We love to can! We do many, many recipes and canning green beans were next on the list. So we came up with these awesome Pickled Green Beans.
Do you like them spicy? We like them a little spicy but you can temper the heat to what you enjoy. Just add as much red pepper flakes as you like. Some people like to call these dilly beans but whatever you call them they are delicious.
Another great way to add a punch of flavor is to add garlic. These are perfect in a Bloody Mary or a Caesar that we like to have here in Canada. They work well on a charcuterie board or great with a sandwich.
Heck, I just like to eat them right out of the jar for a treat! Want more green bean ideas then try our amazing Walnut Pesto Green Beans.
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We can every year and have done some amazing recipes like Simple Easy Homemade Canned Tomatoes, Homemade Canned Tomato Salsa and Garden Fresh Zucchini Salsa.
Jams, jellies and mustards have been popular too, both sweet and savory. Recently we made a Blueberry Rhubarb Jam and also in the past Brandied Cinnamon Apple Preserves, Crabapple Jelly, Red and Green Pepper Jelly, Jalapeno Jam and Homemade Sweet Hot Mustard.
We also, this year and last, got into quick pickling with sliced Spicy Refrigerator Pickles, whole Refrigerator Pickles and Quick Pickled Onions. Lastly, we have a 22 Preserving and Canning Recipes roundup for you to peruse through.
Hopefully these will fulfill lots of your canning needs! My mom used to can pears when I was growing up. We had an abundance of trees on our property and I fondly remember those days of canning now.
How to Pickle Green Beans
Now back to the subject at hand, how to make pickled green beans. We are talking pretty easy stuff here. Once you learn a few things then you will be off to the races canning everything in sight!
I love going to the farmer’s market to get the freshest produce. You don’t want wilted, limp green beans for this task. The fresher the better! The green beans we used were still lovely and fresh a week later but we used them right away.
Also, don’t stress about the ends. If they are healthy-looking leave them. They make grabbing out of the jar or in your drink easier to get!!
Have your hot jars ready and fill them first with garlic, fresh dill, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, mustard seed, and celery seed.
Now start to stuff in your green beans. You don’t want to bruise them but you want them tightly packed. The more the merrier in this instance.
Pour the hot brine into the pint jars to 1/2″ of the top. Check for air bubbles and remove any with a knife carefully. Wipe the rim with a clean cloth and place the lid and screw bands on to fingertip tight.
Water Bath Canning Green Beans
I have always used a water bath method and have no idea how to do pressure canning. This method is simple and inexpensive.
You just need a large canning pot with a rack where you can lower your jars in and out. These pots are inexpensive and are online or available at your local stores.
The one thing you need to pay attention to is your altitude. Living here in Calgary we are over 3,000 ft. so an adjustment has to be made as the water here boils at a lower temperature.
Therefore you need more time to process than at a lower altitude. Check out this handy guide to help you understand the added time needed in your area.
PRINTABLE FOR WATER BATH CANNING
What is Pickling Salt?
Another tip that you need to know is that you can’t use iodized salt for canning. Use a pickling salt which can also be called canning salt or preserving salt. Pickling salt is a pure granulated salt (sodium chloride). Iodized salt can turn your produce black in color and your liquid cloudy.
Kosher salt can also be substituted but because it is so much coarser you need more salt, about 50% more and it also takes longer to dissolve. 1 1/2 tsp. of Kosher salt would equal 1/2 tsp. pickling salt. I just stick to using pickling salt so I don’t have to change measurements in the recipe.
Follow the easy step-by-step instructions in the recipe and you will have perfect pickled green beans every time!
Perfect Pickled Green Beans
While the jars cool to room temperature you will hear the popping sound of the lids. Nothing is more satisfying than that as you know they will then be properly sealed. If one doesn’t seal, store it in the refrigerator and eat it within the week.
The pickled green beans won’t take on all the flavors as in the others you have stored away but they will still be good.
Do you ask yourself, why spend the time canning? I can get all of these things at the grocery store. Canning saves you money, you are supporting local farmers or eco-friendly growing your own fruits and vegetables. It is fresher tasting and there are no additives. You know exactly what is going into your fruit and veggies.
Canning also brings people together and forms traditions and bonds. I love spending time with hubby canning for the day. Our daughter chips in with harvesting or coming with us to the farmers’ market.
I also love that recipes are passed down from generation to generation or that new modern approaches are being added to the traditional ways of doing things. Pickling is ever so popular now with the advent of charcuterie. Many restaurants do their own in-house pickling.
Whatever the reason to pickle, grab yourself some simple items like a canner, jars, and fresh produce and you are on your way to making some fantastic food to share with family and friends.
I love to bring a jar or two of our homemade preserves or canned vegetables as a hostess gift and I think they are well appreciated too.
Just wait a couple of weeks for them to pickle, they get better with age so after a few months they are delicious.
Pickled Green Beans
Ingredients
BRINE
- 1 cup rice vinegar
- 3 cups white vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 3 Tbsp. pickling salt
PER JAR
- 2 dill heads
- 1 large clove garlic halved
- 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp. mustard seed
- 1/4 tsp. celery seed
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 8 cups green beans cleaned and ends snipped if necessary
Instructions
- Prepare your jars by washing them in warm, soapy water or run them through the dishwasher. Submerge them in hot simmering water until ready to use. Always use new snap lids and wash them also in warm, soapy water. Leave them in a bowl of hot water until ready to use.
- In a large saucepan add in the vinegars, water and salt and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the salt.
- In each jar add in the dill heads, garlic, peppercorns, mustard seed, celery seed and red pepper flakes. Pack in green beans as tightly as possible. Pour in hot brine and leave 1/2″ head space. Remove any bubbles carefully with a knife. Wipe top and place lid and screw the band on fingertip tight only.
- Process in a water bath for 10 min. or as per altitude.
Comments & Reviews
Linda Bobbitt says
when you take your regular green beans out of the canner and they don’t seal can you take them out of can and cook them?I don’t know much about canning so I thought I would ask you thank you
Tara Noland says
You can just leave them in the fridge like a quick pickle and eat them in a few days.