20+ Pork Canning Recipes (Soup, Chili and Meal in a Jar Recipes)

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Pork canning recipes are one of my favorite ways to turn a big meat purchase into real, ready-to-use food on the pantry shelf. Instead of cramming the freezer with roasts and chops, I can put pork up in jars so dinner is as simple as opening, heating, and serving.

Is Pork Safe for Canning?
Canning Pork Times and Pressure
Pork Canning Recipes
Meat Canning Recipes

When pork goes on sale, it’s tempting to fill the freezer with loins, roasts, and chops, but freezer space disappears fast. Canning lets you put that same pork up in jars instead, so it’s shelf-stable, already cooked, and waiting for the nights when you just need dinner to happen.

Buying pork in bulk is usually the most economical way to do it, whether that means a whole hog from a local farmer, a half hog split with friends, or just a stack of clearance pork loins from the grocery store. The catch is storage. A couple roasts are easy enough, but once you’ve got twenty pounds of pork in the cart, you’re suddenly rearranging the freezer and playing meat Tetris.

Pressure canning is the answer! It allows you to store meat on your pantry shelf, already cooked and ready to eat.

The best part is that canned pork isn’t just “meat for later.” Most pork canning recipes are the same kinds of meals you’d normally cook in a slow cooker or Instant Pot. I’m talking braises, stews, chili, pulled pork, and saucy meat dishes that come out tender and flavorful.

When they’re canned, they become true pantry convenience food: open a jar, heat it up, and serve it over rice, potatoes, noodles, or with a stack of tortillas, and dinner is handled.

Pork Shoulder Canning — Pork shoulder chopped into chunks for canning

Is Pork Safe for Canning?

Yes, pork is safe for canning as long as you’re using a pressure canner and following a safe, tested process.

If you’re new to pressure canning, it’s worth getting comfortable with the basics before you start. Pressure canning processes food at higher temperatures than water bath canning, and that extra heat is what makes low-acid foods like meat safe for shelf storage.

Pressure canning typically runs at temperatures around 240°F, and the pressure you need to reach that temperature depends on your elevation. That’s why pressure canning recipes include both a processing time and an altitude-based pressure chart.

When you’re canning pork, the details matter. Use the correct headspace, follow the processing time for your jar size, and apply the proper pressure for your canner type and elevation.

Water bath canning is only for high-acid foods like jams, jellies, pickles, and fruit. You cannot safely water bath can pork (or any other low-acid food), no matter what you see floating around online.

Canning Pork Times and Pressure

With pressure canning, the processing time stays the same at any elevation, but the pressure changes based on altitude.

Always follow the time and pressure in your specific recipe, but in most cases, pork is processed for:

75 minutes for pint jars
90 minutes for quart jars

That general timing holds true for most plain meat canning recipes. The main exceptions are broths and a few soup canning recipes, which can have shorter processing times because the higher liquid content allows heat to penetrate the jar more quickly.

For most pork canning recipes that include substantial solids, though, 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts is the standard rhythm you’ll see again and again.

Altitude adjustments for pork canning recipes are typically:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

0 to 2,000 feet – 11 lbs pressure
2,001 to 4,000 feet – 12 lbs pressure
4,001 to 6,000 feet – 13 lbs pressure
6,001 to 8,000 feet – 14 lbs pressure

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

0 to 1,000 feet – 10 lbs pressure
Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure

Pork Canning Recipes

While you can use pork in place of beef in any beef canning recipe (or ground beef canning recipes), it is a different protein with its own flavor profile. These recipes were specifically developed with pork in mind, so they have the right mix of seasoning, salt and everything else.

Canning Pork (Plain)

Plain canned pork is the most flexible place to start, especially when you’re buying meat in bulk. Most cuts can be canned this way, but the best results usually come from pork you’d normally cook low and slow—stew meat, shoulder, and braising roasts that turn tender and rich in the jar (and give you a flavorful broth for quick gravy or sauce).

You can can leaner cuts like pork loin and tenderloin safely, but they’re not always the best “set it and forget it” option if you’re hoping for juicy results. Because lean pork doesn’t have much fat to protect it during processing, I like to can it with broth or plan to finish it with a sauce after opening—think tacos, stir-fries, or rice bowls where the pork is the protein, not the whole show.

Canning Ground Pork (& Sausage)

Ground pork is just as useful as ground beef in the pantry. You can can it plain as crumbles, or season it in ways that make it easy to turn into quick meals later.

