Canning Dried Beans

I have canned a lot soups over the years that had beans in them, but I had not ever canned dried beans until recently. I found it pretty simple to do. I canned pinto beans first and a few days later I canned red beans. I would now like to can some black beans.

I like my beans to be a bit softer than store bought canned beans. So I cooked my beans for 1 ½ hours before I canned them. This gave them just the right texture for me.

Here is how I canned my beans...

I began by measuring out my beans. I used about 5lbs of pinto beans (this was about 12 cups of dried beans)..





I put them in my 14 quart stock pot and covered them with about 2 ½ gallons of water. I added 1t salt for each cup of dried beans..







Brought them to a boil, the covered and simmered for 1 to 1 ½ hours…




When they were done cooking I strained out the beans but made sure to save the bean broth. I put my strainer in a large bowl to catch the broth..




Then I filled my hot, clean jars with dried beans and covered with hot broth (leaving about 1 inch head space). I put a lid and ring on them and put them in canner.





I canned quarts for 90 minutes at 10lbs of pressure and pints for 75 minutes at 10lbs of pressure. When I was done I had 7 quarts and 4 pints…




A few days later I did the same thing with red beans. This time I cooked 15 cups of dried beans and covered with about 2 3/4 gallons of water (this was about the maximum my 14 quart pot could hold). This batch gave me 7 quart jars and 8 pint jars..





Comments

  1. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I have canned dried beans before but with not much success. I have never tried cooking them first. I want to try this as yours look very good. Thanks again. Enjoy your day and God bless.

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    1. I just canned 20 jars of dried beans. Why didn't you have any luck? Do they go bad? I researched and they are suppose to last up to 10 years. I filled my quart jars with beans, 1/2 head space, and baked in oven at 200 degrees for 1 hour. Then put my lids on. All of the lids popped.

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    2. I know this is an old post, BUT, please tell me that you did not try that oven method again?? I've been canning for 50+years, and many many pounds of beans. NEVER put up anything by the oven method, especially beans. Contact your local county extension office for help with putting up any foods in safety as well as reports on how many cases of botulism is reported yearly. You were so lucky that the lids all popped and you hopefully didn't try to re-process them in the oven. It is much safer to put those precooked beans in the freezer if you do not have access to a pressure cooker.

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    3. Could not agree more.. oven canning is always a big NO NO...

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  2. My mom used to can beans....but I have never given it a try. Always wanted to though. Thanks for posting....it doesn't seem as bad as I thought it would be. I will have to give beans a try.

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  3. I've also known of people that after draining the beans, they'll put them in freezer bags so they can freeze them to use as needed so they wouldn't have to use the whole bulk by a certain time. I think that both ideas are great!

    I had a question, how long can you store the canned beans?

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    1. Hi Anon.. I freeze LOTS of beans.. I love having them in my freezer. I like the idea with canning them that I don't have to wait for them to defrost.. they are much more simple to use. Canned beans will store for a very long time. After about 1 year most canned goods begin to lose nutritional value. Crystal :)

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  4. I would love to do this, it sounds so easy. I do have a question, are the beans fully cooked b-4 they enter the jars or does canning them make them fully cooked?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Danita, Beans take about 2 1/2 hours to cook completely. When I can them I cook them for about 1 1/2 hours. They are mostly cooked by this point. They will cook while in the canner and will be fully cooked after they are canned. Crystal :)

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  5. Thanks for posting this Crystal! I have never canned beans before. Could you do these in a water bath as I don't have a pressure cooker.
    Also I like the idea of freezing them as anonymous mentioned. If freezing, should you leave some liquid in the baggie? This is a great thing to do for the maybe tough times ahead. Heard we should be stocking up on food supply. Thanks again. Love your site!
    Amy

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    1. Hi Amy, No you can't do this in a water bath canner. Water bath canning is for high acid foods only, such as fruit, jams, jellies, pickled foods, etc.. You have to use a pressure canner for all low acid foods.

      I do freeze my beans with some of the cooking liquid.

      Crystal :)

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    2. I would be careful and research all recipes in a blue ball canning book or your local extension service for advice. Or find tried and true recipes on the web.

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  6. Awesome! Thanks for sharing this. We eat beans in our house on a weekly basis and I like this idea a lot. I just go a pressure cooker last fall and the only thing left from the garden to can were green beans. Now I have something to try while I wait for the garden this summer.

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  7. I had never thought of canning beans! We are big fans of pinto beans and I can't wait to try this! Thank you for sharing!

