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From Asparagus to Zucchini: Vegetable Canning for Beginners

Preserving vegetables yourself gives you the freedom to adjust cooking methods, ingredients, and flavor to taste—as well as to guarantee a stash of your seasonal favorites throughout the year, impress friends and family, and even save some cash in the process.

Let’s start by looking at some of the vegetable canning basics.

Pressure Canning Vegetables

• All vegetables except tomatoes, sauerkraut, and pickles are low enough in acid that they must always be processed in a pressure canner. Other methods are simply not safe.
• Because it takes only one spoonful from one jar of poisoned food to cause serious illness or death, the canner may be the most important investment you make.

You can read more about how Pressure Canners Work here

Vegetable	Method	Inches of Headroom	Minutes to Pre-cook	Minutes to Process a Pint	Minutes to Process a Quart
Asparagus	Raw pack	½	-	30	40
Beans, fresh lima	Hot pack	1	Bring to a boil	40	50
Beans, snap	Raw pack	½	-	20	25
Beets	Hot pack	½	15	30	35
Broccoli	Hot pack	1	3	30	35
Brussels sprouts	Hot pack	1	3	30	35
Cabbage	Hot pack	1	3	45	55
Carrots	Raw pack	1	-	25	30
Cauliflower	Hot pack	1	3	30	35
Celery	Hot pack	1	3	30	35
Cream Style Corn	Hot pack	1	Bring to a boil	35	Pints only
Whole Kernel Corn	Hot pack	1	Bring to a boil	35	Pints only
Eggplant	Hot pack	1	5	30	40
Mushrooms	Hot pack	½	Boil 5 minutes	45	-
Okra	Hot pack	½	1	25	40
Parsnips	Hot pack	1	3	30	35
Peas	Raw pack	1	-	40	40
Peas	Hot pack	1	Bring to a boil	40	40
Peppers	Hot pack	1	3	35	Pints only
Whole Potatoes	Hot pack	½	10	35	40
Cubed Potatoes	Hot pack	½	2	35	40
Soybeans	Hot pack	1	Bring to a boil	55	65
Spinach and other greens	Hot pack	½	Steam 10 minutes	70	90
Summer Squash (such as Zucchini)	Hot pack	½	Bring to a boil	30	40
Sweet Potatoes	Dry pack	1	20-30	65	90
Sweet Potatoes	Hot pack	1	20	65	90

Using Boiling Water Method to Process Vegetables

Even if you don’t have a pressure canner, you can make your own pickles and canned tomatoes by processing in boiling water. Use the same instructions as for pressure canning, using sanitized jars and lids, except in a boiling water bath with water that covers the lid by at least 2 inches. Follow the recommendations in the table below to guarantee safe and delicious tomato products!

Produce	Method	Headroom (in inches)	Pint Processing Time	Quart Processing Time
Tomato juice	Hot pack	½	35	40
Tomato juice and flesh	Hot pack	½	35	40
Crushed tomatoes	Hot pack	½	35	45
Tomato sauce	Hot pack	½	35	40
Whole or halved tomatoes in juice	Raw or Hot pack	½	85	85
Whole or halved tomatoes - no liquid	Raw pack	½	85	85

The following recipes include the most popular vegetable dishes for canning. Feel free to adjust spices and flavors (but not acidity or processing times) to taste. Enjoy your vegetable canning adventures!

Basic Canned Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 8 quarts peeled and chopped tomatoes
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon salt

Directions

• Gently toss tomatoes with lemon juice and salt, then fill jars to 1/4-inch of tops.
• Run a slim, non-metal tool down along the insides of jars to release any air bubbles.
• Add additional paste, if necessary, to within 1/4-inch of tops.
• Wipe tops and threads of jars with a damp clean cloth.
• Put on lids and screw bands as manufacturer directs.
• Process in a boiling water bath for 45 minutes.

Variations

• Cook tomatoes over medium-low heat until completely broken down to make tomato sauce, then can as for Basic Canned Tomatoes.
• Up to 25% of the contents of the sauce may contain herbs or other cooked vegetables, such as roasted peppers, sautéed minced onions, or garlic.
• To make a tomato paste, cook tomatoes over medium-low heat until broken down and the volume is reduced by half. Strain through cheesecloth, then can as for Basic Canned Tomatoes.

