Canned Dilly Beans Recipe

Learn how to make old fashioned pickled green beans.  This is an easy dilly beans recipe even for beginners because you can safely use a water bath canner due to the acid from the vinegar.  Garlic dill green beans are a delicious snack or use them in place of pickles.

Dilly Green Beans Recipe

My husband went a little crazy with the green beans this year.  We had the room in the garden and seeds are cheap, so we over planted.

We've given away a lot of fresh green beans to older veterans in the community.  I canned several quarts of green beans to use this winter, but I knew we'd be sick of green beans with that many jars on the shelf.  

So I made a canned dilly beans recipe that I haven't made in several years to use more beans.

These dilly beans are delicious just for snacking.  You can also use them in place of pickles in recipes, but I prefer to just use them from the jar.  

For more canning recipes to try, check out these posts:

• Old Fashioned Bread and Butter Pickles Canning Recipe
• Old Fashioned Dill Pickles Canning Recipe
• Pineapple Zucchini Canning Recipe
• Sweet Pepper Jelly Canning Recipe
• Canned Cinnamon Pears With Red Hot Candy
• How to Make Spiced Pears for Canning
• How to Make Tomato Juice for Canning
• Homemade Canned Applesauce
• Canning Grape Juice With Whole Grapes
• Cranberry Juice Canning Recipe

What Are Dilly Beans Make Of?

Garlic dill green beans are very similar to dill pickles.  You will need:

• Fresh picked green beans
• Vinegar
• Canning salt
• Fresh garlic
• Fresh dill or dried dill weed

I made a dilly beans recipe with dill weed because my dill didn't grow this year.  I moved my herb garden, and the sun just fried my plants.  I moved it back and started over, and it's doing great.

What Do Dilly Beans Taste Like?

I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of green beans.  I pretty much only eat them in something and not plain.  However, I do like garlic dill green beans.

The green beans hold up well in the heat of processing, so they keep their crunch.  They taste pretty much like a dill pickle, just in a different shape. 

I eat them plain out of the jar.  You can also put them on burgers or cut them up and use them in recipes like you would a pickle.

Do I Need to Blanch Beans Before Pickling?

I did not blanch my beans before making old fashioned pickled green beans.  You can if you want to preserve the color of the beans, but I did not take the time.

To blanch green beans to make canned dilly beans, place the beans in boiling water for 3 minutes and then place in an ice bath before making this dilly green beans recipe.

Do Pickled Green Beans Need to Be Pressure Canned?

Green beans are a low acid food, so they typically need to be pressure canned.  However, these garlic dill green beans have vinegar for acid, so they are safe to water bath can.

You can learn more about why some foods have to be pressure canned in my 11 canning mistakes that can kill you post.

Why Are My Dilly Beans Floating?

Home canned food floats due to air pockets in the food.  Green beans are notorious for floating because they are usually raw packed and have lots of air pockets.

If your easy dilly beans recipe floats after canning, the food is still safe to eat.  

To reduce floating, you want to really pack in the green beans.  Typically, canned dilly beans are whole beans with the ends cut off.  

However, I had four reluctant helps snapping beans, so we just kept snapping.  So I went with it.

How Long Do Dilly Beans Need to Sit Before Eating?

Let this canned dilly beans recipe sit for 2 to 4 weeks to develop flavor.  I like to let them sit for the full 4 weeks.

How Long to Pickled Garlic Dill Green Beans Last?

These dilly beans recipe with dill week will last about 12 to 18 months on the shelf if the lid is sealed.  

If you experience lid failures, check out my post on canning jars not sealing and how to reprocess jars.

Store opened jars in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Tips for Making the Best Dilly Beans Recipe

Here are some tips for learning how to make dilly beans recipe:

• Use fresh beans when possible.  If you didn't grow your beans, then try to buy them freshly picked from a local farmer.
• Use firm beans for crisp canned dilly beans.  Reserve any limp beans to eat fresh.
• Use small to medium beans because large beans will have large seeds.
• I recommend using canning salt.  Table salt will work, but it can cause your canned dilly beans to darken and get cloudy due to the anti caking agents in table salt.
• I used 5 percent white distilled vinegar.  However, you can also use apple cider vinegar or a mixture of the two.
• You will need to know the basics of water bath canning food.  Here are my canning supplies for beginners to learn more about the equipment that you'll need.

Dill Green Beans Recipe Ingredients and Supplies

You will need the following ingredients to make the best dilly beans recipe:

• 3 pounds of green beans (yellow wax beans will also work)
• 3 3/4 cup vinegar
• 3 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup canning salt
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 6 sprigs of dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

Equipment needed for easy dilly beans recipe:

• Water bath canner with a rack  You can also use a stock pot or tall pot, but make sure you lift the jars either with a canning rack or a silicone canning rack.  I like this one because it's adjustable to fit different sized pots.
• 6 pint canning jars
• 6 canning lids and rings
• Jar lifter
• Funnel
• Bubble popper
• Ladle

How to Make Dilly Beans Recipe

Step #1

Wash your jars, lids, bands, and all canning tools.  Let the lids and bands air dry and fill the jars with water and set in the water bath canner.  Add water almost to the top of the jars. (You will dump the water in the jars, which will raise the water level later.)  Turn on the burner and bring the canner to a simmer while you prep your garlic dill green beans.

Step #2

Wash your beans and trim off the ends.  You can cut them into about 4 inch long pieces or snap them.  Most people leave them in a 4 inch section to make a dill green beans recipe.

Step #3

 

In a large pot, combine the vinegar, water, and canning salt.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Keep the brine warm after this.  I have an electric stove, so I turn off the heat and leave the pan on the burner.

Step #4

Once the brine is warm, use the jar lifter to carefully dump the water from a jar into the canner and place the jar on the counter.  Add a clove of garlic and 1 sprig of dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed to the bottom of the jar.  

Pack the green beans into the jar.  If you are using whole beans, it helps to have the jar sideways to stack the beans.  Pack the beans in the jar as tight as you can because raw packed food has more air than cooked food, which can make them float.

Step #5

Then use a canning funnel and a ladle to add the warm brine over the green beans.  Fill to 1/2 inch headspace.  Use your bubble popper to release trapped air bubbles.  I also used a butter knife to press down to make sure the brine reached the bottom and to release more air.  This canned dilly green beans recipe traps a lot of air into the jars, so really work to release that air.  Add more brine if needed.

Step #6

Wipe the rim with a damp towel and place a lid on the jar.  Secure the lid with a band and tighten to fingertip tight.  Use the jar lifter to place the jar back in the canner.  

Step #7

Repeat with all of the jars.  Once all of the jars are filled, add water to the canner if needed to bring the water level up so it covers the jars by 2 inches.  Then turn the heat on high and bring to a boil.  Let boil for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude.

Step #8 

After processing, turn off the heat and remove the lid from the canner.  Let the jars cool for at least 5 minutes.  Then use the jar lifter to place jars on a towel or cooling rack.  Let sit undisturbed for 24 hours before testing the seal.

Let these garlic dill green beans sit for 2 to 4 weeks to develop flavor.

Keep track of your favorite canning recipes and so much more with this printable canning journal.  This has 29 pages for recipes, inventory, and so much more.

Now you know how to make dilly beans recipe!  Have you tried old fashioned pickled green beans?

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