Preserving the Harvest for Health and Prosperity

Pickling green beans is a snap, and one great way to preserve the bean harvest. I pick a double handful of green beans every morning from my small garden patch. The abundance of beans provide enough to can and eat fresh.

Green beans are one of my favorite veggies to grow. They hide so well– camouflaged with the leafy branches  of green– that they provide a delightful game of “find me if you can.”  Wax beans have a harder time of undercover work as their pale yellow sunshine is much easier to spot than their green counterpart.  I grow both to star in my Four Bean Salad. 

The Secret Recipe

My friend Lea brought green bean pickles to our church “pot bless” dinner.  One bite and I knew that I had a new favorite canning recipe for green beans.  When I asked for her recipe, she let me in on her secret.  She bought Mrs. Wages Quick Process Kosher Dill Pickle Canning Mix on the canning aisle at King Soopers and simply added the vinegar and water to it.  The recipe made more than a half gallon of pickling juice.

The remaining brine for pickling green beans can be kept in the refrigerator in a glass jar or other non-reactive container for the next small batch.  Brass, copper, iron and galvanized kettles should not be used when making pickles as these metals are likely to cause undesirable color changes or react with the acid or salt to produce unwholesome substances.

The Process

I started with just three pints of whole green beans placed in sterilized jars. After pouring boiling pickling juice over the beans and capping them with a canning lid, I put them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Leave ½ inch of head space in each jar before capping. Quarts should be processed for 15 minutes.  The mix made enough brine for 7 quarts of pickles. Even though green beans are a low acidic food, when pickling green beans, the vinegar adds the necessary acid, and they are not susceptible to salmonella and do not need to be pressure canned.  The hot water bath process will destroy bacteria, yeast and mold that could affect the pickles.

After 10 minutes I removed the jars from the hot water bath and let them sit on the counter to cool for 24 hours at which point they were ready to eat.   I heard the lids seal with a pop as they cooled. Make sure to hot water bath according to the directions. Check that the seal is good, and the center of the lid is down and not up. If a jar does not seal, store it in the refrigerator and use it first.  Our daughter and son-in-law visited, and I brought out a pint of green bean pickles, cooled in the refrigerator.  They were an instant hit. 

More Recipes

These green bean pickles are as easy as my recipe for Easy Peasy Sweet and Sour Dills made with cucumbers found in my cookbook Eat What You Grow: Easy Garden Recipes for the Backyard Homestead.  I might have to increase my bean patch next year.

Thank you for providing recipes that are simple to prepare yet are still delicious. As a new gardener, I appreciate these recipes and look forward to trying them all!