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Follow this step-by-step tutorial to learn how simple Canning Peas can be. Having canned peas on hand means your favorite soups, stews, and side dishes can be ready in a flash.
Home-canned peas are so much better than what you can find in the grocery stores. They taste better, fresher, and are also one of the easiest vegetables to pop into a pressure canner to stock your pantry.
Don’t be intimidated. You can do this, and I’ll help.
Can You Can Peas Without a Pressure Canner?
Sadly, no. And, I have to reinforce this point: you cannot safely can peas in a water bath canner. Peas, like all low-acid vegetables, must be preserved using a pressure canner.
Once you master your pressure canner, use it for things like Canning Chicken Broth, Canning Beets, Canning Potatoes, Canning Green Beans, Canning Sweet Potatoes, Canning Corn, Canning Pumpkin, and Canning Carrots.
If you don’t have a pressure canner, check out my tutorial for how to freeze peas.
This is the pressure canner I have had for over a decade and I love it.
SUPPLIES FOR Canning Peas
Check out this in-depth post for a complete list of canning supplies.
You’ll need:
How to Use Canned Peas
My favorite use is to just crack open a jar, heat, and top with loads of butter and some flaky Maldon sea salt!
But, you can also add (drained) peas to Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings, Whole30 Beef Stew, Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie, Pea Salad, Creamy One-Pot Pasta With Peas, or Turkey Pot Pie With Puff Pastry.
HOW MANY PeaS DO YOU NEED FOR CANNING?
Overall you’ll need about 4.5 pounds of peas per quart jar. For seven quarts, you’ll need about 31.5 pounds. For nine pints, you’ll need 20 pounds. A US bushel is 30 pounds and will net you 5-10 quarts. (source)
HOW TO CAN PEAS
*I’ll walk you through it here with photos, and a detailed and printable recipe card is available at the bottom of this post.
Wash and clean your jars. It is no longer necessary to sterilize jars before canning (hurray!) but you should make sure they are preheated enough to not crack when placed in hot water.
You can put them in a clean dishwasher and run them through a quick wash cycle, or place them in a large pan with some water in a low heat oven (my lowest temp is 170˚F) until you need them. I’ve even just put hot tap water in them before and left them on the counter.
Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl for now.
Choose young and tender peas, discarding any that look shriveled or spoiled. <— as in they don’t look fresh. Not that they demand a car for their 16th birthday.
Add 3 quarts of water to your pressure canner and put it on a burner set to high. Make sure there is a canning rack in the bottom of the canner.
Raw Pack: Add peas to the jars, and carefully ladle in boiling water, leaving 1 inch of headspace at the top of the jars.
Hot pack: cook peas in boiling water for 2 minutes. Strain, then add peas to jars and carefully ladle in clean boiling water, leaving 1-inch of headspace. Headspace is defined as the space between the top of the food and the top of the jar.
Using a long utensil (I prefer a plastic chopstick), remove all the air bubbles from the jar. Clean the rim of the jar very well with a hot damp rag. Any food debris left on the rim may impact the seal of the lid in the canner.
Place a clean and new lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.
Using canning tongs, gently place the jars in the canner. Lock the lid. Soon, steam will start coming through the vent pipe (I call it the steam chimney). Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator (I call it the chimney cap) on top.
Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up. That is a sign that you’re starting to build pressure inside the canner (get excited. This is happening!).
Processing times will vary based on altitude. See the chart below.
Pressure Canning Peas in a Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner
Processing Time for Peas in a Weighted-Gauge Pressure Canner
When the dial gauge reaches 11 pounds of pressure, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at 11 or (a little bit) above for the duration of the cooking time. You’ll likely need to adjust the temp on the burner a few times depending on your stove.
When the time is up, remove the canner from the burner and allow it to sit until you hear a distinctive “click” of the air vent dropping. Remove the pressure regulator and carefully remove the lid (Pro tip: I always use oven mitts when I take the lid off because the steam is super hot).
Let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner and then carefully lift them out with canning tongs. Pro tip: allowing the jars to sit in the canner with the lid off can help reduce the siphoning of liquid in your jars. Siphoning is when liquid seeps out from under the lids and reduces the overall amount of liquid in the jar.
Place hot jars on a towel where they can sit undisturbed for 12 hours.
After a few hours, to check for sealing, gently press down in the middle of the lid. If the lid has no give, it’s sealed. If you can press the lid in and it pops a bit, your jars are not sealed.
What if my jars don’t seal?
If you’ve correctly processed the peas, and the lids still didn’t seal, you can reprocess them.
