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 1/2 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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Yield: 8 servings per jar

Pickled Green Beans aka Dilly Beans

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

These spicy/sweet pickled green beans are a great way to preserve your garden bean harvest and make a delicious addition to your relish tray.

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Ingredients

For the pickling solution (brine)

• 2-1/2 cup water
• 2-1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp pickling salt
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar

Per Jar add:

• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 1 fresh dill head or 2 tsp whole dill seed

Beans (enough for 5 pints)

• 10-12 cups fresh green beans, cleaned and trimmed

Instructions

1. Fill a large roasting pan with water and bring it to a boil. Add the canning jars and lids to sterilize.
2. Pour water, cider vinegar, salt, and sugar in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer.
3. Remove hot jar from pan with tongs and place on towel lined counter top.
4. Place 1/2 tsp mustard seed, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 dill head in jar and pack with green beans until full.
5. Pour boiling vinegar solution over cucumbers, place lid on jar and seal with screw cap.
6. 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
7. 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.

Notes

If you prefer to process the green beans in a hot water bath, transfer jars to canner, fill with hot water. Cover with canner lid and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Carefully lift rack from canner and rest the rack on the rim. Remove hot jars from canner and place on towel lined counter. Cover with more towels to prevent cool air from hitting jars. Let cool completely. Store on shelf until ready to consume. Store any unopened or unsealed jars in refrigerator.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

8 servings per jar
Amount Per Serving Calories 16Saturated Fat 1gSodium 440mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 1g