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Classic Dill Pickles

Ingredients

• 25 pickling cucumbers, 2-3 inches long
• 4 cups cider vinegar
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons celery or fennel seeds
• 4 sprigs fresh dill
• 1 cup pickling salt, dissolved in 8 cups water

Directions

• Wash cucumbers thoroughly. Soak 24 hours in brine. Drain and pat dry.
• Bring vinegar, sugar, and spices to a boil.
• Add cucumbers and cook 5 minutes over medium heat.
• Pack cucumbers and spices in hot, sterilized jars.
• Cover with cooking liquid and seal. Wait a month before opening. Makes 8 cups.

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Dilly Beans

Ingredients

• 4 pounds high quality whole green beans
• 2 teaspoons crushed dried hot red pepper
• 4 teaspoons dried dill seed
• 7 cloves of peeled fresh garlic
• 5 cups vinegar
• 5 cups water
• ½ cup picking salt

Directions

• Wash beans thoroughly
• Remove stems and tips, and cut them as uniformly as possible to allow them to stand upright in pint canning jars, coming to the shoulder of the jar.
• Have jars clean and very hot, and lids and sealers ready in scalding water.
• In each jar, place ½ tsp of dill seed, one garlic clove, and ¼ tsp of crushed hot red pepper.
• Pack beans upright in jars, leaving one inch of headroom.
• Heat the water, vinegar, and salt together. When the mixture boils, pour it over the beans, filling each jar to ½ inch from the top.
• Run a knife down and around to remove trapped air, adjust lids, and process in a 185°F bath for ten minutes after the water in the canner returns to simmer.
• Remove jars and complete seals if necessary.
• Makes 7 pints.

Note: if you substitute ground cayenne pepper for the crushed hot red pepper, use only 1/8 tsp per jar (or prepare for a fiery treat!) Wait at least two weeks to allow the beans to develop their full flavor.

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Peter’s Pickled Peppers

Ingredients

• 3 pounds hot peppers (such as serrano, habanero, jalapeno, or a blend) cut into bite-sized pieces
• 6 cups vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium onion, diced

Directions

• Combine the hot peppers in a large pot. Add the vinegar, water, garlic, and onion.
• Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Ladle cooked peppers into sterile jars and fill to the top with the remaining liquid, leaving ¼ inch headspace, and lid.
• Process in a water bath for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Refrigerate jars after opening.

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Watermelon Pickles

Choose thick sections of rind for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 8 cups watermelon rind
• ½ cup pickling salt
• 4 cups cold water
• 1 ½ tablespoons whole cloves
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups water

Directions

• Peel off the skin and trim off any remains of pink flesh.
• Cut into one-inch cubes.
• Dissolve salt in cold water and pour it over rind cubes to cover (add more water if needed).
• Let stand 5 to 6 hours. Drain and rinse well.
• Cover the rind cubes with fresh water and cook until barely tender, no more than ten minutes, erring on the side of crispness, then drain.
• Combine sugar, vinegar, and water; add cloves tied in a cloth bag; bring mixture to boiling.
• Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.
• Pour over rind cubes and let stand overnight.
• In the morning, bring to boiling and cook until rind is translucent but not at all mushy, about ten minutes.
• Remove spice bag and pack cubes in hot, sterilized pint jars.
• Add boiling syrup, leaving ½ inch of headroom; adjust lids.
• Process in a 185° F water bath for ten minutes.
• Remove jars and complete seals if necessary.
• Makes 4 pints.

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Antipasto

Ingredients

• 2 cups cauliflower chunks
• 1 cup broccoli chunks
• 2 zucchini, cut in sticks
• 2 carrots, cut in sticks
• 2 celery sticks, roughly sliced
• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 1 cup pickling salt
• 8 cups water
• 2 cups white vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2 hot peppers (such as banana peppers), chopped
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds

Directions

• In a large bowl, arrange vegetables in layers, sprinkling salt between each layer.
• Add 6 cups of water.
• Cover the bowl with plastic film and place a weight on top to prevent the vegetables from floating.
• Keep the bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
• In the morning, drain and rinse under cold water for 2 minutes and drain again.
• Combine 2 cups of water with vinegar and sugar.
• Dissolve sugar over low heat.
• Divide garlic, hot peppers, and mustard seeds among the jars.
• Pack with vegetables.
• Cover with sugared vinegar, leaving 1 ¼ inches headspace.
• Seal and process 20 minutes in boiling water or 5 minutes in a pressure cooker.
• Wait three weeks before tasting.
• Makes 10 cups.