• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

A Modern Homestead

Yesterday's Values for Today's Busy Life

  • Start Here
  • Recipes
  • Topics
    • Homesteading >>
      • How We Make $8000+ A Month Online While Homesteading
      • Canning
      • Gardening
      • Homesteading
      • Homestead House Plans
    • Handmade >>
      • Gift Giving
      • Knitting
      • Sewing
      • Printable Art
      • All Crafting
    • Seasonal >>
      • Christmas
      • Thanksgiving
      • Halloween
      • Easter
      • Birthday
      • Party
      • Fall
      • Summer
      • Spring
      • All Seasonal Content
  • Blogging
    • How to Start a Blog!
    • Make Money Blogging FAST
    • Guest Posting Application
    • All Blogging Posts
  • Community
  • Shop
    • All Products
    • Homestead House Plans
    • Cart
    • Checkout

How to Can Green Beans

This page may contain affiliate links. Learn More.

May 23, 2019 by Victoria 54 Comments

Canning green beans is an easy summer activity that allows you to enjoy them all year long! Find out how to can green beans in a pressure canner, as well as how to deal with the fact that green beans are not ready to harvest at the same time.

Fresh green beans before and after canning process

There's nothing quite like reaching into the pantry and grabbing a jar of home canned food. Whether it's homegrown, or purchased from the store, canning your own food is a blessing that lasts all year long!

No matter what level of canner you consider yourself to be, canning green beans is a simple process that will let you enjoy your efforts for many months to come!

I especially enjoy using home-canned green beans for the holidays in from scratch green bean casseroles and soups!

Growing Green Beans

This year we had tons of fresh produce from the garden; and green beans were no exception! Our blue lake green beans did particularly well in the spring!

Fresh green beans from the garden

For the fall we are planting heirloom Lady Di pole beans, and heirloom Dragons Tongue and Red Swan bush beans - I look forward to seeing how their yields compare! Not to mention the stunning colors that will be present in our bean section for the fall!

We got so much food from our Back to Eden garden, that we even had to completely rebuild our pantry to accomedate all the new canning jars!

New pantry shelves spaced for canning jars

That was day one, now the shelves are completely full of sweet pickles, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, cherries, strawberry jam, apple butter, cranberry sauce, tomato sauce, and green beans!

Pantry full of home canned food in canning jars

I'm starting to work on Mr. Homestead regarding the idea of a canning cellar outside of the house (climate controlled, we are in Texas after all!). ;-)

In the meantime, I'll stuff my little pantry to the brim with canned goods!

Canning Green Beans

If you've pressure canned before, you know what to expect from the process...

But if you're new to pressure canning, or canning in general, it can seem really scary!! In reality, it's very easy to do and extremely satisfying to complete!

If you're new to pressure canning, I encourage you to read my in-depth look at the process of pressure canning here. It gives a very detailed account of exactly what to expect so that you're not caught off guard!

Once you've done that, or if you're not new to pressure canning, then you're ready to get started canning your green beans!

Before you can them, make sure you snap them and remove the strings first. In the past we've had bean varieties that grew 2-4 thick strings PER bean... what a pain! That's why I've started choosing naturally string-less varieties like the Lady Di pole beans.

However, whatever type of bean you have, make sure that you don't skip the snapping process or your canned beans will be difficult to eat!

free pressure canning workshop banner ad

How to Snap Green Beans

Snapping green beans isn't terribly difficult, but it is something that needs to be done - especially if you are growing heirloom varieties. Unless you have a stringless heirloom like the Lady Di bean!

So, to snap (or string) your green beans, start at one end of the green bean and "snap" the tip. You can do this with a knife or with your hands. I like using a knife, but that's up to you! If you decide to use a knife, only slice through the end about 3/4 of the way and then continue.

Pull the broken tip down along the seam to remove any "string" that may be hiding there. Snap off the other end of the bean in the same way.

Discard the snapped-off ends and any strings in the small bowl and feed them to the chickens or pigs if you have any!

From there, you can leave the beans whole or cut them into 1-2" segments for canning.

Bulk Canning Green Beans from Your Garden

Even when you're harvesting several pounds of green beans a day like we were, that's not really enough to fill up the pressure canner. So in order to make the canning effort more "worth it", I tried a few different things to help the green beans stay fresh long enough to can in larger batches.

In order to do this you need to refridgerate the fresh green beans right away - without washing them first. Make sure they are in a sealed bag (press out the air before sealing), and they will stay fresh for up to 7 days!

Then you can wash and snap the green beans in larger batches for bulk canning! Once you have enough beans to can, and you have them all washed and snapped, just follow the directions below to pressure can your own home-canned green beans!

Adjusting Pressure Canning by Altitude

It is important to note that the pressure used during canning changes based on altitude at which the food is being canned. If you are pressure canning a 0-1000 ft above sea level, then no changed are needed.

Refer to the chart below for how to change the pressure according to your altitude:
pressure canning changes by altitude chart

PIN THIS FOR LATER

home canned green beans in canning jars

Canning Green Beans

This is the easiest method for canning green beans in a pressure canner. Save time and effort with the raw pack method!
4.42 from 12 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Canning Green Beans, How to Can Green Beans, Pressure Canning Green Beans
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 Quarts

Ingredients

  • 4 Quart Canning Jars (OR 8 pint canning jars)
  • 10 lbs Green Beans
  • Canning Salt
  • Pressure Canner (here's the one I use)
  • Canning Tools

Instructions

  • 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.

Notes

Salt is optional, but strongly recommended as the beans will be flavorless after canning and seasoning after the fact is almost pointless.
Tried this recipe?Mention @AModHomestead or tag ##amodernhomestead!

More Canning Recipes:

Jellied cranberry sauce on a spoon

How to Can Jellied Cranberry Sauce

Apple butter recipe

Crockpot Apple Butter with Canning Instructions

water bath canning with pint jars

Water Bath Canning Mandarin Oranges

homemade apricot preserves

How to Can Homemade Apricot Jam

Filed Under: All Posts, Canning, Homesteading Favorites, Reader Favorites Tagged With: Canning, Canning Vegetables, From scratch, Homestead Pantry, Homestead Skills, Homesteading, Pressure Canning, Water Bath Canning

Previous Post: « How to Dry and Use Carrot Greens
Next Post: Easy Fluffy Pancakes with Einkorn »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Martina says

    October 6, 2020 at 7:12 am

    Will these instructions work for other types of beans as well like Broad Beans?

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      October 13, 2020 at 10:15 am

      Hi Martina! For broad beans, you would follow the same directions for prep and pressure, but the time changes to 40 minutes for pints and 50 minutes for quarts! Sorry for the delay!

      Reply
« Older Comments
Unlock commenting as a premium member. PLUS, enjoy ad-free reading of the entire site. And more!

✨ JOIN NOW ✨

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hi there! I’m Victoria – a work at home mom to an active 4 year old, homesteader, from scratch chef, and full time blogger!
Here you will find delicious real food recipes, canning and gardening help, frugal living tips, and more! Learn more about our story here!
fried okra finished on plate

Easy Southern Fried Okra

Einkorn Apple Cinnamon Overnight Wheat Berries

Harry Potter Chocolate frogs boxes

Harry Potter Chocolate Frogs with Boxes

READ MORE

  • Home
  • Checkout
  • Affiliates
  • Contact Me
  • Work With Me
  • Guest Posting Application
  • Join Now!
  • Login
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2021 · Niche Theme