Home canned kidney beans have a meaty taste, with none of the tinny taste that store-bought ones do.
These are really handy to have on hand for mashing into quick dips, making into refried beans, etc.
These canning directions apply to both red kidney beans, and white kidney beans (aka cannellini.)
For background info and questions on canning beans, etc, see also: Canning beans.
Quantities of dried kidney beans needed
Numbers are approximate guidelines.
- Allow 175 g (6 oz) dried kidney beans per ½ litre (US pint) jar.
- Allow 350 g (¾ lb) dried kidney beans per litre (US quart) jar.
The recipe
Jar size choices: Quarter-litre (½ US pint) OR half-litre (1 US pint) OR 1 litre (1 US quart)
Processing method: Pressure canning only
Yield: varies
Headspace: 3 cm (1 inch)
Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet)
Processing time: Quarter-litres (½ US pint) and half-litres (pints) 75 minutes; litres (quarts) 90 minutes
Canning kidney beans
Ingredients
- kidney beans (dried)
- water
Instructions
- Either (a) long-soak the dried kidney beans overnight covered with water, OR (b) quick-soak by covering them with water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, boil 2 minutes and let stand for an hour.
- However the beans were soaked, drain and discard the soaking water.
- Put in a pot, cover with fresh water, boil 30 minutes.
- Pack in jars: quarter-litre (½ US pint) or half-litre (1 US pint) or 1 litre (US quart)
- Leave 3 cm (1 inch) headspace.
- Top up each jar with clean boiling water (such as from a kettle, for instance) or with the water you just boiled them in, maintaining headspace.
- Debubble; adjust headspace.
- Wipe jar rims.
- Put lids on.
- Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet)
- Processing time: quarter-litre (½ US pint) 75 minutes; half-litre (1 US pint) 75 minutes; 1 litre (US quart) 90 minutes.
Nutrition
Processing guidelines below are for weighted-gauge pressure canner. See also if applicable: Dial-gauge pressures.
| Jar Size | Time | 0 to 300 m (0 - 1000 feet) pressure | Above 300 m (1000 ft) pressure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¼ litre (½ US pint) | 75 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lbs | |
| ½ litre (1 US pint) | 75 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lbs | |
| 1 litre (1 US quart) | 90 mins | 10 lbs | 15 lbs |
Reference information
How to pressure can.
When pressure canning, you must adjust the pressure for your altitude.
More information about Salt-Free Canning in general.
Recipe notes
- The USDA guidelines don’t mention the smaller quarter-litre (½ US pint) size jar, but it’s fine to do so, and it’s really handy to have that size for garnishes, salads, etc. It just has to have the same processing time as the next tested size up.
- The beans must be partially rehydrated by the methods described before going into the jars. It is not safe to put dried beans in a jar and fill with water, nor will the quality of the product be good either.
Recipe source
Beans or Peas – Shelled, Dried: All Varieties. In: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Complete guide to home canning. Agriculture information bulletin No. 539. 2015. Page 4-5.
Modifications: none
Cooking with canning recipes
Nutrition
Per ½ cup / 90 g:
- 112 calories, 2 mg sodium
- Weight Watchers PointsPlus®: ½ cup / 90 g = 2 points; 1 cup / 225 g = 4 points
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
* PointsPlus™ calculated by healthycanning.com. Not endorsed by Weight Watchers® International, Inc, which is the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.
Miriam
why do we boil the beans before canning; after soaking they have already been rehydrated. I find when I pressure can beans they are always too soft so I was thinking that maybe not precooking was the answer. I’d appreciate the benefit of your experience. For a lot of dishes they’re fine but if I want to, say, make a bean salad they are just too soft.
Healthy Canning
Hi Miriam, we’ve covered that topic a bit already, but it’s on another page so you probably haven’t seen it, it’s here: https://www.healthycanning.com/canning-beans/#beans-too-soft-after-canning