Double-check to make sure there are no:
- Chips in the rim of the jar
- Dried bits of pea on the rim (anything between the rim and the lid may prevent a seal.
Best practices would involve using brand-new lids for reprocessing. Set aside the old lids to use for dry storage (related: Pantry Essentials for the Home Cook).
If the jars don’t seal on the second attempt, you likely have a bad batch of lids, or your canning process has a step missing. Email me and we’ll try to troubleshoot what is going on.
Help! Why are my jars leaking?
If you find that water has leaked out after the jars have sealed, you have experienced a common canning issue called siphoning. It happens to the best of us!
Siphoning is typically caused by not allowing the jars to rest in the canner after they have finished processing. In the directions, you’ll see that I recommend you remove the canner from the burner, remove the lid of the canner, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
This is important as it allows the jars time to rest before being allowed to cool on the counter. Doing this process will significantly cut down on siphoning.
IF YOU HAVE SIPHONING IN YOUR JARS, FOLLOW THESE STEPS:
- Check – are the lids still sealed?
- Look – have you lost less than half of the amount of liquid in the jar?
- Examine – do the peas still look fresh?
If the answer to the above three steps is “yes!”, it is likely safe to eat.
HOW LONG DO CANNED PEAS LAST?
Once the jars have sealed, remove the rings. Label and store sealed jars in a cool (best results are 50-70˚F) dark place for up to 12-18 months.
If you have the space available, do not stack the jars on top of each other more than two jars high.
If you open a jar for use and don’t use it all, you can store it in the fridge for up to three days.
PRO TIPS/RECIPES NOTES
- You can add salt to each jar prior to canning it. Use pickling salt and add 1 tsp per quart. Personally, I find the unsalted version easier to use in recipes because it allows me to control the overall sodium.
- Pressure canners can often leave white lines on lids and rings. It’s totally normal and safe. To prevent this, add 1/3 cup of white vinegar to the canner before processing.
- If you don’t have enough jars to fill the canner, consider Canning Water in a few jars to stock your emergency drinking water supplies.
MORE CANNING RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Wash and clean your jars. Fill with hot water or keep them warm in a clean dishwasher or oven.
-
Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl.
-
Choose young and tender peas, discarding any that look shriveled or spoiled.
-
Add 3 quarts of water to your pressure canner and put it on a burner set to high. Make sure there is a canning rack in the bottom of the canner.
-
Raw Pack: Add peas to the jars, carefully ladle in boiling water, leaving 1-inch of headspace at the top of the jars.
20 lbs green peas, water
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Hot pack: cook peas in boiling water for 2 minutes. Strain, then add peas to jars and carefully ladle in fresh boiling water, leaving 1-inch of headspace.
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{optional}: add 1 tsp of salt per quart or 1/2 tsp salt per pint.
9 tsp canning salt
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Use a long utensil (I prefer a plastic chopstick), to remove all the air bubbles from the jar.
-
Clean the rim of the jar very well with a hot damp rag.
-
Place a new and clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.
-
Using canning tongs, gently place the jars in the canner.
-
Lock the lid. Soon, steam will start coming through the vent pipe.
-
Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator on top.
-
Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up.
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In a dial-gauge pressure canner, process pints and quarts based on the elevation guide below (see processing chart in post for additional altitude adjustments):*0-2,000f ft {PSI: 11 lbs of pressure} = Pints 40 min, Quarts 40 min*2,001-4,000k ft {PSI: 12 lbs of pressure} = Pints 40 min, Quarts 40 min*4,001-6,000k ft {PSI 13 lbs of pressure} = Pints 40 min, Quarts 40 min*6,001-8,000k {PSI 14 lbs of pressure} = Pints 40 min, Quarts 40 min
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When the dial gauge reaches the appropriate PSI, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at the PSI or (a little bit) above for the duration of the cooking time.
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When the time is up, remove the canner from the burner and allow it to sit until you hear a distinctive “click” of the air vent dropping. Remove the pressure regulator and carefully remove the lid of the canner (Pro tip: use oven mitts to take the lid off because the steam is super hot).
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Let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner and then lift them out with canning tongs.
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Place on a thick clean towel undisturbed for 12 hours.
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After a few hours, to check for sealing, gently press down in the middle of the lid. If the lid has no give, it’s sealed. If you can press the lid in and it pops a bit, your jars are not sealed.
- Store in a cool dark place for 12-18 months.
- For seven quarts, you’ll need about 31.5 pounds. For nine pints, you’ll need 20 pounds. A US bushel is 30 pounds and will net you 5-10 quarts.
