too soft and mushy. Any potato described as “waxy” will be perfect. Oh, and a pressure canner is essential here for safety. No workarounds.
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As written this makes 8-9 pints. If you have LOTS of potatoes, you can double or triple the recipe by clicking the 2x or 3x button in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Equipment
- Pressure canner (adjust pressure for altitude if needed)
- Canning jars (pint or quart), lids, and bands
- Large pot (for boiling potatoes)
- Jar lifter
- Canning funnel
- Bubble remover tool (or non-metallic spatula)
- Clean cloths or paper towels
- Potato peeler and knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 10 pounds potatoes (choose a variety that will hold its shape well when diced, like Yukon Gold)
- Fresh water for boiling and canning (use filtered or bottled water, especially if you have hard water or it smells like chlorine)
- Canning salt (optional, ½ teaspoon per pint or 1 teaspoon per quart)
How to Pressure Can Potatoes
If you’re new to canning or been at this for awhile, I’ve got some canning tips to make your life easier. It’s packed with useful advice to help make your canning process smoother and safer.
Step One: Get Your Stuff Ready
Wash everything – jars, lids, bands – in hot soapy water. Keep those jars warm by leaving them in hot water or your dishwasher. Fill your pressure canner with 2-3 inches of water and start heating it on low. This little head start will save you time later when you’re trying to get it up to pressure.
Step Two: Prep Your Potatoes
Scrub them clean, then peel if you want (I always do – they just look better). Cut them into bite-sized pieces that are all roughly the same size. Drop the cut pieces into cold water so they don’t turn brown while you’re working.
Step Three: Give Them A Quick Blanch
Drain the potatoes and put them in a big pot. Cover with fresh water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. That’s it – just enough to heat them through.
Step Four: Pack Your Jars
Use a slotted spoon to fill your hot jars with the hot potatoes, leaving an inch of space at the top. Add salt if you’re using it – half a teaspoon for pints, a full teaspoon for quarts. Pour boiling water over them, keeping that inch of headspace. Run a spatula around the inside to get rid of air bubbles.
Step Five: Seal Them Up
Wipe the jar rims clean – any little bit of potato or water will mess up your seal. Put the lids on and screw the bands on fingertip-tight. Don’t crank them down hard. Load them into your canner, lock the lid, and let it vent steam for 10 minutes before putting the weight on.
Step Six: Process And Wait
Pints need 35 minutes at 10 pounds pressure, quarts need 40 minutes. When time’s up, turn off the heat and just wait. Let it depressurize naturally – don’t try to rush it.
Step Seven: Cool And Check
Once the pressure’s back to zero, take the jars out and set them on a towel with space between each one. Leave them alone for 12-24 hours. No poking, no tightening bands, no checking seals until they’re completely cool.
How to Use
Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place, like a pantry or cupboard, for up to a year.
Use these in soups, stews, casseroles, or mashed for a quick meal during the week.
- Turn these into mashed potatoes and serve with a roast chicken or meatloaf.
- Add to a ham and bean soup or chicken noodle soup.
- Drain and use to make potato salad.
- Drain and dice, then fry with onions and whatever else you’ve got. Top with eggs and you’ve got breakfast!
Questions and Troubleshooting
Yes! Potatoes are a low-acid food, so they must be canned in a pressure canner to reach the high temperatures required for safe preservation. A water bath canner won’t cut it for this one, but don’t worry—the pressure canner is easy to use once you get the hang of it!
Sweet potatoes are a little different but can be pressure-canned, too! Just make sure to follow my recipe specifically for sweet potatoes.
Peeling is recommended because the skins can get tough during canning, but you can leave them on if you don’t mind the texture. Just make sure to scrub them well!
Yes, blanching (2 minutes) helps the potatoes heat evenly and stops them from spoiling. It also makes sure that they won’t be undercooked after canning, so don’t skip this step!
Yes, just adjust the processing time—quart jars must be processed for 40 minutes, while pint jars only need 35 minutes.
If a jar doesn’t seal, you can reprocess it within 24 hours or pop it in the fridge and use it within a few days.
More Pressure Canning Recipes
Now that you’ve got the hang of the pressure canner. You can make so many more things!
- Don’t stop at potatoes! Learn how to pressure can green beans to stock your pantry with another quick side.
- When corn on the cob is fresh and cheap, grab a bunch and pressure can corn using this cold pack method.
- Pressure canned spaghetti sauce is ready right out of the jar and dinner is ready as fast as noodles cook.
- Pressure canned beef stew is a ready-to-go dinner in a jar!
Printable Recipe
Canning Potatoes
Equipment
- Pressure canner (adjust pressure for altitude if needed)
- Canning jars (pint or quart), lids, and bands
- Large pot (for boiling potatoes)
- Jar lifter
- Canning funnel
- Bubble remover tool (or non-metallic spatula)
- Clean cloths or paper towels
- Potato peeler and knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 10 pounds potatoes (choose a variety that will hold its shape well when diced, like Yukon Gold)
- Fresh water for boiling and canning (use filtered or bottled water, especially if you have hard water or it smells like chlorine)
- Canning salt (optional, ½ teaspoon per pint or 1 teaspoon per quart)
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Instructions
- Prepare your jars and canner. Wash your canning jars, lids, and bands in hot, soapy water and rinse well. Keep the jars hot until needed by placing them in a simmering water bath or a heated dishwasher. Then, prepare the pressure canner per the manufacturer’s instructions, filling it with 2-3 inches of water. Start heating on low—this preheating step helps reduce the time it takes for your canner to reach pressure later.
- Prep the potatoes. Wash the potatoes thoroughly to remove dirt. Then, peel the potatoes if desired (peeling is recommended for the best results). Next, cut the potatoes into even, bite-sized pieces to make sure uniform cooking and canning. Place the cut potatoes into a large bowl of cold water to prevent browning while cutting the rest.
- Blanch the potatoes. Drain the potatoes from the cold water and transfer them to a large pot. Then, cover the potatoes with fresh water and bring the pot to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes—this blanching step makes sure the potatoes are heated through and ready for safe preservation.
- Fill the jars. Pack the hot potatoes into your prepared hot jars using a slotted spoon, leaving 1 inch of headspace at the top. If you're using salt, add ½ teaspoon per pint or 1 teaspoon per quart at this stage. Then, ladle boiling water over the potatoes, maintaining the 1-inch headspace. Next, use a bubble remover tool or a non-metallic spatula to gently slide between the potatoes and the jar wall to release any trapped air bubbles. Adjust the headspace if necessary.
- Secure lids. Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel to make sure a proper seal. Place the lids on the jars, then screw the bands on until they are fingertip-tight (don’t overtighten). Place the filled jars on the rack in your preheated pressure canner, making sure the jars are not touching each other. Lock the canner lid in place. Turn the heat to medium-high and allow the canner to vent steam for 10 minutes before placing the weight or closing the vent to bring the canner up to pressure.
- Process the jars. For pint jars, process for 35 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. For quart jars, process for 40 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.Note: Adjust the pressure for your altitude according to your pressure canner manual guidelines.After processing, turn off the heat and let the canner depressurize naturally. Do not attempt to speed up this process.
- Cool and store the jars. Once the pressure has returned to zero, carefully unlock the canner and remove the lid. Use a jar lifter to remove the jars from the canner, placing them on a towel or cooling rack. Make sure there is space between each jar. Allow the jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Do not tighten the bands or check the seals until the jars are completely cool.
Notes
Nutrition
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