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An easy step-by-step tutorial on Canning Pineapple. This simple recipe for preserved pineapple is perfect for newbies and experienced canners alike. Instructions include low-sugar and no-sugar options.
If you snag an amazing deal on fresh, ripe pineapple, grab a few extras, and let’s can them! Pineapple is one of the easiest fruits to preserve and I’ll show you how to do it step by step. Let’s go!
And really quickly, if you don’t feel like canning pineapples, did you know you can freeze them? Read all about freezing pineapples here. You can also make some delicious pineapple jam.
Canned pineapple and pineapple juice are absolutely delicious with our Instant Pot Ham.
Does Pineapple Need to Be Pressure Canned?
Nope! Thanks to the high natural sugar content in pineapple, it can be processed in a water bath canner.
Pineapple CANNING SUPPLIES
Check out this in-depth post for a complete list of canning supplies.
- Pineapple! You’ll need about 21 lbs per 7 quarts or 13 lbs for 9 pints, or you can go smaller and get about 2 pints per pineapple.
- At least two large bowls. You can never have enough bowls when canning.
- At least one large saucepan or dutch oven.
- Canner: simple water bath canner, or even a huge stockpot with a rack in the bottom.
- Canning tongs/jar lifter
- Jars – quarts or pints.
- Lids and rings
- Wide mouth funnel
- Sugar, honey, or juice (optional – you’re totally able to safely can pineapple in just water)
- Chef’s knife
- Ladle
- Cutting board
- Slotted spoon
- Butter knife or plastic chopstick
- Comfortable shoes. Don’t do this barefoot. Your back will hate you.
- Clean washcloths and at least one thick clean towel.
I’m going to walk you through a bunch of options for how to do this. You get to choose what you’re most comfortable with. I will tell you that I personally preserve my pineapple in plain water using the hot pack method. But let’s break down what all that means!
RAW PACK FOR CANNING Pineapple
Raw packing pineapple simply means placing the fruit in the jars without precooking it, filling the jars with hot syrup, juice, or water, and processing them in the canner.
Raw packing pineapple is much faster than a hot pack process, but there are some drawbacks. No matter how well you pack the jars, the density of the fruit will change during their time in the canner.
This often leads to something called “fruit float” in which the fruit will float to the top of the jar, leaving all liquid on the bottom. You’ll find this when you’re canning whole tomatoes as well. There is nothing wrong with fruit float as long as your jars are still sealed.
HOT PACK FOR Pineapple Canning
Hot packing involves cooking the pineapple briefly in hot syrup, juice, or water before packing the fruit into jars for canning. You’ll want to boil the pineapple in the canning syrup/water/juice for about 10 minutes and then add them to your jars, ladling the hot syrup/water/juice over the top.
The benefits of hot packing are that you typically can fit more fruit per jar, and the near elimination of fruit float.
HOW TO CAN Pineapple STEP BY STEP
*I’ll walk you through the process with photos and tips below. And a handy dandy printable and detailed recipe card is available at the bottom of the post.
CANNING PREP
Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water. You just need to have enough water to cover the jars by 2 inches once the water is boiling.
Set the canner on the stove. Turn the burner to high. Once it reaches a boil, reduce it to simmer. You want to keep the water hot so that everything is ready when the packed jars are.
Wash and sanitize your jars. You’ll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 170 degrees F.
Wash your lids and set them aside in a clean place. You no longer need to simmer lids in water to keep them sterile. Woot!
Cut the crown and base off of the pineapple. With the pineapple on its base, cut down the sides to remove the skin on all sides. Cut the pineapple in half length-wise and then cut each half in half again. Using a knife, remove the woody core. Set aside (see below). Cut the quarters into the desired size for canning – cubes or spears.
I specifically use the pineapple core in Gluten-Free Teriyaki Sauce, Sugar Free Barbeque Sauce, and Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli. Pineapple core is also fantastic in smoothies because the tougher fibrous texture blends up so well.
Making Pineapple Core Syrup: You can also use the core to make a sugar-free syrup for pineapple canning. Add the cores to a large saucepan and cover with 4-6 cups of water. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, and then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. Strain and use the liquid in place of water, syrup, or juice for canning. This will make your preserved pineapple sweeter than just using water.
Making a Traditional Sugar Syrup: If you prefer to make a syrup for the pineapple, combine 1 cup of sugar with 6 cups of water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Making A Fruit Juice Syrup: Using frozen concentrated apple or white grape juice is a great and easy substitution for refined sugar syrup. Use one can (12 oz) of thawed concentrate mixed with three cans of water.
At this point, you’re going to bring the water in the canner back up to a rolling boil.
