Canning beets is fairly simple! Learn how to can beets at home so you can use them year-round and for long-term storage. Beets need to be pressure canned whole or sliced. Learn how to easily can beets in this step-by-step picture tutorial.
For years I was so frustrated because I couldn’t figure out how to grow beets in my garden. I come from Israel and I don’t think growing up that there was ever a dinner table at my mother’s that didn’t have an Israeli beet salad on it.
Not only beets are delicious, filling, and healthy but for a homesteader they are also an amazing storage crop that can last for a long time. So I kept trying and after a few years, I am happy to say that now I feel like I have finally figured out how to grow beets.
—Only young, tender beets should be canned, and the turnip shaped varieties make a more attractive product. Wash thoroughly and scald in boiling water or steam for about 15 minutes until the skins slip easily. Leave on at least 1 inch of the stems and all of the roots during this cooking to prevent bleeding.
Watch Me Can Beets…
Step 1 – Prep the beets for canning. Now that you have your beets and tools it’s time to prepare the beets for canning. We want to cook them just a little bit to kill any bacteria and to make peeling them easy since we have to remove their skin before canning beets.
Cut the top of the beets off and cut a little bit of the long root. By leaving them as you see in the picture above, we eliminate some of the color loss that happens during the pre-cooking.
**Side note… Beet tops are edible and there is about a million things that you can do with them so don’t toss them away! You can use them just as you would use collards or chard. You can saute them, add them to casseroles, use them to fill pastries, and so on… My favorite way to use them is to make these veggie patties which are, hands down, my favorite vegetarian dish!
Place your beets in a pot and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat just a bit to keep a gentle boil, and let the beets cook for 30 minutes or so. They don’t have to be completely soft, just enough that the skin comes off easily.
If you want to use a pressure cooker… To speed things up just a bit, I pre-cook my beets in the pressure cooker. I add 4 cups of water to the cooker and add my beets. I place the cooker on the stovetop with the weight already on the vent and turn the heat to high. Once the weight starts to jiggle, I lower the heat just a bit and cook the beets for about 8 minutes.
Then I turn the heat off and take my canner over to the sink. I run cold water on it to cool it quickly then open the pot and let the beets cool just long enough that I can handle them.
Once your beets have cooled enough that you can handle them it’s time to peel them. Since they are cooked, the skin comes off easily.
Next, you can quarter or half your beets or leave them whole if they aren’t larger than 2” in diameter. I suggest that you keep your beets in large pieces. We are going to further cook them in the pressure canner. I personally don’t like my vegetables too soft and I find that if I leave the beets in larger pieces they keep their texture better.
Step 2 – pack the jars. Before you start packing your jars with beets, add 2” of water to your pressure canner (follow manufacture instructions if you aren’t using the Presto canner like me), set your canner on the stovetop, turn the heat to high, and bring the water to a simmer (180 degrees F).
Wash the jars, lids, and rings, well with warm water and soap. Pack the beets into the jars and cover them with boiling water leaving 1” headspace. If you choose to add salt, add 1 teaspoon of sea, kosher, or canning salt to each quart jar or 1/2 teaspoon to each pint jar.
Next, remove air bubbles from the jar and use a clean and damp paper towel to clean the rim of the jar. Center the lid and close the jar with the ring.
Step 3 – process the beets in the pressure canner. Once the water in the pressure canner is simmering, place the jars on the rack in the canner. Close the canner and turn the heat to high (weight is off the vent at this point). After a few minutes, steam will start escaping from the vent. Let your canner steam for 10 minutes before placing the weight on the vent.
After 10 minutes, place the weight on the vent and watch the dial. If you live under 1000 feet in elevation, process the beets on 11 psi (adjust the stovetop heat to hold the right pressure) for 30 minutes for pint jars or 35 minutes for quart jars.
If you are using a weighted gauge canner, process on 10 psi for the same amount of time if you live under 1000 feet in elevation. Adjust processing time according to the table below if you live in higher elevations.
Once processing time is over, turn the heat off and do not attempt to open your canner! This is important, we want a slow temperature change (and it’s also dangerous to open the canner at this stage). Leave your canner on the stovetop and let it cool completely until the dial shows 0 pressure. This may take a couple of hours.
