There are so many different types of beans (although we don't actually have recommendations for canning jelly beans, sorry, but that would be a sticky mess). Likewise, you have many choices for canning them. If you are deciding what to do with your harvest of beans, or maybe just hankering to put some up just the way you like them, then use the links below to find tested recommendations from USDA.

As a low-acid food, beans require the use of a pressure canner for canning them. If you are new to pressure canning or could use a refresher of the basic how-to, then please read Using Pressure Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, then also read Principles of Home Canning.  

All Varieties of Shelled, Dried Beans or Peas may be canned in water using this basic, no-frills recommendation that includes only salt as an optional addition. If you’d rather can hearty flavor into your beans, and you have a full day to boil and bake, then prepare Baked Beans, with molasses, vinegar, salt, mustard, and bacon. If you don’t have quite enough time for all that, but still want that sort of flavor, then try Beans, Dry, with Tomato or Molasses Sauce.

If your beans are of the Lima variety, then follow these directions for Fresh, Shelled, Lima Beans. Follow these similar procedures, but slightly different directions for Snap and Italian Green and Wax Beans. As you’re deciding whether to prepare a hot pack or raw pack, remember that hot packs are often considered to produce the highest quality final product, and you can often fit more beans into one jar, but raw packs do cut down on the prep time.

If canning is not your preservation method of choice, then refer to our recommendations for freezing beans – blanching times vary slightly between Green, Snap, or Wax Beans and Lima, Butter, or Pinto Beans .