Canning 3 Bean Salad - Favorite Recipe (2024)

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This refreshing pickled 3 bean salad recipe is the perfect flavor combination. It is tangy but not overly sweet.

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Canning 3 Bean Salad - Favorite Recipe (1)

By now you might have gathered that I have a bit of a thing for growing and preserving green beans. We always get a bumper crop of beans from the garden and pickled bean salad really hits the spot. Today we’re diving into canning 3 bean salad, plus I’m going to share with you my absolute favorite bean salad recipe.

We enjoy this salad during the summer but LOVE having it in the dead of winter as well. By following my recipe for canning, you can enjoy it all year long as well. And a bonus on this pickled recipe is that you do not need to have a pressure canner.

If you’ve ever tried storebought 3 bean salad, you might not have been a huge fan. Personally, I think storebought is simply too syrupy and sweet. My salad has a sweet tang but is not too sweet.

I usually save any pressure canned beans where the jar didn’t seal properly and can them into bean salad. Yes, it happens. We all have failed jars. Rather than reprocessing (which you can do), I recommend you try this salad.

Fresh, Dried, or Canned Beans?

Post Contents

All of your beans need to be precooked for this recipe and for canning. Below is a breakdown, including cooking/method and times. You can see for all three types, I prefer to use my Instant Pot.

  • Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

    • Canned – Simply drain and rinse your chickpeas before adding them to your brine.
    • Dried – To cook, do NOT pre-soak your beans since they have a tendency to get mushy if pre-soaked. To pressure cook in the Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 45 minutes and natural release for 20 minutes. You will notice a skin on the outside of your cooked chickpea. While this is tedious, you’ll want to remove the skin, (I recommend you recruit helpers).
  • Kidney Beans

    • Canned – Same thing as the chickpeas, simply drain and rinse before adding them to your brine.
    • Dried – To cook, do NOT pre-soak your beans, which can cause them to break down some. To pressure cook in the Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes and natural release for 20 minutes.
  • Green Beans

    • Canned – If you’re in a pinch, you can use canned, drain, and rinse well.
    • Fresh – At a minimum, these should be steamed for 5 minutes on the stovetop. I prefer to steam in my instant pot as well. Place your rack in the bottom of your canner, add 1 cup of water, and lay your beans on the rack. Cook on high pressure for 0 minutes and quick release.

Bean Combinations for Canning 3 Bean Salad

Depending on your garden, availability, or taste preferences, you have options for different bean combinations. Here are some ideas for you to mix and match beans for your salad. Just remember that you want to end up with about 9 cups of fresh beans and 7 cups of cooked (dried beans).

Fresh Beans

  • Green Beans
  • Yellow Wax Beans
  • Dragon Tongue Beans – these are my new favorite and easy to see in the garden
  • Long Beans

Dried Beans

  • Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans
  • Kidney Beans
  • Black Beans
  • Lima Beans
  • Cannellini Beans
  • Black Eyed Peas

With that let’s get into the recipe and canning 3 bean salad…

Canning 3 Bean Salad - Favorite Recipe (2)

Delicious 3 Bean Salad – Canning

This refreshing pickled 3 bean salad recipe is the perfect flavor combination. It is tangy but not overly sweet.

4.75 from 4 votes

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Course: Canning, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beans, canned, grean beens

Servings: 6 pints

Calories: 170kcal

Ingredients

  • 9 cups fresh beans washed, trimmed, cut, and steamed
  • 3 cups garbanzo beans cooked, or 2-15 oz cans
  • 3 cups kidney beans cooked, or 2-15 oz cans
  • 2 cups celery sliced
  • cups onion sliced
  • 1 cup red bell pepper diced and seeded

Brine

  • 1 ¾ cup white sugar
  • 1 tbsp. mustard seed
  • 1 tsp. celery seed
  • 4 tsp. pickling salt
  • 3 cups white vinegar
  • 1 ¼ cups water

Instructions

  • Prepare jars, water bath canner, and lids.

  • Place beans and vegetables in a large stockpot.

  • Add enough hot water to cover and let sit while preparing the brine.

  • Add all the brine ingredients to a medium pot. Bring mixture to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and gently boil for 5 minutes.

