Canning Ham & Beans

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There's no single USDA recipe called "ham and beans," but canning ham and beans is safe if you use one of the tested National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) methods that cover it. The most direct one is ham and bean soup made by the NCHFP soup procedure: fully rehydrated beans, jars half full of solids, 60 minutes for pints and 75 for quarts. At 0 to 1,000 feet, run a weighted-gauge canner at 10 psi; a dial-gauge canner runs at 11 psi up to 2,000 feet.

The NCHFP also has a tested recipe for beans in sauce with a cube of ham in each jar, and one for plain dried beans such as pintos. All three are below, with the NCHFP's exact times. They're adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.

Don't pack jars full of ham and beans and use the soup time, and don't layer dry beans in jars. Neither is tested, and both are popular online.

Canning Ham and Beans: Which Method Fits?

Pressure for all four

The NCHFP gives no dial-gauge pressures above 8,000 feet. Our pressure canning altitude chart explains the bands, and the calculator below gives your setting.

Method 1: Ham and Bean Soup (NCHFP Soup Procedure)

The NCHFP soup procedure covers vegetable, dried bean or pea, meat, poultry and seafood soups, so a ham and bean soup fits. It's the right choice when you want a ready-to-heat soup.

Rehydrate the beans first

The NCHFP says dried beans or peas must be fully rehydrated before they go into a canned soup:

1. For each cup of dried beans, add 3 cups of water.
2. Boil for 2 minutes, remove from the heat and soak for 1 hour.
3. Bring back to a boil, then drain.

Make and fill the soup

4. Cook the ham. The soup procedure says to cover the meat with water and cook until tender, cool it and remove the bones. Trim the fat and dice the ham.
5. Prepare any vegetables (onion, carrot, celery) as for a hot pack.
6. Combine the beans, ham and vegetables with the ham broth or water to cover. Boil for 5 minutes.
7. Salt to taste if you like. Do not thicken.
8. Fill hot jars halfway with the solids, then top up with the liquid, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
9. Wipe the rims, adjust the lids and process pints for 60 minutes or quarts for 75.

The half-and-half fill matters. The soup times are shorter than the 75 and 90 minutes for plain beans, and they were set for jars filled this way. A jar packed full of beans and ham isn't covered by this process.

Method 2: Beans in Sauce With a Cube of Ham

This NCHFP recipe for dry beans with tomato or molasses sauce lets you add one ¾-inch cube of pork, ham or bacon to each jar. It's the closest thing to classic beans with a bit of ham.

1. Use about 5 lb of dry beans for a 7-quart canner load, or about 3¼ lb for 9 pints. Sort, wash and discard discolored beans.
2. Add 3 cups of water per cup of beans, boil 2 minutes, soak 1 hour and drain.
3. Heat the beans to boiling in fresh water and save the cooking liquid.
4. Make one of the tested sauces and bring it to a boil: - Molasses sauce: 4 cups water or bean cooking liquid, 3 tbsp dark molasses, 1 tbsp vinegar, 2 tsp salt and ¾ tsp powdered dry mustard. - Tomato sauce, version 1: 1 quart tomato juice, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp chopped onion and ¼ tsp each of ground cloves, allspice, mace and cayenne pepper. - Tomato sauce, version 2: 1 cup ketchup mixed with 3 cups bean cooking liquid.
5. Fill each jar three-fourths full of hot beans. Add one ¾-inch cube of ham.
6. Fill with hot sauce, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
7. Adjust the lids and process pints 65 minutes, quarts 75 minutes.

The NCHFP baked bean recipe is a variation: the soaked beans bake at 350°F for 4 to 5 hours with seven ¾-inch pieces of pork, ham or bacon and the molasses sauce, then go into jars with 1 inch of headspace. Its times are also 65 minutes for pints and 75 for quarts.

Method 3: Canning Pinto Beans (and Other Dried Beans)

If you want plain beans to cook with ham later, use the NCHFP recipe for shelled dried beans or peas, all varieties. It covers pinto, navy, kidney, black and other dried beans.

1. Plan on about 5 lb per 7-quart load or about 3¼ lb per 9-pint load, roughly ¾ lb per quart. Use mature, dry seeds and discard discolored ones.
2. Soak the beans, either for 12 to 18 hours in cold water in a cool place, or by the quick method: cover with boiling water, boil 2 minutes, then soak 1 hour off the heat. Drain.
3. Cover with fresh water and boil for 30 minutes.
4. Add ½ teaspoon of salt per pint or 1 teaspoon per quart if you like.
5. Fill the jars with beans and their cooking water, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
6. Process pints 75 minutes, quarts 90 minutes.

When you open a jar, simmer the beans with diced ham, onion and seasoning. That way you get a thick pot of ham and beans without canning an untested mixture.

Running the Canner

The canner steps don't change between methods:

1. Set the rack and 2 to 3 inches of hot water in the canner, or the amount in your manual.
2. Load the jars, lock the lid and heat until steam flows freely.
3. Vent for 10 minutes, then add the weight or close the petcock.
4. Start timing when the canner reaches the pressure for your elevation. If it drops below that, bring it back up and restart the full time.
5. Turn off the heat and let the pressure fall on its own. Remove the weight, wait 10 minutes and open the lid away from you.
6. Cool the jars for 12 to 24 hours, then test the seals.

If you're new to this, read our beginner's guide to using a pressure canner first. For the canner itself, see our best pressure canner picks.

Common Mistakes With Ham and Beans

• Putting dry beans straight into jars. The NCHFP says dried beans must be fully rehydrated, and every tested bean recipe soaks and precooks them.
• Packing jars full and using the 60/75-minute soup time. That time assumes jars filled only halfway with solids.
• Adding more ham than the recipe allows. The beans-in-sauce recipe calls for one ¾-inch cube per jar. For more ham, use the soup method.
• Thickening the soup. The NCHFP rules out flour, starches, cream, milk and other thickeners. Mash a few beans or add a slurry when you reheat.
• Adding rice or pasta. Also ruled out by the NCHFP soup guidance.
• Water bath or steam canning. Beans and ham are low-acid and must be pressure canned. The USDA says only a pressure canner reaches 240 to 250°F.
• Using an Instant Pot. The NCHFP does not recommend its canning processes in electric multi-cookers.

For other meat-and-vegetable combinations, see our guide to canning beef stew, which explains what the USDA has and hasn't tested. For plain ham, beef or pork, see canning meat safely.

Storing Canned Beans and Soup

Remove the bands after cooling and test each lid. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark, dry place. The USDA says below 95°F (35°C), ideally 50 to 70°F (10 to 21°C).

Don't taste food from a jar with a bulging or unsealed lid, spurting liquid, an off smell or mold. The USDA says to treat suspect low-acid foods as if they contain botulinum toxin and dispose of them carefully.

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