Canned Sweet Potatoes Recipe

3 jars of canned sweet potatoes with rosemary on a white board.

5 from 1 rating

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

Prep Time20

Cook Time50

Pressurizing/Depressurizing20

Total Time1 30

Course: Canning, How To

Cuisine: American

Keyword: canning sweet potatoes in a pressure canner, how to can sweet potatoes, pressure canning sweet potatoes

Servings: quarts

Author: Sarah Cook

Equipment

Ingredients

18 lbs sweet potatoes
7 tsp canning salt {optional}
12 cups water + more for the canner

Instructions

Canning Prep

Wash and clean your jars. Fill with hot water or keep them warm in a clean dishwasher or oven.
Wash your lids with hot soapy water. Rinse and place them in a clean bowl.

Sweet Potato Prep

Wash/scrub the sweet potatoes.
You can peel the sweet potatoes before cooking them, or peel them after cooking them. I find it easier to prep them once they have been peeled and before they have been cooked.
18 lbs sweet potatoes
I find it easier to peel them, cut them into cubes, and then steam them in a large saucepan with a steamer insert (~10-15 minutes). But, you can also boil them if that works better for you.
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.
Fill a medium to large saucepan with clean water and bring to a boil.
Add the sweet potatoes to the jars. (optional) Add 1/2 tsp canning salt to each pint or 1 tsp to each quart.
7 tsp canning salt
Using a canning funnel, carefully and slowly add clean boiling water (do not use the same water you used to cook the sweet potatoes), leaving 1-inch of headspace.
12 cups water
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.
Place a clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.

Pressure Canning Sweet Potatoes

Using canning tongs, gently place the jars in the canner.
Lock the lid. Soon, steam will start coming through the vent pipe.
Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator on top.
Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up.
In a dial-gauge pressure canner, process pints and quarts based on the elevation guide below (see processing chart in post for additional altitude adjustments):
*0-2,000f ft {PSI: 11 lbs of pressure} = Pints 65 min, Quarts 90 min
*2,001-4,000k ft {PSI: 12 lbs of pressure} = Pints 65 min, Quarts 90 min
*4,001-6,000k ft {PSI 13 lbs of pressure} = Pints 65 min, Quarts 90 min
*6,001-8,000k {PSI 14 lbs of pressure} = Pints 65 min, Quarts 90 min
When the dial gauge reaches the appropriate PSI, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at the PSI or (a little bit) above for the duration of the cooking time.
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 of the canner (Pro tip: use oven mitts to 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.
Place on a thick clean towel 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.

Notes

Store in a cool dark place for 12-18 months.
To fill 7 quarts, you’ll need ~17.5 pounds of sweet potatoes. To fill 9 pints, you’ll need ~11 pounds. A US bushel is 50 pounds and will net you 17-25 quarts.

Nutrition