Canning carrots is a great way to preserve carrots, take advantage of store sales, or just can the carrots from your own garden!
Learn how to can carrots with a pressure canner for easy sides, soups, and more!
Last November I found an amazing deal on organic carrots and I grabbed up 100 lbs. A few days later they were all safely canned into quart mason jars and ready to be consumed.
Flash forward to today and I'm down to my last few jars! We use these carrots all the time.
A jar of carrots, a jar of potatoes, a jar of green beans, and some roast chunks makes a really easy soup for a fast dinner on busy nights!
I even toss them over a raw roast with a few uncooked potatoes before cooking for a perfect Sunday lunch.
And if you just want to have them on their own, sauteed in butter then glazed with honey is a wonderful side dish for most any meal!
So when you're looking for great deals on food and you see those carrots on sale, grab them up and get to canning!
RELATED: Pressure Canning Supply Recommendations from a Veteran Canner
Canning Carrots in a Pressure Canner
Carrots are a great thing to have on hand for soups, roasts, stews, and even by themselves as a side dish! And since they usually go on sale in the fall, this is a great time to stock up and can enough for the whole year!
As with all vegetables, carrots have to be pressure canned. If you have never done that before, it can be a little overwhelming and even scary to thing about trying!
Rest assured, it is a simple process that you can quickly master. Read my step by step guide on pressure canning if you are new to the process - this post will not be as in depth :-)
How to Can Carrots
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds carrots per quart
- Salt
- Water
- Pressure Canner
- 5-7 Quart jars
- Canning Tools
Instructions
- Wash carrots really well. Peel if desired, we leave ours if the carrots are organic.
- Slide, dice, or leave whole if no more than 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Pack carrots into hot, clean jars. Leave 1 inch headspace.
- Add 1 tsp salt to each quart jar. This is optional, but I recommend it. The carrots are very bland without and salting them after they have been canned does nothing.
- Ladle boiling water over carrots, leaving 1 inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles with canning knife. DO NOT use a metal utensil as it can cause the jar to break under pressure.
- Add lids and rings.
Process pints for 25 minutes, quarts for 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a pressure canner.
Recipe Notes
Pressure cookers and pressure canners are not the same thing. Read my full pressure canning guide here.
Canning Carrots FAQ
We've had a few questions about our home canned carrots and I wanted to add them to the post!
Are Canned Carrot Mushy?
Not any more mushy than boiled carrots are! So, if you've ever had carrots in soup or as anything where they are cooked in water or broth, then you will know what to expect.
I've actually found that home canned carrots are fall less mushy than the carrots end up being in soup... so, there you go.
Do You Have to Peel Carrots Before Canning?
Generally, I like to peel them because I don't like the texture of canned carrots with the peels still on.
However, it's up to you.
I had one reader who was very concerned that I didn't insist on peeling before canning. Something about botulism. The only problem with that is that the entire point of pressure canning is to kill botulism and other bacteria.
If we don't believe it kills those things, then why even do it? But we do, so the peels are fine if you want to leave them! :-)
How Long Will Canned Carrots Last?
We don't usually have them on the shelf for more than a year, because we eat them all... However, home canned carrots, when properly canned in sterile jars in a pressure canner, should last at least 5 years.
If you store them in direct sunlight that time will be reduced. But if you store them in the pantry, you should be fine.
PIN THIS FOR LATER
Joan says
If it didn’t take the first time can I re do them with new lids
Victoria says
Hi Joan, no, I would put them in the fridge and use them over a week or so. You *could* re-can them, but they would be double cooked and super mushy!
You could also freeze them if you wanted to.
Did you pressure can them? Also, what headspace did you leave in the jar? Too much headspace can cause the jars not to seal.
I’m sorry that happened!
Audra Karlinsey says
I canned carrots last year and they tasted terrible! I spit them out and tossed them all! I don’t know what happened but they were very metallic tasting and kind of bitter. I wanted to try again but my carrots in my garden didn’t do well.
Victoria says
Hi Audra, I’m sorry to hear that!
A few questions to help your next experience go better:
1. Did you use this recipe or a different one?
2. What type of lids did you use?
3. Where the carrots homegrown or store-bought?
4. What type of salt did you use?
5. What type of water did you use?
When you use filtered water and canning salt, you shouldn’t have any metal taste at all, unless the carrots had a high metal content or the lids were something odd.
Would love to help you troubleshoot! :-)
Gail says
Hi, l just tried this with my carrots a day later the jar was bubbling and foaming. Can you shed some light on what could be wrong?
Victoria says
Hi Gail, I’m so sorry to hear this. A few questions to help trouble shoot:
1. How did you sterilize your jars?
2. Did you peel the carrots or did you leave them on?
3. If on, did you scrub them?
4. Did you use a pressure canner?
There is some sort of bacteria that didn’t get killed in the process, so I wouldn’t eat those carrots.
Could you send me a picture to Victoria (at) amodernhomestead (dot) com