Canning Potatoes
Start canning potatoes for quick meals, soups, or stews. Or simply boil for 10 minutes and add butter and salt. Sour cream and chives would dress it up nicely.
You will need to know how to use a pressure canner. This pressure canning page has more detailed information and step-by-step instructions on how to use a pressure canner.
This Page Includes:
- How to Can Potatoes: Extended, Step-by-step Recipe Explanation
- Recipe Card
- {Video} How Do You Can Small, Multi-Colored Potatoes?
- {FAQ} Must You Really Peel Potatoes for Canning?
- {FAQ} What About Raw Packing Potatoes to Get a Better Texture?
- {FAQ} What Potato is Best for Canning?
- {FAQ} How to Reduce Starchiness in Home Canned Potatoes.
- {FAQ} Growing Potatoes
Canning Potatoes: Step-by-step Recipe Explanation
Gather your canning supplies
- pressure canner
- canning jars
- canning seals and rings
- jar lifter and canning funnel
- large pot or blancher
- potato peeler
- bowls
- large spoons
- sharp knife
- towels and dish cloths
Ingredients
- Potatoes – about 20 pounds will do 7 quarts
- Canning salt – optional
Preparing the Potatoes for Canning
Wash and peel your potatoes. (Yes, you really must peel them. Check out the tips section below for more on this.) Cut into pieces between 1-2 inches. Or you can leave them whole if you are like us and got TONS of teeny tiny potatoes in the garden. (My kids call them tater tots. Yes, you need to peel the tater tots.) Your potato pieces should not be bigger than 1-2 inches.
You can cut them as small as 1/2 inch…I would think they might get overcooked this way. I am at high altitude and required pressure is high for me. If you live at low altitude, it might not be as much of a problem.
As you cut your potatoes, place the pieces in a pot of cold water to avoid discoloring. This will also rinse away some of the starch. When you are done peeling and cutting, drain.
Bring a pot of fresh water to a boil and boil your cut up potatoes. Cook small, 1/2-inch pieces for 2 minutes. If you have larger pieces or whole potatoes, boil up to 10 minutes and drain. You want the potatoes to be hot through, but not overcooked. Remember, no larger than 2 inches.
Canning Procedure
Add 1 tsp. of salt per quart to the jar, if desired. This is optional, though I do recommend it unless you have a health reason to leave the salt out. Salt helps preserve the texture and taste of the potatoes.
Fill jars with hot/prepared potatoes, leaving 1-inch headspace.
Cover hot potatoes with FRESH boiling water. Don’t use the water you used to boil the potatoes. It will be starchy and cloudy. More rinsing means less starchy potatoes. Leave 1-inch headspace and cover all pieces of potato.
Wipe the rims clean, remove any air bubbles, and place your lids.
For more details on using a pressure canner follow pressure canning instructions.
Processing Times for Canning Potatoes
Pints – process for 35 minutes
Quarts – process for 40 minutes
Be sure to use the pressure according to your altitude see the chart below. For more information, see this altitude adjustments page.
Pinnable Recipe
Canning Potatoes
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Vegetable Peeler or paring knife
Ingredients
- Potatoes approx 20 pounds = 7 quart jars
- Canning Salt optional
Instructions
- Start by preparing your jars and getting water in the canner heating. You want the canner hot, but not boiling, when the jars are ready to be processed. If you are new to using a pressure canner, see this article for full pressure canning instructions. This includes more detailed information and step-by-step instructions on how a pressure canner works.
Hot Pack Only
- Wash and peel potatoes.
- Cut potatoes into 1–2” pieces, placing potatoes in water. Drain.
- Add water and bring to a boil. Cook small pieces 2 minutes or large pieces up to 10 minutes, to heat through. Your potato pieces should not be bigger than 1-2 inches.
- Fill jar with hot potatoes. Add canning salt (1/2 tsp. per pint or 1 tsp. per quart).
- Cover hot potatoes with fresh boiling water, leaving 1” headspace.
- Remove bubbles. Wipe the rim clean and place on seal and ring. Place jar in the warm canner. Proceed to fill all jars. Process in a pressure canner according to the instructions below.
Notes
Source: The National Center for Home Food Preservation, Colorado State Extension
Last Updated: 6/18/2021
Sharon’s Canning Potatoes Tips & FAQs
How Do You Can Small, Multi-Colored Potatoes?
Transcript, Edited for Clarity:
Trudy, who lives in Washington, asks, “I want to know if you can can the little round potatoes that come in several colors. Thanks in advance.”
At the grocery store, I do sometimes see bags of really small potatoes. They have a variety of different colors. Those are nice for roasting or using with roast or chicken as a side dish, but I don’t recommend them for canning.
Number one, you have to peel potatoes to can them. You can’t just pop those in a jar, process them, and then get a cute looking jar with all of the different colors in there. It doesn’t work that way. You’ll have to peel them, so the color of the potato really doesn’t matter. You’re not going to see it anyway.
Plus, little bitty potatoes are a pain in the neck to peel. Save those for roasting, and buy the regular, big potatoes, which are much easier to peel. You’re going to have way better luck.
There are types of potatoes that are better for canning than others. They’re all safe, but some will be a lot more starchy, so they won’t can as nicely. You’ll get a lot of starch in the water. Be sure and check out the canning potatoes article, because I do list the different types of potatoes there: What’s good for canning, what’s good for baking, and other things like that.
I hope this was helpful. Try not to peel little bitty potatoes, because we don’t have time for that. You guys have a great day. Be sure and visit me at SimplyCanning.com. I’ll put the canning potatoes link in the article. You guys have a great day. We’ll talk to you next time. Bye!
Must You Really Peel Potatoes for Canning?
