Pickled Green Beans, also known as Dilly Beans are my very favorite way to preserve green beans grown in my garden. They are slightly spicy and sweet from red pepper flakes and mustard seed. The sweet heat combined with the dill and garlic is something that makes the taste buds happy!
Dilly Beans are a delicious treat to serve on your condiment tray, as a side dish to a sandwich or straight out of the jar! They make great holiday and/or hostess gifts. Just tie a fancy ribbon around the jar and include it in a basket of other homemade goodies!
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Preserving fresh green beans
Whether you have your own garden or not, I highly recommend making pickled green beans! To can these beans I use the hot pack method, very similar to the garlic dill pickle recipe I make every year. This makes the canning process a lot easier since you aren't dealing with a pressure cooker!
If you are making a large batch of these Dilly Beans, it will take a little bit of time. I usually make about 5-6 pints at a time, which equals out to approximately 10-12 cups of fresh green beans. Making only a pint or two at a time will result in less time spent. The only reason it takes any amount of time is you have to clean and trim your beans before processing them.
How to make Pickled Green Beans
It always starts with fresh green beans. Whether you grow them in your garden, or buy them at the market, you want the freshest beans you can get. The beans will need to be washed and trimmed before processing.
I use pint jars for canning. To decide how long my green bean should be, I gauge the length of the bean to the height of the jar. Usually it is approximately 4 inches.
The canning jars should be washed and sterilized in boiling water prior to packing them. Once sterilized, the jars can be packed with the fresh dill (or dill seeds), then add garlic, red pepper flakes, mustard seed, and green beans.
In a large saucepan, bring to a boil the water, cider vinegar, pickling salt, and sugar. Pour hot brine in a glass measuring cup, then add to your pint jar that has been packed with the green beans. Add enough brine to the jars leaving ½ inch from the top of the jar.
Remove any air bubbles by carefully using a knife in the jar. Immediately seal jars by removing the lid from the hot water bath and screwing the cap on tight.
Many people go on to do a hot water bath processing for 10 minutes. I do not do this unless I am planning to give the jars away as a gift. If keeping for myself, I treat these just like I do garlic dill pickles and just cover the hot jars and let them seal. You will hear them popping as the sealing happens.
Tips for pickling green beans
- I usually leave the jars in simmering water and remove them one at a time, filling them with the beans and brine one after another. You do not need to do this if you are planning to process them in a canner once packed.
- Spicy is a preference in our home. If you would rather not have spicy dilly beans, leave the red pepper flakes out.
- I add sugar to the brine to add a little sweet heat factor. You can leave the sugar out if you prefer no sweet.
- Store leftover brine in the refrigerator until ready to make more beans or pour over some freshly cut cucumbers to make some quick pickles!
Other preserved recipes you may like
Mom's Apple Pie in a Jar is one of my very favorite preserving recipes. I always have a jar handy for whenever I want to quickly throw together a pie. Not only that, it's great to use in other recipes that may call for apple pie filling!
Dehydrating is another great way to preserve produce! Try these Keto Zucchini Chips with Everything but the Bagel Seasoning! They are a great stand in snack to a fat laden potato chip!
If you have always canned tomatoes, then you should definitely switch gears and try freezing tomatoes. Especially if you don't have the time to dedicate to canning them.
You can pickle so many different things, for instance, these try theseSmall-Batch Pickled Fiddlehead Ferns! Fiddlehead Ferns are an early spring treat, so you will want to be looking for these early in the harvest season.
Another great way to preserve is Fermenting. This is a new interest of mine and something I hope to get more into next year. In the meantime, check out this post for Fermented Jalapenos to find out what it's all about!
Recipes to make with Dilly Beans
Need a few ideas on what to do with your Dilly Beans besides enjoy them straight from the jar? How about substituting them for canned beans in a 4 Bean Salad, or chop them fine and use them in this Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe instead of pickles! They are also great as part of a relish tray or charturciere board. The sky's the limit!
You may need
I highly recommend this 9-Piece Canning Kit. It has everything you need for preserving foods with a canner!
Fresh dill heads can be found at most farmer's markets and in the grocery stores when in season. If you cannot find the, simply follow the instructions for using dill seed in the recipe card.
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📖 Recipe
Pickled Green Beans aka Dilly Beans
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Ingredients
For the pickling solution (brine)
- 2-½ cup water
- 2-½ cup cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon pickling salt
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
Per Jar add:
- 2 cloves fresh garlic
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon mustard seed
- 1 fresh dill head or 2 teaspoon whole dill seed
Beans (enough for 5 pints)
- 10-12 cups fresh green beans cleaned and trimmed
Instructions
- Fill a large roasting pan with water and bring it to a boil. Add the canning jars and lids to sterilize.
- Pour water, cider vinegar, salt, and sugar in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer.
- Remove hot jar from pan with tongs and place on towel lined counter top.
- Place ½ teaspoon mustard seed, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 dill head in jar and pack with green beans until full.
- Pour boiling vinegar solution over cucumbers, place lid on jar and seal with screw cap.
- Cover pickled green beans with towels to prevent drafts until completely cool. Be sure all lids have sealed. Any that did not seal will need to be refrigerated
- 2 cups of beans should make 1 pint of dilly beans. Increase the measurements of the brine if making more than one pint of beans.
Donna Noyes
How fo you get the nice green colot?
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Donna, the photo was taken right after the hot liquid was poured over the beans and they were still bright green. After they sat a while, the green dulled some. 🙂
Mary Tognazzini
I BLANCH THE BECH FOR A MINUTE TO ADD THE NICE COLOR. I THINK THE AMOUNT OF BRINE WILL MAKE MORE THEN ONE PINT?
Shelby Law Ruttan
Yes, It will make 4-6 pints depending on how full you pack the jar. The brine can be stored in the fridge for another use if you plan to make more than one batch. That is how I would handle the leftover brine I had as I canned beans as I picked them.
Belinda Melson
Hi! My question is : When is the optimal time to open a jar and eat them?
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Belinda, I would wait at least 3 weeks before opening a jar.
Clay
To keep the nice green color, would it help to blanch them for a few minutes?
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Clay, I don't think it would hurt. If it worked out for you, let me know!