(For Raw Pack): Add pineapple cubes or spears to your hot canning jars. Using a canning funnel, carefully ladle hot syrup over the pineapple, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Headspace is defined as the space between the top of the food and the top of the jar. Remove any bubbles from the jar (I use a plastic chopstick).
(For Hot Pack): Cook pineapple cubes/spears in water, juice, or syrup at a simmer for 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pineapple and add them to the hot jars. Using a canning funnel, carefully ladle hot syrup, juice, or water over the pineapple, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove any bubbles from the jar.
Use a wet clean rag and wipe the rim of the jars to make sure it is free of any food or syrup.
Place a clean lid and ring on the jar and tighten the ring to fingertip tight (tight enough that it won’t come off, but not so tight that a normal person couldn’t budge it).
Once the water in the canner is boiling again, gently place your jars in one at a time using tongs (I prefer canning tongs, but you can technically use any rubber-tipped tongs).
Once your jars (typically 6-7 quart jars or 9 pint jars can fit in the canner) are completely covered with the boiling water, put the lid on and boil for 15 minutes (pints) or 20 minutes (quarts). For canning at different altitudes, check out this guide for adjusted processing times.
Once the jars have processed for the appropriate amount of time, remove the canner from the burner, carefully take off the lid, and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Pro tip: I tend to just slide it into the middle of my stove, as it weighs a ton.
Carefully remove the jars using canning tongs, and place them on a thick towel in a place where they can be undisturbed for 12 hours. The lids should start to pop within 20-30 minutes of being removed from the water.
After a few hours, to check for sealing, gently press down in the middle of the lid. If the lid has no give, it’s sealed. If you can press the lid in and it pops a bit, your jars are not sealed. You can reprocess them or store them in the fridge or freezer (only freeze jars that are wide mouth).
PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES
- You’ll need about 21 pounds of pineapple to fill seven quarts, 13 pounds to fill nine pints.
- You do not need to use citric acid, lemon juice, or any other preservative even if you can your pineapple in plain water.
- Store in a cool dry place for up to 12 months.
- If you don’t have enough jars to fill the canner, consider Canning Water in a few jars to stock your emergency drinking water supplies.
MORE GREAT CANNING RECIPES:
- Canning Peaches
- Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam
- Canning Pears
- Canning Apple Butter
- How to Can Applesauce
- Canning Stewed Tomatoes
- Blackberry Syrup
- How to Can Cranberries
- Dill Pickle Relish
- Check out all my canning recipes!
Canning Pineapple
Equipment
Ingredients
- ~7 pineapples {ripe and firm}
- 6 cups water {+more for the canner}
- see notes for juice or sugar syrup options
Instructions
Canning Prep
- Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water. You just need to have enough water to cover the jars by 2 inches once the water is boiling.
- Set the canner on the stove. Turn the burner to high. Once it reaches a boil, reduce it to simmer. You want to keep the water hot so that everything is ready when the jars of pineapple are.
- Wash and sanitize your jars. You’ll want to keep them warm to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 170F.
- Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl for now.
Prep the Pineapple
- Cut the crown and base off of the pineapple.
- With the pineapple on its base, cut down the sides to remove the skin on all sides.
- Cut the pineapple in half length-wise and then cut each half in half again.
- Using a knife, remove the woody core. Set aside.
- Cut the quarters into the desired size for canning – cubes or spears.
- At this point, you’re going to bring the water in the canner back up to a rolling boil.
- (For Raw Pack): Add pineapple cubes or spears to your hot canning jars. Using a canning funnel, carefully ladle hot syrup over the pineapple, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Headspace is defined as the space between the top of the food and the top of the jar. Remove any bubbles from the jar (I use a plastic chopstick).
- (For Hot Pack): Cook pineapple cubes/spears in water, juice, or syrup at a simmer for 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the pineapple and add them to the hot jars. Using a canning funnel, carefully ladle hot syrup, juice, or water over the pineapple, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove any bubbles from the jar.
- Use a wet clean rag and wipe the rim of the jars to make sure it is free of any food or syrup.
- Place a clean lid and ring on the jar and tighten the ring to fingertip tight.
Canning the Pineapple
- Using canning tongs, add jars to the boiling water, and put the canner lid on. Pro tip: you must have at least 2 inches of water over the tops of the jars for safe canning.
- Once your jars are completely covered with the boiling water, put the lid on and boil for 15 minutes (pints) or 20 minutes (quarts).
- When the time is up, remove the canner from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove the jars using canning tongs and place them on towels on the counter undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
- After everything has cooled, check the seal by pushing down on the middle of the lid. If it doesn't give way, it's sealed. If the lid bows a little bit, put that in the fridge and use it within 3 weeks.
- Label the sealed jars, and store in a cool dark place for up to a year.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
