Canning Green Beans

Supplies and Equipment

#1 Fresh Green Beans

#2 Salt (optional) - preserving salt or plain salt – NO iodized salt Why can't iodized table salt be used for canning green beans?

#3 Bottles, Rings and Lids

#4 Pressure Canner

#5 Canning Funnel

#6 Jar Lifter

Pick, Snip, & Wash Your Green Beans

Pick your green beans when they are young and tender. Keep an eye on this. When green beans start coming, they come quickly. You’ll need to pick them every 2-3 days so they don’t get too big.

One year we canned the green beans when they were too big. When we ate them, most of the bean had softened except for one stringy part. We do not recommend canning green beans that are too big.


Most big beans still taste good fresh, so don’t let that fool you. If they aren’t young and tender, they will not be good when you can them. Just eat the larger beans for dinner.

Snipping beans is a great job for children. Have them cut or snip both ends of the bean. Some of my children like to use a pair of small, school scissors to do the job and others just do it with their fingernails. Both ways work great.

After your beans are snipped wash your beans in cold water.

Prepare & Fill Jars with Green Beans

Then cut your beans into 1”-2” pieces.

Fill your jars with green beans. This is where the canning funnel will come in handy. It makes loading your jars a lot easier.

Put the lid on and screw the ring down. Do not over tighten, but make sure it’s snug.

Pressure Cooking Green Beans

A pressure canner must be used when canning green beans because they are a low-acid food.

Pressure Cooking for beginners has simple step-by-step instructions to help you successfully use a pressure canner to can your green beans.

Pressure cook quart jars of green beans for 25 minutes & pint jars of green beans for 20 minutes. The pounds of pressure depends upon your altitude. See Altitude Adjustment Table.

Check for Seal & Store your Green Beans

The next step is to check if your lids sealed. How do I know if my lids sealed?

The last step is to put your jars of beans back into the box and store them in a cool, dry, dark place (This is the ideal place to store your food. If you can’t do the ideal, do your best.)

Make sure you Earthquake Proof your food storage room.

You did it! By the end of the summer you’ll be a pro at canning green beans.

Enjoy!

Click Here for a tasty Green Bean Soup Recipe

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