photo collage of various fruits and vegetables

How do I? ...Can Vegetables

Selecting, Preparing and Canning Vegetables

Beans, Fresh Lima - Shelled

Quantity: An average of 28 pounds is needed percanner load of 7 quarts; an average of 18 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 32 pounds and yields 6 to 10 quarts – an average of 4 pounds per quart.

Quality: Select well-filled pods with green seeds. Discard insect-damaged and diseased seeds.

Please read Using Pressure Canners before beginning. If this is your first time canning, it is recommended that you read Principles of Home Canning.

Procedure: Shell beans and wash thoroughly.

Hot pack – Cover beans with boiling water and heat to boil. Fill jars loosely, leaving 1-inch headspace.

Raw pack – Fill jars with raw beans. Do not press or shake down.

Small beans – leave 1-inch of headspace for pints and 1-1/2 inches for quarts.

Large beans – leave 1-inch of headspace for pints and 1-1/4 inches for quarts.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Add boiling water, leaving the same headspace listed above.

Adjust lids and process using the recommendations in Table 1 or Table 2 according to the method of canning used.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Lima Beans in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 2,000 ft	2,001 - 4,000 ft	4,001 - 6,000 ft	6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot and Raw	Pints	40 min	11 lb	12 lb	13 lb	14 lb
Hot and Raw	Quarts	50	11	12	13	14

Table 2. Recommended process time for Lima Beans in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.
			Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Hot and Raw	Pints	40 min	10 lb	15 lb
Hot and Raw	Quarts	50	10	15

This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 1994.

Reviewed June 2006.

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