Canning Dilly Beans at Home with This Simple Recipe

If you love the flavor of dill pickles, you must try crunchy dilly beans. These fresh green beans, pickled in a salty brine with dill, garlic, and peppercorns, have the advantage of staying crunchy. You can make dilly beans in about an hour with five ingredients and about $10 in food supplies. While you do need jars, specialized canning equipment, like a pressure cooker, is not necessary.

Green beans are sturdy and stay crunchy under conditions that cause cucumbers to wilt or get soggy. Their satisfying crunch, combined with a tangy flavor, makes them an ideal snack or side for any meal. People who love Bloody Mary cocktails prize dilly beans as the perfect edible swizzle stick.

I priced dilled green beans at my local grocery stores, and when they had them on the shelf, they were very expensive, ranging in price from $6 up to $12 per bottle. But you will spend around $10 on the food supplies to make 10 bottles. You will need bottles, which you can buy anywhere that sells canning supplies and on Amazon, if you can't find the size or model you like. You can buy a large canner to give your jars the necessary water bath, or you can use a large stock pot. You can wash and reuse your jars over and over again. Really savvy canners save empty jars from mayonnaise, jams, and other condiments for use in canning. This is a tough economy, and the landfills are, well, full. So, reuse those jars without fear of judgment.

In this guide, we will walk you through making dilly beans in your kitchen. Gather your stock pot (or canning pot), jars, and lids, and let’s jump into this easy recipe!

Jars of freshly preserved Dilly Beans with Garlic

Ingredients Needed

To create your homemade dilly beans, gather the following items:

Ingredients for Dilly Beans with Garlic

• Fresh green beans (2 pounds to make four 24-oz jars)

• White vinegar (2 cups)

• Water (2 cups)

• Kosher salt (1/4 cup) (You can also use two tablespoons of canning salt.)

• Fresh dill or crown dill sprigs, or use one teaspoon of dill seed for each jar.

• Garlic cloves (4-8 peeled)

• Whole black peppercorns or red pepper flakes (optional)

  
  

Ensure you have these ingredients ready before you start, as they are essential to this zesty recipe.

Preparing the Green Beans

The first step in making dilly beans is preparing the fresh green beans. Choose bright green and firm beans for the best flavor and texture. Rinse the green beans thoroughly in cold water. After washing, trim off the stem end so they fit neatly into your jars. With your green beans prepped, you can start making a delicious batch of dilly beans!

Making the Pickling Brine

The taste of dilly beans depends significantly on the pickling brine. Here’s how to make it: In a stock pot, mix 2 cups of white vinegar with 2 cups of water and 1/4 cup of kosher salt. Bring this mixture to a boil, stirring until the salt dissolves completely.

Let the brine simmer for a few minutes, then turn it off and let it cool slightly.

While your brine is simmering, turn your oven on to 200 degrees. Turn the oven on, put the washed jars upside down on a quarter-sheet pan or other pan, and place them in the oven. Let them sterilize in the oven for at least 20 minutes, then turn off the oven and let them cool. When they are cool, move the jars to your assembly space.

Prepared green beans in jars.

Packing the Jars

With your brine ready, it’s time to pack your jars:

1. Sterilize Jars and Lids: To prevent spoilage, start with sanitized jars. To sterilize lids, start with fresh lids and place them in a glass bowl. Pour boiling water over the lids until they are submerged. Let them cool slightly, then remove them from the water before sealing up the jar.

   
   

2. Put Dill Sprigs in Jars: Snip off large dill sprigs or crowns and put 2-3 in each jar.

   
   

3. Layer the Beans: Pack the prepared green beans into the sterilized jars vertically, leaving about half an inch of headspace at the top for brine.

   
   

4. Add Garlic and Peppercorns: As you fill the jars, add a couple of pieces of garlic and some peppercorns or red pepper flakes at both the top and bottom of the jars. This ensures the flavor spreads evenly.

   
   
   

   

   
   
   

5. Seal the Jars: Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean cloth before securing them with lids. This ensures a proper seal.

   
   
   

   

   
   
   

Processing the Dilly Beans

Now that your jars are filled and sealed, it’s time to process them:

1. Water Bath: Place the jars in a large pot of boiling water, ensuring they are fully submerged. Process the jars in the water bath for about 10-15 minutes. This step ensures the beans are preserved safely.

   Note: To prevent the jars from getting too hot while sitting on the bottom of the water bath, you need some type of rack. A canning rack like the one in these pictures is ideal because you can lift out your jars with it. Otherwise, you will need jar tongs to remove the jars from the water bath.

   
   
   

   

   
   
   

2. Cool Down: Once the time is up, carefully remove the jars from the water and let them cool on a towel or cooling rack. As they cool, you'll hear the satisfying pop of the jar seals, indicating they are sealed. You can let the jars season upside down if you like -- this keeps the beans at the bottom.

   
   

3. Storage: Store the jars in a cool, dark place for at least 3 weeks before opening. This waiting time allows the flavors to develop fully.

   
   

   

   Dilly Beans curing upside down.

   
   

Enjoy Your Homemade Delicacy!

Making dilly beans at home is a rewarding and enjoyable process that anyone can master. With just five simple ingredients and a bit of effort, you can preserve the essence of summer in a jar. Whether you enjoy them straight from the jar, as a tangy snack, or as a zesty meal garnish, dilly beans are sure to impress.

Why not give it a try? Gather your ingredients, follow this straightforward recipe, and take pride in crafting your homemade dilly beans. Enjoy the crunch, savor the flavor, and share your creations with friends and family!

Happy pickling!