Canning Asparagus

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Canning asparagus is a simple way to preserve spring spears for shelf-stable meals all year. This method uses a pressure canner and clear processing times for pints and quarts.

Prep Time30

Cook Time5

Canning Time40

Total Time1 15

Course: vegetables

Cuisine: American

Keyword: asparagus canning recipes

Servings: servings, Makes 7 Quarts (or 14 Pints)

Equipment

Pressure Canner

Ingredients

24 1/2 pounds asparagus spears or cut into 1-inch pieces
Boiling water for covering asparagus in jars
Canning salt optional, 1 teaspoon per quart

Instructions

Prepare a pressure canner according to the manufacturer’s directions and heat clean quart jars.
Wash asparagus well, trim off tough scales, snap off tough stem ends, then wash again. Leave as spears (trim to fit jars) or cut into 1-inch pieces.
For raw pack (recommended), pack raw asparagus tightly into hot quart jars without crushing, leaving 1 1/2 inches of headspace.
For hot pack, cover asparagus with boiling water and boil 2 to 3 minutes. Loosely fill hot quart jars with hot asparagus, leaving 1 1/2 inch of headspace.
If using salt, add 1 teaspoon to each quart jar. Pour boiling water over the asparagus, filling to 1 inch of headspace (1/2 inch over the spears). Remove air bubbles, adjust headspace if needed, wipe rims, and apply lids.
Process in a pressure canner for 40 minutes (quarts) or 30 minutes (pints), using the correct pressure for your canner type and altitude (see notes). When processing is complete, let the canner depressurize naturally, then remove jars and cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check seals, label, and store.

Notes

Yield Notes

Yield varies with spear thickness and how tightly you pack jars. For planning, estimate about 3 1/2 lb asparagus per quart. A full canner load takes about 24 1/2 lb for 7 quarts or 16 lb for 9 pints. A pint-and-a-half jar (24 oz) holds 3/4 quart, so plan on roughly 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 lb asparagus per pint-and-a-half jar.

Pressure Canning Altitude Adjustments

With pressure canning, the processing times stay the same at higher altitudes, but the pressures change. Here are the altitude adjustments for pressure canning:

For dial gauge pressure canners:

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

For weighted gauge pressure canners:

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

Nutrition