Canning Three Bean Salad
Full of flavor and texture, this recipe for canning three bean salad is a winner! This recipe is unique to other bean salad recipes, because it’s canned in a light pickling brine.
Do you ever look back on someone in your childhood, perhaps a neighbor or grandmother, and think about how they always had enough food on hand, even if unexpected company showed up right as dinner was going on the table?
I believe the key to pulling that off is having homemade ready-to-eat food on hand to add to your planned dishes. For instance, if you’re serving chicken and mashed potatoes, nobody is going to even realize that can of hearty, filling three-bean salad you opened and put on the table at the last minute wasn’t always part of the plan, but it sure does stretch the meal for extra people.
This bean salad is a mild, slightly sweet pickle made with three types of beans – as the name suggests – with onions, celery, and bell pepper to compliment it.
Canning Three Bean Salad
Do I need a pressure canner to make three bean salad?
No. While beans are usually canned with a pressure canner, because of the pickling brine in this recipe, the acid content makes water bath canning appropriate for these beans. I like this stainless steel water bath canner, though almost any stock pot will work, as long as it has a lid, rack inside to keep your jars off the floor, and is tall enough so that water can cover the jars with a depth of at least an inch above the jar tops.
Other canning equipment you’ll need
- Canning jars. I usually can this in pint jars. Honestly, I can most vegetables in pints, because I have a small family. However, you can use half pints, or go the other way and use quart jars.
- Canning lids. I usually order Denali canning lids in bulk. I really like these lids, and I don’t remember a time when one hasn’t sealed. You can buy them in bulk, which is also nice. I’ve heard recently that some people have been having issues with Ball canning lids, but I can’t say I’ve had a problem. The only ones I actively avoid are the Walmart brand.
- A canning funnel is handy for filling jars without making a mess, but not essential.
- A jar lifter. If you need to be able to lift jars out of hot water, these are essential. Regular tongs just won’t cut it.
Ingredients for Three Bean Salad
These ingredients are somewhat flexible. The mix of beans can be changed and adjusted according to your preference, as well as the other vegetables. Likewise, you can add seasonings such as mustard or celery seeds to the brine depending on your taste.
- Green beans, or a mix of green and wax beans
- Kidney beans, or lima beans.
- Garbanzo beans
- Yellow onion
- Celery
- Sweet pepper. I use green bell pepper
- Lemon juice
- Distilled white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, depending on your taste preference
- Sugar. You can sub maple syrup, or another heat-stable sweetener
- Salt
How to make three bean salad
This salad does have several ingredients, but despite that, it’s simple to make. I’ve noticed a lot of recipes use already-canned beans to make this salad, but that didn’t make sense to me. I can things partly for convenience, sure, but also to save money, and the real way to save money, is to soak and cook dried beans, so that’s what we’re going to do here, rather than take already prepared beans and simply prepare them in another way.
- Soak Garbanzo and kidney beans overnight. Drain and rinse the next morning, then fill the pot(s) back up with water and cook until just tender. Drain.
- While the beans are cooking, trim ends of green beans and snap into bite-sized pieces.
- Lance green beans by boiling a 2-3 quarts of water in a 4 quart or larger pan. Add green beans and cook for 3 minutes. Beans will turn bright green.
- After three minutes, immediately drain green beans and rinse with cool water until completely cooled.
- Slice onion, celery, and bell pepper into bite-sized pieces.
- In another large pot, Combine water, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and salt, and heat over medium heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar.
- Stir in beans and vegetables.
- Ladle salad into sterilized jars, leaving a half inch headspace.
- Wipe debris from rims if needed, and screw down lids and rings.
- Prepare water bath canner with hot water. Make sure the rack is inserted into the bottom of the canner.
- Add prepared jars, and fill canner so that the water reaches a depth of at least an inch above the jars.
- Bring to a rolling boil, and process pint jars for 15 minutes, or quart jars for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Let canner cool 15 minutes, then remove jars, and let cool overnight (or for 24 hours) undisturbed. I recommend covering the jars with a towel when they’re hot to protect from a draft that could cause them to break.
- After 24 hours, check seals, wash jars if needed (mine always have hard water residue), and store in a cool place out of direct light.
More bean recipes for you:
- Canning Baked Beans
- How to Can Chili Beans
- Canning Pinto Beans
- Canning Ham and Bean Soup
- Pickled Green Beans Recipe
Canning Three Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dry kidney beans
- 1 1/2 cups dry chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- 1 lb green beans (should be 3 cups once trimmed and cut)
- 1 large onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 4 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- The evening before you plan to make this salad, soak kidney beans and garbanzo beans in about a quart of water each.
- The next day, drain beans and rinse well. Place in a large pot, and cover with plenty of water, and simmer until tender.
- While the beans cook, trim ends from green beans, and cut into bite-sized pieces
- Blanche in boiling water for 3 minutes, then immediately transfer to ice water or rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
- Slice onion, celery, and bell pepper into bite sized pieces.
- Combine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and water in a large pan, and heat to a simmer, stirring a few times until the salt is dissolved.
- When beans are cooked, drain, and add to pot of brine, along with green beans, and other vegetables, and stir.
- Sterilize canning jars, and pack with pickle mixture, leaving a half inch headspace.
- Wipe rims clean, and screw down lids and rings.
- Place in hot water bath canner, ensuring the water reaches a depth of at least one inch above the tops of jars, and bring to a rolling boil.
- Process pints for 15 minutes, or quarts for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and let cool 15 minutes before removing jars.
- Let jars cool overnight up to 24 hours, covered with a towel to protect from drafts while the jars are still hot.
- Check seals, wash jars if needed, and store in a cool place out of direct light.