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  8. I love canning my beans. It makes for such a quick meal. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. That's a lot of beans ;) :) That's great that you'll have all of that to eat from during the next months. Speaking of canning, I want to "can" some soup...well, make a huge batch and put it in the freezer to be enjoyed later. Is that something I can do, store in glass jars in the freezer? I don't have canning equipement, but if I use the right storage containers, it should be okay in the freezer for along time, right? Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

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    1. Hi Heather.. yes you can freeze soup in canning jars. You need to leave plenty of space at the top of the jar because frozen food expands. If you don't leave space it will crack your jar. You can also freeze soups in zip lock bags or plastic freezer containers. Crystal :)

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    2. FYI: Potatoes don't freeze well, it changes the texture and makes them mealy. Any other kind of soup freezes just fine.

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  10. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Just a quick question, what type/brand of pressure canner do you own? We are looking at purchasing one. Perhaps you could post a picture of your canner and some info for us first time (hopefully) users. Many thanks.

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  11. This would be a time saver,We like great northern beans with ham hocks, has anyone done this and how ?

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    1. Hi Sherry, I have canned great northern beans and ham hocks. In my last batch, after soaking the beans overnight, I rinsed them multiple times to rid the beans of any remainin "gas" in the beans and water. Also , before starting the rinsing of the beans, I cooked two large ham hocks along with 5 bay leaves until the meal fell off the bones. Pulled the meat from the bones, tossed the bones and added the meat back into the broth and removed the bay leaves.
      Once the beans were rinsed really well put them back into the stock pot with fresh water to cover and cook for 30 minutes.
      Add 3/4 cup of hot beans, use a scooper with holes to drain off the cooking water.
      Add a half cup of the ham broth and finish filling each jar with the hot cooking water. Leave 1" head space and proceed with correct pressure canning instructions.
      Enjoy!

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  12. Thanks for this recipe. I've recently discovered your blog, and I just love all of your ideas. One thought I had for your beans was this: when we cook dried beans, we take the (ahem) gas effect out of them. We peel a potato, and put it in, whole, with the beans while they are cooking. Just remove the potato prior to preparing them to eat (adding seasonings or sauce). I'm sure it would work here, too. I was skeptical when my husband said he'd seen it on a cooking show. We have tried it several times, and we were astonished at how effective it is. Just don't eat that potato!!

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  13. Cooperative Extension/the University of Georgia/Athens is pretty much the authority on all things preserving. They have a fantastic book called, "So Easy to Preserve", it deals with canning everything from pickles and jellied products to pressure canning, drying, and freezing. Fantastic book, I love mine (I am not affiliated with them at all) but wanted to share in case others are interested. :)

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  14. My pressure canner says NOT to use a pressure canner for doing beans. Help, now I am really confused!

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    1. Maybe they think you're not smart enough to soak or precook the beans for awhile. Beans expand a lot. The method she is using works just fine. I wouldn't add the salt to the pot, though. Sometimes it keeps the beans from getting soft. Presoak or precook them, then can them. I've been canning pinto beans in quarts for years. No problems yet.

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  15. mine just says not to pressure can dry peas

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  16. They will not be dry after you soak them. They are most likely referring to don't do it dry.

    I am doing a batch today. I soak today and can tomorrow. I paid about 6 dollars for dry navy beans and the small can of Bush Great Northern Beans were a $1.13. Canned will be about 14 pints. That is around $14.00 canned, $7 dollars I can.

    I have canned for over 40 years. It is work but you know what you are getting in each jar. You are the quality control also.

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  17. Do you have to have a pressure cooker to can beans?

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    Replies
    1. Yes you do. All low acid foods (vegetables, meat, beans) must be canned in a pressure canner. Botulism can be fatal and will not be seen or smelled in a jar. You need to make sure your food is heated to the proper temps and for a long enough time to ensure your jars are safe. A water bath is not adequate to make this happen. Crystal :)

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  18. I hope everyone knows to rinse the dry beans before soaking or cooking. It's amazing how much dirt can come off of dried beans.

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  19. Pressure canner instructions tell you not to COOK dry peas/beans in the pressure cooker/canner because they are foods that foam and can potentially block vents. It's a disclaimer for the most part, people cook beans in PCs regularly, though I have yet to do so as I'm new to using mine...

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    1. I've canned lots of beans.. and never had a problem with beans foaming...

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  20. we can dry beans, by soaking them overnight, draining the water off, then use one teaspoon of salt in the bottom of the jar, put in the beans leaving 2 inches of head space. add boiling water to the rim, and pressure them 10lb for one hour. it works great. no pre-cooking. love your stew recipe, because you aren't browning the meat first. keeping it simple as possible

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  21. I would take the instruction not to can beans in pressure canner, as "don't cook beans in the pressure canner if you don't have them in a jar." In other words don't use the canner as a regular cooking pot. My pressure canner says this is ok. I have don't it once and I had to thoroughly scrub the lid of the canner. I haven't done it since. I use the canner to can beans mostly, because I love them and canned beans are fast foods.

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