Home canned sweet potatoes are a great thing to have on hand for soups, side dishes, and especially during the holidays!! 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!
Read on to get the full details on how to can sweet potatoes for your well-stocked pantry!
As with all vegetables, sweet potatoes 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 :-)
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How to Can Sweet Potatoes
Last Fall I found a great deal on organic sweet potatoes at Sam's Club of all places! They were about $1.52 a pound, so I bought 50 pounds!
By buying in bulk and canning them, I saved a ton as they are usually $3.65 a pound during the rest of the year. That's a 59% savings!!
While canning sweet potatoes does take about 3x longer to process per batch compared to carrots, it was worth it to save all that money and have such a nutrient dense food available to us during the year.
They especially come in handy during the holidays! Sweet potato casserole never tasted so good as when you use home canned sweet potatoes and a healthy topping of homemade marshmallows!
So when you're looking for great deals on food and you see those sweet potatoes on sale, grab them up and get to canning!
Home Canned Sweet Potatoes FAQ
Here are a few of the most common question I get about canning sweet potatoes at home!
Do I have to Use Syrup?
Nope! You can use just water instead, however, the sweet potatoes will be very bland with you use them later.
We like to use a light syrup for the least amount of sugar that will retain the flavor of the sweet potatoes.
Can I Use Something Other Than Sugar?
Actually, yes! You can use honey instead at the following ratio.
To make light syrup with honey: Mix 1/2 cups of honey with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Increase at this ratio as needed.
We use the same process for canning peaches in syrup.
Can I Use This Recipe for Yams?
Yep! Pressure canning yams and sweet potatoes are the same timings and method.
Are The Sweet Potatoes Mushy After Canning?
They have the same texture as boiled sweet potatoes, in my opinion.
So, they are not going to be the same texture as fresh baked sweet potatoes, but they are prefect for sweet potato casserole, blended soups, and so on.
How to Can Sweet Potatoes
Learn how to pressure can sweet potatoes in light syrup for casseroles, soups, and more!
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes per quart
- Sugar
- Water
- Pressure Canner
- 5-7 Quart jars
- Canning Tools
Instructions
- Peel the sweet potatoes and rinse off excess dirt.
- Dice no more than 1 1/2 inches thick.
- Pack into hot, clean jars. Leave 1 inch headspace.
- Make syrup at a ratio of 2 1/4 cup sugar to 5 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil. (You may need to double the amount of syrup, depending on how many pounds of sweet potatoes you are processing.)
- Ladle boiling syrup over sweet potatoes, 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 quarts for 1 hour and 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.
PIN THIS FOR LATER
Jen says
Why so much longer to pressure can sweet potatoes than carrots? No one seems to know the answer to this. I would think they would be about the same.
Victoria says
Hi Jen! Just as sweet potatoes take a lot longer than carrots to bake and become soft, so they do too in the canning process.
Canning heats the food under pressure to a safe temperature to kill bacteria. Due to the fact that sweet potatoes are a much more dense and starchy food than carrots, they require more time to get to that safe temperature all the way through.
Hope that helps!
Angela bradford says
We are canning sweet potatoes . Would pancake syrup be ok to put in canned sweet potatoes ?
Victoria says
Hi Angela! I wouldn’t recommend that as I’m not sure which ingredients are included in the syrup or how they would effect the Ph level of the jar. I would stick with sugar or honey instead. You can can them in just water, but they will lose a bit of their sweetness.
Wanda joseph says
Can you use a canner instead of a pressure canner
Victoria says
Hi Wanda! If your canner is for pressure canning, then yes! Some canners are just for water bath canning (fruits, tomatoes, jellies…), and others are for pressure canning. Check your manual to be sure! You will need to be able to set a weight for the canner, otherwise I don’t believe it will be safe.
Linda D Hoad says
Hi Victoria, I just wondered if you can can Hubbard Squash?( Winter Squash)We just love it. Can you can it like Sweet Potatoes? Thank you.
Victoria says
Hi Linda, great question! You would can it like pumpkin:
1. WASH pumpkin or squash, cut in half and remove seeds. Remove peel or rind and cut flesh into 1-inch cubes or slices. Do not mash or puree.
2. PACK raw pumpkin into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1 tsp salt to each quart jar (1/2 tsp per pint jar), if desired.
3. LADLE boiling water over pumpkin, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
4. PROCESS filled jars in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 55 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool.
Hope that helps!