When the pressure canner is cool, open the lid and let your jars stay in the warm water for an additional 10 minutes (remember, slow temperature change!). Then, use the jar lifter to remove the jars from the canner. Set the jars on a kitchen towel on the counter to cool completely undisturbed overnight.
Once the jars are completely cool, check that they sealed by pressing the center of the lid. If there is no movement there this means that your jars are sealed and ready for storage. Remove the rings (because they rust over time and it’s hard to then open the jar, and because you can then reuse them), wipe the jars and store them in the pantry or a kitchen cabinet.
Canned beets will last at room temperature without losing their taste for 12-18 months. I personally always try to use my canned goods within a year.
You can but most people don’t use any other seasonings but salt. I personally don’t add the salt either. I prefer leaving the beets plain so I can season them however I want before serving them.
Yes! It’s completely normal. Beets lose a lot of their color when cooked. You can use this water later in cooking if you’d like.
Yes, it’s very normal and totally fine if your beets are sticking out of the water in the jar as long as the jar has sealed.
If your jar of beets didn’t seal you can store it in the fridge and use it first or try to process it again. If you process it again, open it, make sure that you have enough headspace, clean the rim again, and center a new lid on the jar (many times it’s a problem with the lid that causes the jar not to seal). Then close the jar with the ring and process again.
You can use canned beets in any recipe that calls for beets. Here are a few ideas…
- My favorite is this Israeli beet salad.
- Pumpkin and beetroot salad that I love making in the fall.
- Remove the beets from the jar, slice them, place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season and roast in a 400 degrees F oven for just a few minutes.
- Remove from jar, slice, and toss with homemade feta cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
- Beetroot soup – try the one I linked to or any other kind of beetroot soup.
- Beet smoothie – make a healthy beet smoothie to replace one of your meals during the day or as a healthy snack.
- Beet Brownies – yes! you can also make desserts with beets. Try these brownies or search for others. There are many more.
- You can also use the water in the jar to replace water in any recipe. Let me tell you, white rice made with beet water is a pretty interesting dish! One last thing.
These are just a few ideas, there are so many more. Just remember that you’ll probably skip the part of the recipe where they tell you to roast the beets or boil them, your canned beets are already sort. And lastly, if you are not using all the beets in the jar, make sure to keep it in the fridge.
Beets are fun to grow. They are healthy, filling, and so useful and tasty. Even though they are a simple crop to store in a root cellar or even to leave in the ground for the whole winter, I still love having a few jars of canned beets on my shelf. The fact that they are already cooked and ready to go saves me on a regular basis!
Tools Needed For Canning Beets At Home…
- A cutting board and a knife – to peel and cut the beets.
- Large pot – to precook the beets. I use a pressure cooker to speed things up a bit but you can just use a regular pot that will fit all of your beets and enough water to cover them.
- Wide mouth quart jars – It’s easy to fit the beets in them especially if you’d like to leave your beets whole. Make sure that you use new lids but you can always reuse rings.
- Canning utensils and a paper towel – to clean the rim of the jar before closing it.
- Pressure canner – I use the Presto dial canner but many people like this All American weighted gauge canner. I’ll have processing instructions for both below.
Canning Plain Beets For The Pantry
FAQ
Can raw beets be canned?
How long do you cook beets before canning them?
Is it better to roast or boil beets for canning?
Do beets in a can need to be cooked?
Do you need to boil beets before canning?
Yes, you need to boil beets briefly before canning in order to soften the skin, which makes it easy to peel off. Canning beets is not difficult, and it’s so rewarding. Plus, you’ll be happy you did it when you have them on hand and ready to enjoy whenever you like. Yum!
Who should not consume beets?
Eating beets is normally safe. Although, in patients suffering from low blood pressure, they can lower the blood pressure even more. Also, people suffering from kidney stones problems, should not include beetroot in their diet, as they contain high amounts of oxalate. Diabetic patients should also limit beets, as they have a high glycemic index, which increases blood sugar levels in the body.
Can beets be canned?
The only safe method for canning beets is using a pressure canner, as it ensures that all harmful bacteria is destroyed. This is because they’re a low acid food, and have a higher risk of carrying clostridium botulinum from the soil, a bacteria that can be life threatening.
How do you Canning beets?
This detailed recipe for canning beets is perfect for food storage and uses just 2 simple ingredients – beets and water. Scrub the beets gently under running water, setting them aside. Leave the taproot (long thin piece) intact, and trim the stem to 2” if needed.