Plain crumbles are the most flexible option because they can become anything—taco filling, breakfast hash, dumpling filling, spaghetti sauce, chili, or fried rice.

If you’re planning ahead for specific meals, you can also can ground pork in more finished forms, like meatballs or seasoned meat mixtures. Ground pork is mild, so it takes on seasoning well, and it works nicely in both tomato-based and broth-based recipes.

Pork Stew & Soup Canning Recipes

Pork makes wonderfully rich soups and stews, especially when it’s paired with beans, potatoes, greens, or hearty vegetables.

A big advantage of pork soups is that they don’t have to be fussy. Pork brings flavor even when the seasoning list is short, and it plays well with pantry staples—white beans, tomatoes, onions, peppers, broth, and dried herbs.

If you like the idea of true “dinner from a jar,” pork soups are one of the most satisfying options because they reheat beautifully and feel like a complete meal.

Pork Chili Canning Recipes

When people think “canned chili,” they often think beef, but pork chili is a seriously good pantry staple. You can use ground pork or chunks of stewing pork, and you can go in a lot of different directions—from classic red chili to chili verde or smoky chipotle versions.

One nice thing about pressure canning chili recipes is that dried seasonings are flexible. You can adjust spice blends and heat levels to fit your tastes, as long as you’re keeping the overall structure of the recipe intact.

If you want pork that doesn’t taste like “plain canned meat,” chili recipes are an easy way to get bold flavor without needing a lot of extra steps at serving.

Pork Meal in a Jar Canning Recipes

Realistically, most pork canning is already “meal in a jar.” Even plain pork can become dinner with almost no effort. But this category is for the recipes that don’t fit neatly into stew or chili—things like braised pork in a flavored sauce, shredded pork meant for sandwiches, or traditional dishes that rely on a specific seasoning profile.

These are the jars that feel like you planned ahead on purpose. They’re the ones you can open and serve over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes and feel like you cooked all day.

This is where you’ll find ideas like:

Canning Beans with Pork

If you want a true “full meal” jar that feels like it belongs on the shelf year-round, baked beans with pork are hard to beat. They’re hearty and flexible, and can be served with cornbread, alongside ribs or pulled pork, or spooned over baked potatoes when you need a quick dinner that actually sticks.

This is also one of those recipes where a little pork goes a long way, adding richness and smoky depth even when beans are doing most of the heavy lifting. These jars usually taste even better after they’ve had time to mellow, and they’re easy to tweak at serving with a splash of vinegar, a pinch of brown sugar, or a little mustard and hot sauce.

Boston Baked Beans (with Bacon)
Beans with Tomato or Molasses (with Ham)
Cajun Red Beans and Sausage (with ham hock, sausage and bacon)

Canning Baked Beans — Boston Baked Beans

Pork Pasta Sauce Canning (& Meatballs)

Pork works beautifully in tomato-based pasta sauces, especially when it’s canned as meatballs or seasoned ground pork.

Just like with beef pasta sauce canning recipes, the important thing is that you’re canning everything but the pasta. Pasta itself isn’t a good candidate for canning because it breaks down, thickens the jar, and makes heat penetration unreliable.

The good news is that pasta is already shelf-stable, and it cooks quickly. Having jars of pork meat sauce or pork meatballs in tomato sauce means you can go from “nothing planned” to dinner on the table in the time it takes to boil noodles.

Pasta Sauce with Meat

Recipe for Canning Spaghetti Sauce with Meat

Pork Taco Filling

Pork is fantastic in tacos, and pressure canning gives you a huge shortcut for quick taco nights.

Seasoned pork—whether it’s crumbled ground pork, shredded pork, or chunk-style meat you chop after opening—makes a fast filling for tacos, burritos, nachos, or rice bowls.

The best trick is to drain the jar well, then heat the meat hot and fast in a skillet to drive off moisture and let it brown. That quick pan finish makes canned pork taste much more like something you cooked fresh, and it’s an easy way to boost texture.

Pork Al Pastor
Roast Pork in Spicy Broth
Taco Meat (substitute ground pork in place of beef)

Pork Broth Canning Recipes

Homemade pork broth is one of the most underrated canning projects, especially if you’re breaking down ribs or saving bones from roasts.

Pork broth adds body and richness to soups, beans, ramen, gravies, and sauces. And unlike most pork canning recipes, broth is processed for a much shorter time, which makes it one of the quickest pressure canning projects you can do.

If you’re already cooking pork anyway, it’s a no-brainer to turn leftover bones into a batch of broth and put it on the shelf instead of taking up freezer space.