Preserving lima beans is one of the easiest vegetables to preserve via the home canning method. You’ll need to de-shell them from the pods, rinse them and then prepare them for canning. I personally use the hot pack method from my Ball Book of Canning which is outlined below. You can find over 100+ home canning recipes on The Classy Chics blog.
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I recommend that you wash all of your jars ahead of time. Gather up all of your canning supplies and lay them out before you get started. The longest part of this process is de-shelling the beans from the pod. Then the rest of the process moves along rather quickly. You’ll need a pressure canner to preserve them. The recipe makes about 6 pint size or 3 quart size jars.
Home Canning Lima Beans
9 to 15 lbs. lima beans
water
salt
Prep: Wash beans under cold running water. Drain. Shell the beans. I toss them into my colander as I’m shelling them and then rinse the beans again. Let the excess water drain away.
Cook: Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Blanch beans in boiling water for 3 minutes, remove beans. Reduce heat to a simmer. Keep the water hot but not boiling.
Fill: Pack hot beans into a hot jar, leaving 1″ headspace. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a pint jar or 1 teaspoon of salt to a quart jar. Ladle the hot cooking liquid over the beans, leaving 1″ headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim. Center lid on jar and adjust band until its fingertip tight.
Place jar on the rack in a pressure canner containing 2 inches of simmering water. Repeat this process until all of your jars are filled.
Process: Place lid on canner and turn to the locked position. Adjust heat to medium-high. Vent steam for 10 minutes. Put weighted gauge on vent, bring pressure to 10 psi (10 pounds). Process pint size jars for 40 minutes or quart size jars for 50 minutes. Turn off heat, let canner cool until it reaches ZERO pressure. Once it hits ZERO let it cool down for an additional 5 minutes. Remove lid. Let jars sit in the hot water for an additional 10 minutes. Remove jars (carefully) from the canner. Place jars on counter-top to cool for 12 hours. Don’t retighten any lose bands. Check to make sure jars sealed and label them. Store in a cool, dry place.
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