canning green beans

Home canning green beans is easy with a pressure canner. You’ll need about 14 pounds of beans for a canner load of 7 quarts.  

Canning Green Beans

lb green beans

salt (optional)

Pressure canner

Canning jars, seals, and rings

Funnel, lid lifter, jar lifter, bubble tool

Ladle

To get started.

Start by preparing your jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed. If you are new to using a pressure canner, see this article for full pressure canning instructions.   Including more detailed information and step-by-step instructions on how a pressure canner works.

Rinse beans in cold water. Snap beans to desired size. 

Add canning salt to jars (1/2 tsp. for pints, 1 tsp. for quarts). Pack beans tightly into jars. 

Fill jar with clean boiling water, leaving 1” headspace.  

Remove bubbles. Wipe the rim clean and place on seal and ring.  

Place jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars.  

Process in a pressure canner according to the instructions below.   

For a Raw Pack

Rinse beans in cold water and snap beans to desired size. 

Put beans in a pot of boiling water. Boil 5 minutes. 

Add canning salt to the jar (1/2 tsp. for pints, 1 tsp. for quarts). 

Pack beans loosely into jar (don’t squish). 

Cover with clean boiling water, leaving 1” headspace. 

Remove bubbles, wipe the rims clean and place on seal and ring.  

Process in a pressure canner according to the instructions.  Processing time is listed below.  Be sure to adjust for your altitude.

For a Hot Pack

This is the easiest method for canning green beans in a pressure canner. Save time and effort with the raw pack method!

Quart Canning Jars ((OR 8 pint canning jars))

lbs Green Beans

Salt

Pressure Canner ((here's the one I use))

Canning Tools

Prep jars according to canning instructions.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Filtered or spring water is my preference.

Wash and de-string green beans. Remove ends, and cut or snap into 2" pieces.

Pack beans tightly into hot jars leaving a 1" headspace.

Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to pint jars, and 1 teaspoon to quarts (optional, but strongly recommended!)

Ladle boiling water over beans/salt, leaving a 1" headspace.

Remove air bubbles with canning knife and add additional beans or water as needed. Adjust 2-piece lids to finger tightness.

Process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a pressure canner.

Remove from canner according to canning instructions and allow to cool for 12-24 hours before putting them away for storage.

One of the easiest canning recipes around, you’ll love having jars of home canned green beans to use all year long. 

How to Can Green Beans

lbs green beans

water ({for jars})

water ({for canner})

4.5 tsp canning salt ({optional})

Wash and clean your jars. Make sure they are preheated enough to not crack when placed in hot water.

Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl.

Snap or cut beans to remove any strings, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Note: once the string has been removed, you may also leave them whole if you prefer.

(HOT PACK &amp; COLD PACK INSTRUCTIONS) If you are hot packing, add the beans to a pot of boiling water and let them cook for 5 minutes. If you are not hot packing, allow 8 (ish) cups of water to come to a boil in a pot or kettle.

Add 3 quarts of water to the pressure canner and put it on a burner set to high. Make sure there is a canning rack in the bottom of the canner.

Add the beans to the jars. If adding salt, do that now. Tap the jar a few times to pack them in there as well as possible.

Using a canning funnel, carefully and slowly add the clean boiling water from the kettle/pot, leaving 1-inch of headspace. Headspace is the distance between the top of the food and the top of the jar. 

Using a long utensil (I prefer a plastic chopstick), remove air bubbles from the jar.

Clean the rim of the jar very well with a hot damp rag. Any food debris left on the rim may impact the seal of the lid in the canner.

Place a clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.

Using canning tongs, gently place the jars in the canner.

Lock the lid. Soon, steam will start coming through the vent pipe. Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator on top.

Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up.

In a dial-gauge pressure canner, process pints and quarts based on the elevation guide below (see processing chart in post for altitude adjustments):*0-2,000f ft {PSI: 11 lbs of pressure} = Pints 20 min, Quarts 25 min*2,001-4,000k ft {PSI: 12 lbs of pressure} = Pints 20 min, Quarts 25 min*4,001-6,000k ft {PSI: 13 lbs of pressure} = Pints 20 min, Quarts 25 min*6,001-8,000k {PSi: 14 lbs of pressure} = Pints 20 min, Quarts 25 min

When the dial gauge reaches the appropriate PSI, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at the PSI or (a little bit) above for the duration of the cooking time. You’ll likely need to adjust the temp on the burner a few times depending on your stove.

When the time is up, remove the canner from the burner and allow it to sit until you hear a distinctive “click” of the air vent dropping. Remove the pressure regulator and carefully remove the lid of the canner (Pro tip: I always use oven mitts when I take the lid off because the steam is super hot).

Let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner and then lift them out with canning tongs. Pro tip: allowing the jars to sit in the canner with the lid off can help reduce the siphoning of liquid in your jars.

Remove with canning tons and place on a towel where they can sit undisturbed for 12 hours.

After a few hours, to check for sealing, gently press down in the middle of the lid. If the lid has no give, it’s sealed. If you can press the lid in and it pops a bit, your jars are not sealed.

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Top 3 canning green beans recipes from across the web

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Canning Green Beans

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The most viewed canning green beans recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine