Are you looking to learn how to pressure can dried beans? You’ve arrived at the right place. This post will show you how to safely and easily can your beans.
As I’m sure is the case for many of you, canned beans are a staple in my pantry. I try to always keep an assortment of pinto, kidney, garbanzo, and black beans in my kitchen cabinet. Even when I’ve not been shopping in awhile, I nearly always have tortillas in the freezer and some kind of cheese in the fridge. Combined with a can of beans, I’m only a few steps away from a bean and cheese quesadilla lunch (and all the better if there’s a jar of salsa on the shelf).
In recent years, instead of sourcing my stash of canned beans from the store, I’ve been making them myself. That’s because as cheap as canned beans are, dried beans cost even less (I typically get at least four 1/2 liter or pint jars from a single pound of dried beans). And by using my own jars, I avoid the chemicals in can liners and also keep that waste out of the system.
If you have a pressure canner, making your own canned beans is incredibly simple (though I’ll grant you that the first time through it will feel like there are a lot of steps but it will get easier). If you don’t have one, this might just be the technique that convinces you to get one. If you’re looking for a good starter pressure canner, I use a 16 quart Presto
As is the case any time you use dried beans, you start by soaking them. If I’m canning on a weekend, I’ll soak the beans overnight so that they’re ready for a morning canning session. During the work week, I’ll set them to soak while I make breakfast and will can them up after dinner. I like to pressure can in the evenings because it means that I can let the canner cool overnight. I’ve found that the longer you let the canner cool undisturbed, the better the jars seal.
When you soak your beans, take care to use a bowl big enough to hold the beans and water to cover by 2-3 inches. As you can see in one of the pictures above, I didn’t use a bowl quite large enough for the white beans and so they soaked up everything I gave them and threatened to spill out of the bowl entirely.
Once the beans are sufficiently soaked, it’s time to start to prep them for the canning process. Like I do in all canning situations, the first thing I do is get the jars and canning pot set up. In this case, I put the rack in the pot, set the jars on top, and fill the jars with hot water from the tap (because the water isn’t coming into contact with food, I don’t worry about using hot water).
Unlike with boiling water bath canning where you need a full pot, pressure canning works with steam so the jars don’t need to be submerged. An inch or two of water in the pot itself is really all you need.
When I use Weck jars, I take care to also tuck the glass lids and rubber rings into the pot to heat (leave the clips out). When I use conventional mason jars, I tuck new lids into the pot, but keep the rings out as they’re hard to work with when hot. Settle the lid on the pot and bring the pot to a boil. No need to lock the lid into place yet, you’re just warming the jars.
While the canner heats, pour the beans and their soaking water into a pot and bring them to a boil. You may need to add some additional water as they still should be covered by about 2 inches of water. They need approximately 25-30 minutes on the stove in order to heat through and begin to soften.
Take note that the beans should not be cooked fully when they go into the jars. If you cooked them fully before pressure canning, your finished product would be total mush.
When the jars are hot and the beans have simmered for about half an hour, it’s time to fill the jars. Remove the jars from the canner and place them on a kitchen towel. If you’ve boiled out most of your water from the bottom of the pot, pour the contents of the jars back into the canner. If your water level looks good, dump the water from the jars out into the sink.
Fill the jars with the prepared beans. You want to add enough beans so that they come up about 2/3 of the way up the jar. Then cover the beans with cooking liquid, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
Ideally, you’ll have about an inch of water above the bean level. Don’t skimp on the water because the beans are going to continue to cook in the jars and so will need additional liquid in order to soften fully.
Once the jars are filled, wipe the rims with a clean towel. Settle the rubber seal onto the lid of the Weck jar and place the seal and lid onto the jar. Secure the lid with three Weck jar clips. When canning Weck jars in a boiling water bath you only use two clips, but the increased intensity of the pressure canner means that you need an additional clip to ensure that the lid stays in place. If you’re using conventional mason jars, apply lids and rings in the usual fashion.
To avoid chipping the lid with the clips, place the clip on the lid first and then push down towards the side of the jar. If you start from the side of jar and push towards the lid, you risk breakage.
Once the lids are secured, lower the jars into the canner. My 16 quart canner can hold five 1/2 liter Weck jars, seven quart jars, or nine pint jars. Pour a glug of white vinegar into the pot to help keep the jars and pot clean and then lock the lid into place.
Bring the pot up to a boil and let the steam vent for at least 15 minutes. You do this by running the pot without the pressure regulator in place. That’s the little black and metal hat that sits atop the vent shaft. The reason for this is that a canner that has been properly relieved of its oxygen through venting can reach a higher temperature than one that is full of oxygen. The higher the temperature, the more effectively the canner will kill any botulism spores present.