  • Drain the vegetables and pack them into sterilized canning jars, leave ½-inch headspace.

  • Pour hot brine into jar, maintaining the ½-inch headspace.

  • Remove bubbles with a skewer and stirring jar contents slightly. Add more brine if needed.

  • Wipe brim, place lid on top and screw on band to finger tight.

  • Process in waterbath canner for 15 minutes. Shut off heat and let sit for 5 minutes before removing from canner.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 813mg | Potassium: 305mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 18g

This recipe produces about 6 pints, but I’ve noticed it can vary depending on how tightly I pack my jars. I had leftover brine on one batch and simply heated more vegetables and canned to use that up.

Easy peasy! We’ve been enjoying this salad all winter long and definitely have this on our docket to can this summer again.

Do you have any favorite beans I left off? I’d love to hear your favorites in the comments!

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13 thoughts on “Deliciously Homemade: Canning 3 Bean Salad”

  1. Hi. I have 3/4 pint jars. how long would I process these instead of a full pint. I am a beginner, but we love 3 bean salad. Thank you for your help

    Reply

    • Hi Cynthia! I checked the country extension office and they recommend you can 3/4 pint jars for the same processing time as 1/2 pint jars. Happy canning!

      Reply

  2. Thank you for getting back to me. I have cooked my dry beans by boiling them in a saucepan. Is this okay? I did not do it in the canner.

    Reply

  3. How long do you steam fresh green beans for?

    Reply

    • Hi Lorrie! I suggest you steam fresh green beans for 5 minutes on the stovetop.

      Reply

  4. How long would you process quarts?

    Reply

    • A general rule is 5 minutes longer for water bathing quarts versus pints but I’ve also seen the recommendation to process 3 Bean Salad for the same time for all jar sizes.

      To be safe, I suggest you process quarts for 20 minutes, shut off the heat, and leave the jars for 5 minutes before removing them from the water bath canner.

      Reply

  5. Hi Cynthia, I am going to try this recipe. I am diabetic, so sugar is a no no. I have 2 choices for substitutes; Swerve or Splenda. Swerve is a powdered sugar alcohol
    ( sorbitol and erythritol) with Splenda mixed in. Since the label states you can substitute ounce per ounce in recipes, I assume you can use it in your recipe. However, I think it would still taste too sweet. I’m also concerned that the vegetables may turn brown. Gmif you or someone else has tried it, please let me know.

    I was on vacation and had Amish Chow Chow. I was wondering if you could add corn and carrots to the bean salad recipe, and proceed to canning. Some books say you should pressure can corn but I don’t know how that will affect the vegetables overall. Also in your recipe you mention onion and celery. Do they need to be boiled first or added raw?

    Thanks for your anticipated reply.
    Gerry

    Reply

  6. Does the vinegar provide the acid needed for water bathing green beans? New to canning and waterbathing and have read that I cannot do green beans because they are low in acid

    Reply

    • Hi there!

      Yes, that is exactly right! The vinegar provides the acidity needed for water bathing. Normal canning of green beans without a significant amount of acid requires a pressure canner.

      Blessings!

      Reply

  7. Canning 3 Bean Salad - Favorite Recipe (8)
    Love love love this!! I leave out the celery however but otherwise follow it and have not bought any since!

    Reply

    • Yay! I’m so glad to hear you are enjoying it, Tracy! Blessings!

      Reply

  8. Canning 3 Bean Salad - Favorite Recipe (9)
    This recipe actually made 9 pints. Needed to make more brine.

    Reply

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Canning 3 Bean Salad - Favorite Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does canned bean salad last in the fridge? ›

If refrigerated, bean salad can last between three and five days and should be discarded when left out more than two hours. The absence of meat or dairy products in most recipes also allows this dish to keep longer than other food items that require consistent refrigeration and sealed storage.

Do you have to soak beans before pressure canning? ›

The Ball Blue Book recommends boiling the beans for 30 minutes before placing into jars. However, this makes the beans a little on the mushy side. Many folks (including myself) have had good luck with simply soaking the beans overnight, rinsing, and then placing them straight into the jars.

