Green beans are a great garden crop that can give you a big harvest in a small space and short period of time. Learn all the ways you can preserve green beans to save your harvest for winter use!

I love growing fresh green beans in the garden- not only are they a great calorie crop, but they are an easy crop to preserve for later and still have plenty for fresh eating!

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Green beans are pretty versatile and can be preserved using almost all the methods available!

(*If you are a beginning gardener and have never grown your own green beans before, it’s time to start! Learn how to grow green beans from seed today!)

 

6 ways to preserve green beans to enjoy all year long

 

6 Ways to Preserve Green Beans for Later

✅ Ready to take control of your food source and preserve more? Check out my Food Preservation Planner to help you plan and preserve more food this year!

 

Pressure Canning Green Beans

If you want to preserve plain green beans by canning, you have to pressure can them.They can’t be canned on their own using a water bath canner.

Pressure canning can seem a little scary if you aren’t used to it, but it’s really not that hard! You can pick up a copy of the Quick Start Guide to Pressure Canning if you need help getting started.

Here’s a couple tutorials on pressure canning green beans to get you started:

 

preserving yellow and green beans in jars with dill

 

Pickling (Water Bath Canning) Green Beans

Now, if water bath canning is more your style, then you CAN can green beans using a water bath canner- but only if you pickle them.

Dilly beans are probably one of the most common ways to preserve green beans by pickling.

If you’d like to try preserving this way, here are a couple recipes to try:

 

Freezing Green Beans

Freezing is actually my preferred way of preserving green beans. It’s no mess, no fuss and so easy! Plus I prefer the taste of frozen beans to canned beans.

So be sure to take your personal tastes into account when choosing which way to preserve your beans.

You can freeze green beans 2 ways- blanching or no blanching. There are some who say you HAVE to blanch, but I have found the taste is really no different so it’s an easy step to skip.

How to Freeze Without Blanching: Simply wash (if needed), cut, and place in a freezer bag. That’s it.

How to Freeze With Blanching: Cut your beans and then boil them for 3 minutes, then dunk them into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.  Drain and dry and place in a freezer bag.

Simple right?

 

bag of frozen green beans in the freezer

 

Dehydrating Green Beans

You can also use your dehydrator to preserve green beans.  It sort of turns them into crunchy, chips, that make a great tasty snack!

I have an Excalibur 9 Tray Food Dehydrator that I LOVE and use all summer long, but you can also check out my Dehydrator Buying Guide for other options.

Here’s how to dehydrate green beans:

  • Wash and cut your beans to the desired size
  • Blanch them to 3 minutes
  • Dip them in a ice water bath to stop the cooking
  • Drain the beans and dry them well
  • Season if desired (salt, pepper, etc)
  • Dehydrate at 125F for 5-6 hours or until very crispy
  • Allow the dry beans to cool completely before storing in an air tight jar

 

Fermenting Green Beans

I am not a huge fermented foods fan, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a super healthy way of preserving your fresh produce!

You can preserve green beans by fermenting too! They will turn out similarly to the pickled green beans we’ve already talked about.

Here are a couple fermented bean recipes to try out:

 

bowl of dried green beans

 

Freeze Drying Green Beans

And finally, freeze drying.

Now, not everyone has a freeze dryer, but it’s still a great option for preserving green beans!

Freeze drying allows you to preserve beans that retain most of their nutritional value and lasts much longer than any other preservation  method- up to 25 years in some cases.

You can even make freeze dried green bean powder to add to so many things like smoothies, soups, and sauces!

HarvestRight makes a line of Home Freeze Dryers that work quite well for preserving all kinds of foods.

 

More Preservation Guides:

9 Ways to Preserve Peppers

10 Ways to Preserve Cucumbers

6 Ways to Preserve Strawberries

11 Ways to Preserve Tomatoes