Once the canner is properly vented, apply the pressure regulator and bring up to pressure. If you live at 1,000 feet elevation or below (as I do), you bring the pot up to 11 pounds of pressure. If you live at higher elevations, you need to increase your pressure (find those exact elevation adjustments here)
Once the canner reaches the appropriate pressure, start your timer. If you’re working with pint or 1/2 liter jars, you process the beans for 75 minutes. If you use quart or liter jars, process for 90 minutes. Make sure to check the pressure gauge often to ensure that you’re at the proper pressure levels. If your pressure drops below the required level, you have to bring the pot back up to pressure and restart your timer.
Once the time is up, turn the heat off and leave the pot alone. I like to let it cool for at least an hour after the pot depressurizes, but the longer you can let it cool, the better. Even after the pot depressurizes, there is still a huge amount of heat in the jars. It’s perfectly normal for the contents of the jars to be bubbling hours after the canning process has finished.
Weck jars work really well for pressure canning, but there are a couple tricks to it. I’ve already mentioned the first, using three clips instead of two. The second is that you really must ensure that the seal is in its ideal position before you settle the lid on the jar. As you can see, my seal slipped a little with this jar. It wasn’t enough to compromise the seal, but I knew that this rubber ring wasn’t as perfectly positioned as the rest when that jar went into the canner. I got lucky and didn’t ruin the seal, but that won’t always be the case.
And remember. If Weck jars don’t fit your budget, the basics in this post also apply to how to pressure can dried beans in regular mason jars too. For a post that walks you through this technique using Ball canning jars, check out my post on how to can Rosemary White Bean Soup Starter.
Quesadillas and chili!
Karen U
In soup or for hummus!
Soups and salads, but I use them in lots of recipes, also! I can eat any type of beans, daily, love them. Thanks for the great giveaway!
I love using canned beans on salads, or in chili!
In chili!
Braised White Beans with Rosemary
I love these jars.
I would love to begin canning beans. Great post! I currently freeze them but canning would be even better!
I like to make burritos with beans!
Canned beans are the best for bean soups or chili!
I love making main dish salads with beans as a key component: either traditional beef taco salad with kidney beans or a chicken taco version with black beans are our favorites.
I would love to win this giveaway! Beans would be a fantastic thing to use the Weck jars for.
I love using beans in soups, especially chilis.
We use beans almost every day! We add them to pasta, put them on salads and eat them by themselves. My kids especially love them!
I love using canned beans – this is an exciting post! I’m going to pull out the pressure canner this weekend.
I’ve never seen these before and have been canning for awhile. I would
Love to add these to my supplies. I also just put a Dutch oven on my want list so this would be perfect! Thanks!
I’d really like to try the Weck jars, being an avid canner and preserver. I’ve pressure canned baked beans before, and my family loves the homemade versions over the high-sugar store-bought beans.
Awesome giveaway! And beans are exactly why I want a pressure canner 🙂
I make some great shredded chicken tacos with them!
I like the use them in chillies and cold salads.
I love this idea! I have a pressure canner but haven’t used the pressure feature yet. This seems like a great use for it.
So far, Mock Burrito Casserole. 🙂 However, I have some soup recipes that I’d like to try, too.
Perfect size for a two person family!
In chili and taco salads.
Thanks for the info on letting it vent to release oxygen and increase temperature for safety!
OMG!!! I make so many meals with beans. I never thought about canning them myself! This would be awesome!!!!
This is a great post, I never knew how to do this.
I love to use canned beans for soups. So quick and easy, delicious and nutritious!
I mash them in my food processor and add them to ground beef when I make tacos to make the meat stretch. With a family of 7 (6 of them boys/men) it is necessary!
I love to make homemade baked beans, black beans & rice, hummus or add them to taco meat.
Chili! I love chili and that is a great way to use beans.
Love having beans I canned ready to go in chili, soup, etc. So much healthier to do it yourself!
In chilli.
I use them for red beans and rice! Such an easy, quick comfort food!
Easy protein toddler
snack
I use canned beans the most in Chilli!
I love to have my kids eat beans as a snack! and we love them in our taco bowl
I’ve been using dried beans and cooking them in my pressure cooker for a while now, but haven’t tried canning them yet. Thanks for the instructions! I think this will definitely help make it easier and faster to throw together our favorite chili, beans and rice burritos, and beans and cheese quesadillas!