Do you have to boil green beans before canning? ›

Canning Green Beans Step 4:

You want them to be sterile and clean so you can place them in boiling water for a few minutes or if you are 100% sure they are clean, rinse them with very hot water.

Can you eat mixed bean salad straight from the tin? ›

You probably don't need to cook it (it should say ready to eat somewhere on the tin), but mixed beans and pasta together on their own might be a bit bland so maybe try adding some tabasco, or garlic, or both! Empty the tin into a sieve/colander and rinse well under the cold tap.

Can you eat beans straight from the can? ›

Canned beans are the good kind of fast food because they're already cooked, which is a great time-saver for participants. They're convenient, ready-to-eat and can be served straight from the can (though rinsing and draining first is recommended) or quickly warmed in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Can bean salad go bad? ›

Bean salad, whether canned or homemade, has different expiration timeframes. An unopened can of bean salad can generally last about 2-5 years past its best-by date, depending on the manufacturer's guidelines. However, once opened, your bean salad should be eaten within 3-4 days.

What happens if you don't drain and rinse canned beans? ›

"If you rinse your beans thoroughly, you will have a consistently flavored product, but if you do not rinse them, different amounts of salt will remain in the dish each time you cook it, and it will be hard to cook consistently," he says.

What happens if you don t soak beans before pressure cooking? ›

Your beans might take a little longer to cook than expected depending on their age, their type, or even the type of water you use (for instance, if your water has a lot of calcium, this can increase cooking time).

Do you have to use salt when canning beans? ›

Always use canning salt or sea salt with NO added anti-caking agents or ingredients, regular table salt is not recommended. Pour just off the boil water over the top of the green beans until the liquid level reaches the 1-inch headspace.

Why are my canned green beans mushy? ›

Avoid using overripe or tough beans, as these may become mushy during the canning process. Process the beans quickly: To preserve the crispness of the beans, it's important to process them quickly after harvesting. Ideally, you should can your green beans within a few hours of picking them.

Do you add lemon juice when canning green beans? ›

Green beans are earlier like many vegetables and many of you are busy pressure canning them. Green beans, corn, meat, and all other foods classified as low acid must be pressure canned. There is no way that you can add an acid like lemon juice or vinegar to the green or yellow beans for canning.

Can green beans be canned without a pressure canner? ›

Because green beans are low in acidity, they have to be canned in a pressure canner so they're safe to eat up to a year later. But if you're willing to increase the acidity of your green beans by pickling them, you can process them in a water-bath canner.

Can you eat four bean mix out of the can? ›

Beans, and all canned foods, are cooked during the canning process. So if you want to eat beans straight from the can, go ahead.

What do you serve with bean salad? ›

You will fall in love with the bold flavors in this salad, and it's the perfect make ahead dish to go with anything from grilled lemon chicken, to lamb kabobs, or salmon burgers. You can also add it to a rice bowl with tuna (or your protein of choice) for a fun and simple dinner.

What kind of beans are in mixed beans? ›

Mixed Beans (Black Eyed Beans, Chick Peas, Haricot Beans, Pinto Beans, Red Kidney Beans, Adzuki Beans), Water, Firming Agent: Calcium Chloride.

How long do canned mixed beans last in the fridge? ›

Low-acid canned goods, such as meat, poultry, fish, gravy, stew, soups, beans, carrots, corn, pasta, peas, potatoes and spinach) can be stored three to four days.

How long does Paisley Farm Four Bean Salad last in the refrigerator? ›

For the best quality of the product, all Paisley Farm items should be refrigerated after opening. We recommend consuming our products within 30 days after opening. What is the difference between Paisley Farm Four Bean Salad and Five Bean Salad?

Are beans good after 5 days in fridge? ›

Your cooked beans last about 3 to 5 days in the fridge. To store them, let the beans cool down after cooking, then pop them in the refrigerator within an hour. Getting them stored quickly and chilled in the fridge will help prevent the growth of bacteria.

Can I eat beans that have been in the fridge for 5 days? ›

The exact shelf life of cooked beans can vary based on several factors, including the freshness of the beans when they were cooked, the temperature of your refrigerator, and how they're stored. Generally, you should eat cooked beans within 3–5 days.

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