Yes, you really must peel your potatoes. Even the tiny ones. The reason is that the spores that can cause issues with botulism are found in the soil. Since the potato grows directly in the soil, there is a higher chance that botulism may be a risk. This is the same with all root crops.
I cook potatoes with the skins on for dinner. But for canning, I’ll go ahead and skin the potato. Then we’ll have fried potato skins for supper the night after I can potatoes.
What About Raw Packing Potatoes to Get a Better Texture?
If you do a search on YouTube or many canning groups, you may find instructions for canning potatoes raw pack. I do not endorse that method. I am all for getting a nice texture in your product. BUT you must know that there are no official sources that will recommend raw packing potatoes for canning.
Potatoes have never been tested for canning from raw. The way they were tested is from a cooked state. If you pack the potatoes raw, you would have to test from raw. The texture, temperature among other things is different therefore the testing would not apply. I totally understand wanting a better texture, but you are better off working with different types of potatoes to see what will hold up better to the canning process.
Dry canning is also not safe. Read more here.
What Potato is Best for Canning?
You can use any potato for canning, but look for a less starchy potato. Red skinned works best. Large, white, baking potatoes are not the best for canning purposes. They tend to be more on the starchy side. Red or gold potatoes do much better.
How to Reduce Starchiness in Home Canned Potatoes
Rinse, rinse, and rinse again to reduce starchy, cloudy potato water. You’ll get the first rinse as you cut up your potatoes, drain then bring to a boil to partially cook, and then drain that water and finally add fresh water to your jars; do not use the cooking water. Adding clean, fresh water will reduce the amount of starch in the jars.
Growing Potatoes
If you are growing a garden you really should try growing potatoes! They are so crispy and delicious when grown in your back yard. This Growing Potatoes gardening course will take you step-by-step through the growing process. Start growing potatoes from your garden this summer.
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Related Pages
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Canning Tomatoes
Canning tomatoes can be done in both a pressure canner and a water bath canner.
Source: The National Center for Home Food Preservation, Colorado State Extension
Page last updated: 7/9/2021
AFTER boiling potatoes for a few minutes, the skins peel right off. (Hot on the hands, but less product waste.) Could/Would this be an acceptable method to peel potatoes prior to canning?
Yes, that would work. The goal is to remove the skins so I don’t see why not.
The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving (2016) has recipes to pressure can potatoes using a raw pack method (p. 278, Herbed Potatoes, Chipotle Potatoes, and Mediterranean Potatoes, with raw pack instructions on p. 276. Is this another instance of Ball posting recipes that haven’t been tested? I can’t see any other indication that the recommendation has changed.
Hmmm that is interesting. I did not know that. Usually, I trust Ball as a resource but I’ll have to do some research on this. I’ve never seen tested instruction for a raw pack anywhere else. IF it is safe, (and I’m not making a decision yet. 🙂 ) I wonder what the quality would be anyway. Potatoes are starchy and the several rinses will reduce the starch in the jars. Thanks for pointing this out, I’ll see what I can find. Editing to add… I just noticed the date for your book. It is old enough that it is… Read more »
When using these potatoes after they have been canned, do these have to be boiled prior to use? And what about using canned green beans, canned meats…do they need to be boiled also prior to eating?
Kathy great question. This article will help. It used to be that it was recommended to boil. But as long as you process properly you may not need to. Check this article for more information. Boiling home-canned foods.
I’m continuing to increase the products I can each year and was so excited to come across this email about canning potatoes!
Has anyone tried using their apple peeler/corer/slicer for just peeling the potatoes? I’m wondering if I could get my kids to have a “race” when it comes to peeling them!
Laura, I have not tried it myself but I bet it would work. Some brands have the option of just coring and slicing or just peeling. If you want this for canning, you would need to be sure your peeler has the option of not coring and slicing. The slices that come off it would be far too thin for canning. But if yours will just peel I bet it would work. You might have to trim up the ends with a knife.
Hi Sharon, I canned “many” quarts of potatoes last year. We are packing to make a final move to our home in Oregon. I noticed that there are several jars of the canned potatoes where the liquid has disappeared about 1-2 inches down from the top. Exposing the potatoes. The potatoes are not discolored but I wonder if they are still safe to eat.??? The seals are stills safely sealed. Thanks so much for your help. I appreciate your posts and look forward to getting them.
Suzanne
Do you mean it has dropped since they were stored on the shelf? Or did they come out of the canner that way, like liquid loss: https://www.simplycanning.com/liquid-loss-in-home-canning/
-Rachel (Sharon’s assistant)
They came out of the canner that way..
Hi Suzanne, As long as the liquid is not less than half the jar then the potatoes are fine. (that is assuming you followed all other canning procedures.) Good luck with your move. That is a huge task!
I get 100 lbs. of potatoes from a local farm every fall and can them. Great for home fries or soups/chowders, so convenient.
I’m seeing more and more people on YouTube raw packing potatoes because they have better texture. I’m assuming that this is an unsafe or at least an untested method. I know that the NCHFP has a caution with using the same starch water you blanched your potatoes in to put in your jar. I would also assume that since potatoes are dense it might take to long with raw pack for them to get to the right temperature internally. Have you ever come across any official documentation on the safety or dangers of raw packing your potatoes?
There are no official sources that will recommend raw packing potatoes for canning. Potatoes have never been tested for canning from raw. The way they were tested is from a cooked state. If you pack the potatoes raw, you would have to test from raw. The texture, temperature among other things is different therefore the testing would not apply. I totally understand wanting a better texture but you are better off working with different types of potatoes to see what will hold up better to the canning process. Great question! I’m going to add some more information to the article… Read more »
Thank you for your prompt reply!