What a wonderful giveaway. I am in need of these items for I have none and wish to start canning my own beans. Beans are a staple item in my kitchen and this is ideal to get my dry beans freshly canned. Thank you gor the opportunity and sharing these fabulous sites.
I like having them to toss in soups or burritos.
In chili!
Cant beat chili
We use beans mostly in chili and tacos.
Black bean soup.
I like using canned beans in all of my Mexican dishes.
Love to can horticulture beans. They make the best chili ever!
please, what does the term “horticultural beans” mean? thank you head of time
I use them mostly for chili or tacos
Thanks for posting this! I have been making beans in the crockpot and then freezing them, but I think canning them would be even better! I think chili is my favorite way to use a can of beans in the winter, and I hope to try this method of canning them soon.
Weck jars are my favorite! Thanks for such an awesome giveaway!
I use them all the time! I definitely don’t have a favorite (bans are just awesome), but I had fava beans with sauteed kale and black rice for dinner.
I think bean and cheese enchiladas is my favorite way to use canned beans.
I like using them in soups
This is a great tutorial! I have been wanting to can beans and I have always wanted to try these jars.
Love the idea. I will so try this.
I use them for everything. They’re great to grab for a quick taco night.
I like to use home canned beans with rice – quick, delicious, nutritious meal.
I’m new to canning and this would be a great help.
Thank you for sharing the information and for this great giveaway!
We use the canned beans for everything: soups, stews & salads
I love canning and never knew you could can dried beans! I want to try this as soon as I get a pressure cooker!
I would love to start canning, and this would be just the thing to get me going!
I love using them to make chili!!
Just used some kidney beans that my mom pressure-canned in a slow cooker beans bourguignonne recipe – rich-tasting and delicious!
Favorite ways to use beans chili, hummus, baked beans, black beans with shredded bison meat
I do pressure can beans, but I’ve never seen those weck jars. they are so pretty! I love them.
My favorite way to use canned beans is in chili!
Soups! Thanks for this post- I am looking forward to trying this out!
I’d love to can beans! I freeze them now, but have my moms old pressure canner they I haven’t tried using yet.
We love canned beans for soups and quick snacking.
I love them plain with some bread! 🙂
I love to have them in the pantry for nights that I need to throw something together with leftover.
My favorite was to use canned beans is in soup.
I use them every week in turkey soft tacos!
Love this!
i was just thinking yesterday that i wanted to learn how to can beans! thank you fort this!
These jars are awesome!
I am looking forward to canning all the bags of beans I have stocked up.
In soups and chilis or making my own hummus.
usually chili, re-fried beans, and doing baked beans too.
never seen the weck jars I think I will have to find them.
I love to use canned beans to make chili! Yummmm!!
Excited to try this!!
I love using beans to make yummy soups and meat replacements!
Love the idea of canning beans. Currently I freeze them.
I love to make bean enchiladas with tons of black beans!
I love making chilies with beans…basic, white chicken, taco, etc….
Great idea! We do currently prepare our own beans, but freeze them. I think we may replace that method with canning now!
I love canning dried beans, and its so handy to just grab a jar when needed!
I love to use canned beans in all kinds of stuff!! I probably use them for chili the most. My youngest son has a lot of allergies, so he eats a lot of bean dishes, too.
Oh wow! I would love to have some of these jars to can the veggies I’m getting from our local CSA this summer!!
chili or baked beans
I LOVE beans 🙂 My favorite is bean soup using pork from the pigs we raise.
Love them for Chili and soup and the chickpeas for hummus.
Not sure which would be my favorite, hummus or feijoada!
Canned beans our my new favorite pressure canning items! This summer we did a whole hog roast and I pressured canned a couple dozen pork + beans jars 🙂 YUM! http://eatingwithsole.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/pork-n-beans-n-pork/
I love using these for easy canoe trip foods, or to add an indulgent smokey kick to a pot of chili!
Cooked dried beans are a go-to for easy lunches and supper options. We recently tried, and loved, black bean brownies, too!
I’ve never canned beans, but my favorite way to use home-cooked beans is to serve them alongside tomato-y rice with homemade chicken mole or enchiladas.
Ooh, canning beans would be new territory. I make beans at home, too, but generally just freeze the extras in plastic containers or wide mouth pint jars (straight sides are great for that). I used to weigh them to be comparable to the 14.5oz in store-bought cans, but it’s usually close enough that I skip that now.
I love canned beans & would love to try the Weck Jars.
Great post! I’ve always wanted to know how to pressure cook. I might get into it now.
I always make a mean chili with canned beans. 🙂
Chile, chile, chile. And pasta e fagioli.
panzanella