Canning Dry Beans

It is a common misconception that food storage cooking is not convenience cooking. Many people feel they don’t have the time to use food storage because it takes longer. There are several shortcuts to using food storage in your cooking and this is one of my favorites. This is a money saver as well as a time saver.

I always tell myself that I am going to use more beans because I really love them and also because the more you eat the more your body adjusts to any adverse affects beans may have on your digestive system. People who eat beans on a regular basis claim that the affect that beans have on their system is really minimal.

However, I sometimes forget to soak them or don’t have any cooked beans in the freezer or excuses, excuses…excuses. Canning beans is easy to do and eliminates many of the excuses we can come up with. I have canned baked beans with ham, baked beans with sausage, ham and bean soup with ham and plain navy beans to use in recipes. I really wanted to can some beans that I could use in chili, Navajo tacos, or any other recipe that I might find.

Canning the beans is easy to do if you have a pressure cooker. I’m including the recipe for canned beans along with a recipe for a spice mix that can be used in chili, tacos, rice, refried beans or salsa. It’s a fun and versatile mix that is great to have on hand. I bet all of us have recipes that we could use this mix in. I have a great burrito recipe I’m going to try it in and see how it works.

You can use any variety of dried beans in canning beans. It’s your choice. If you like pinto beans, can some of those. Maybe kidney beans are your favorite. I might even try a mixture of kidney, pinto and black beans just for fun to use in a fun chili recipe I have. Here is the seasoning mix recipe and instructions for canning your beans:

Chili Seasoning Mix
Use to season chili, refried beans, taco meat, or Spanish rice. Multiply by 4 and store in gallon container. This is a great recipe and you can use it for so many things. It is very good. For the tomato powder, use canned tomato powder or make your own by using dehydrated tomatoes and blending into powder.
1 c. tomato powder
1½ c. dried veggies (dehydrated onion, celery, and peppers, in equal portions, mixed and chopped in the blender and then add some garlic powder or dried garlic to your taste)
½ c. chili powder
3 T. cumin
1 T. salt
Chili Beans: Add ½ c. mix to a quart jar of cooked beans topped up with water and add ¼ cup beef TVP or taco TVP or cooked hamburger
Taco Meat: Add ¼ c mix to burger and sauté until brown (add a little water if needed).
Rice: Add ¼ c. mix to cooked rice with ½ c water
Refried Beans: add ¼ c. mix to 3 c. mashed beans
Salsa: Add ¼ c. mix to 2 c. homemade salsa

Canning Dry Beans at home
Select mature, dry seeds. Sort out and discard discolored beans and any rocks. An average of 5 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 3¼ pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints--an average of ¾ pounds per quart.

Place dried beans in a large pot and cover with water. Soak 12 to 18hours in a cool place. Drain water. Cover soaked beans with fresh water and boil 30 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon salt per pint or 1 teaspoon salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Fill jars with beans and cooking water, leaving 1” headspace. Adjust lids and process as listed below.

For Dial Gauge Pressure Canner:
Pints: Process 75 minutes
Quarts: Process 90 Minutes
If your altitude is:
0-2000’ - process at 11 lbs. pressure
2000-4000’ – process at12 lbs. pressure
4000-6000’ – Process at 13 lbs. pressure
6000-8000’ – Process at 14 lbs. pressure

Weighted Gauge Pressure Canner:
Pints: Process 75 minutes
Quarts: Process 90 Minutes
If your altitude is:
0-1000’ – Process at 10 lbs. pressure
Above 1000’ – Process at 15 lbs. pressure