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Canning Potatoes {How to Can Potatoes}

Name: Canning Potatoes {How to Can Potatoes}
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 20 lbs potatoes ({red or waxy potatoes suitable for boiling}); 7 tsp canning salt ({optional}); 12 cups water (+ more for the canner)

posted September 1, 2020 by Sarah // 4 Comments »

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Follow this step by step tutorial to learn how simple Canning Potatoes can be. Having canned potatoes on hand means your favorite soups, stews, side dishes, and roasts can be ready in a flash.

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Imagine a life where you can crack open a jar of home-canned potatoes and suddenly, 50% of your dinner is prepped and ready to go. Stop dreaming. That time is now.

Before we get started, I have to reinforce this point: you cannot safely can potatoes in a water bath canner. Let me say it again for those in the back: you cannot safely can them in a water bath canner.

Potatoes, like all low acid vegetables, must be preserved using a pressure canner.

Once you master your pressure canner, use it for things like Canning Beets, Canning Peas, Canning Green Beans, Canning Corn, Canning Pumpkin, and Canning Carrots. This is the pressure canner I have had for seven years and I love it.

If you don’t have a pressure canner, check out my tutorial for how to freeze potatoes.

What Potatoes Are Best For Canning?

You’ll want potatoes that are waxy and great for boiling. In most cases, red potatoes work best. Russets and Yukon golds are better left for baked potatoes, Instant Pot Potato Salad, or making mashed potatoes (like Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, and Fluffy Mashed Potatoes).

Can You Can Raw Potatoes?

No. Potatoes must be pre-cooked before they’re placed into jars and canned. Unlike when canning peaches or canning pears, you can’t raw pack potatoes. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for cooking times and details.

Do You Have to Peel Potatoes Before Canning?

Yes. I know, bummer because it is extra work. But the canning Jedis over at the National Center for Home Food Preservation stress that the potatoes must be peeled. And so, I peel!

Root crops can harbor soil-borne microbes and peeling is an extra insurance policy to keep your food safe.

CANNING SUPPLIES FOR THIS RECIPE

Check out this in-depth post for a complete list of canning supplies.

You’ll need:

Potatoes
Pressure Canner
Large saucepan (I use my enameled dutch oven)
Canning funnel
Pint or quart canning jars (thrift stores are my favorite sources for these!)
New canning lids and clean rings
Jar lifter
Ball Blue Book of Home Preserving
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Vegetable peeler (this one is my favorite – I actually have two!)

How to Use Canned Potatoes

Quickly cook some organic grass-fed beef and stock in the Instant Pot (ala Whole30 Beef Stew) and add in a jar of canned potatoes and a jar of carrots when it is done cooking.

You can also use them in Instant Pot Potato Soup, throw some in these Green Beans and Tomato Sauce to make Fasolakia, or even Instant Pot Lentil Soup.

HOW MANY PotatoeS DO YOU NEED FOR CANNING?

Overall you’ll need about 2.5 pounds (peeled) per quart jar.

For seven quarts, you’ll need about 20 pounds. For nine pints, you’ll need 13 pounds. A US bushel is 50 pounds and will net you 18-22 quarts.

HOW TO CAN Potatoes

*I’ll walk you through it here with photos, and a detailed and printable recipe card is available at the bottom of this post.

Wash and clean your jars. It is no longer necessary to sterilize jars before canning (hurray!) but you should make sure they are preheated enough to not crack when placed in hot water.

You can put them in a clean dishwasher and run them through a quick wash cycle, or place them in a large pan with some water in a low heat oven (my lowest temp is 170 degrees) until you need them. I’ve even just put hot tap water in them before and left them on the counter.

Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl for now.

Rinse and scrub your potatoes. Peel, and rinse again.

For canning diced potatoes – cut peeled spuds into 1/2 inch cubes and rinse. Cook in boiling water for 2 minutes and drain.

For canning whole potatoes – choose spuds that are 1-2 inches in diameter. Cook peeled potatoes in boiling water for 10 minutes and drain.

Add 3 quarts of water to your pressure canner and put it on a burner set to high. Make sure there is a canning rack in the bottom of the canner.

Add the potatoes to the jars. Pro tip: wiggle the jar often as you add them to allow them to settle and make room for more.

Using a canning funnel, carefully and slowly add clean boiling water (do not use the same water you used to cook the potatoes), leaving 1-inch of headspace. Headspace is the distance between the top of the food and the top of the jar.

Using a long utensil (I prefer a plastic chopstick), remove all the air bubbles from the jar.

Clean the rim of the jar very well with a hot damp rag. Any food debris left on the rim may impact the seal of the lid in the canner.

Place a clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.

Using canning tongs, gently place the jars in the canner. Lock the lid. Soon, steam will start coming through the vent pipe (I call it the steam chimney). Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator (I call it the chimney cap) on top.

Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up. That is a sign that you’re starting to build pressure inside the canner (get excited. This is happening!). Under normal conditions, potatoes need to be pressure canned at 11 pounds of pressure for 35 minutes for pints and 40 minutes for quarts. See chart below for any changes to processing times.

When the dial gauge reaches 11 pounds of pressure, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at 11 or (a little bit) above for the duration of the cooking time. You’ll likely need to adjust the temp on the burner a few times depending on your stove.

When the time is up, remove the canner from the burner and allow it to sit until you hear a distinctive “click” of the air vent dropping. Remove the pressure regulator and carefully remove the lid (Pro tip: I always use oven mitts when I take the lid off because the steam is super hot).

Let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner and then lift them out with canning tongs. Pro tip: allowing the jars to sit in the canner with the lid off can help reduce the siphoning of liquid in your jars. Siphoning is when liquid seeps out from under the lids and reduces the overall amount of liquid in the jar.

If just a bit of siphoning has happened and your jars sealed, your item is still safe to eat but use your best judgment. I tend to quickly use any jar that has experienced siphoning simply because it can discolor the food at the top not covered in the liquid.

Place hot jars on a towel where they can sit undisturbed for 12 hours.

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.

HOW LONG DO CANNED Potatoes LAST?

If stored in a dark cool place, they will last for 12 months. If you open a jar for use and don’t use it all, you can store it in the fridge for up to three days.

Pro Tips/Recipes Notes

As you prep your potatoes, add them to a large bowl of ice water to keep them from browning until canned. You can also use a bit of ascorbic acid in the water, but I don’t find that it has been necessary.
You can add salt to each jar prior to canning it. Use pickling salt and add 1 tsp per quart. Personally, I find the unsalted version easier to use in recipes because it allows me to control the overall sodium.
Pressure canners can often leave white lines on lids and rings. It’s totally normal and safe. To prevent this, add 1/3 cup of white vinegar to the canner before processing.
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.

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3 jars of canned potatoes on a wooden board

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