Today I’d like to welcome my friend Jamie as a guest poster on the site. She is a goddess when it comes to home-canning vegetable beef soup. So read on to find out how you can do this at home.
Pressure Canning Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
There is nothing quite like a hot bowl of homemade soup on a cold and windy day. But if you are like me, sometimes you want the food but maybe not all the mess, or you don’t have the time at that moment.
Therefore, if you learn the process of canning vegetable beef soup, you only have the mess once, but can enjoy the soup over and over again!
Home made canned vegetable beef soup is one of my favorites!
It is also a perfect soup to make at the end of the season when the last of the vegetables are finished. Therefore, this post isn’t a typical recipe. It’s more of a guideline to allow you to use your personalrecipe.
Even though this soup has to be pressure canned, it is still relatively easy to make and can.
For using your specific pressure canner, read the instructions that came with it. It will require you to put a few quarts in your canner to start, add your jars with lids, properly attach the cover, let the steam release, let the pressure build, cook for the allotted time and then cool down.
If you don’t have a pressure canner yet, I highly recommend the All American Pressure Canner.
Another good option, but less expensive is the Presto Pressure Canner.
1.Gather and Prep Your Ingredients
This is the fun part in my opinion.I love looking for and buying fresh produce or picking it from the garden. There is just something rewarding about having a counter full of fresh ingredients instead of all the processed store boxes and cans. So, for this soup, I use carrots, potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, onions, celery, bell peppers, and beef (whatever is cheapest). Don’t worry, even the toughest harshest cuts of meat will turn out tender once the canning process is complete.
Next, wash all your vegetables and cut them into the size you prefer for your soup. I like everything cut into 1/4″-1/2″ cubes/dice. I also leave the skin on the potatoes when I use baby reds. However, here is a part where your preferences really matter. Don’t go my way if you do not like it or have a better idea!
If you don’t want all the trouble of washing/peeling/ chopping fresh veggies, you can always use freeze-dried veggies.They have all the same nutrients as fresh garden produce but don’t require any prep time and they work well in canning!
Cooking The Vegetable Beef Soup for Pressure Canning
Now that you have your preferred ingredients ready, it is time to start cooking.
- In a large stockpot or pressure cooker and a little oil and beef stew meat
- Add your favorite seasonings – I use pepper, minced garlic, onion powder, and a bit of salt
- Once the meat is browned add the stock/broth and vegetables
- Add more seasoning to taste
- Let simmer until vegetables start to tender
You don’t want to cook the soup too long in the pot because it will cook more during the canning process and you don’t want everything to become mush.
Flavor burst idea: I use boiling water, tomato powder, and beef bouillon as my broth. It gives the soup a nice deep flavor.
Pressure Canning Vegetable Beef Soup
Now that the soup is done, you are ready to fill your hot, prepared jars.
I like to put my soup in wide-mouth pint jars so that they are single-serving size. So, fill your jars making sure to keep 1″ of headspace. In addition, make sure you remove any air bubbles.
Make sure you are giving your jars a water bath.
Water-bath canning is very important because it ensures safe storage at room temperature for up to a year. Also, canned foods that are stored in a freezer typically last for 3 to 5 years.
For an easy guide to water-bath canning, read the article from EatingWell about 10 Steps to Water-Bath Canning. They show us how processing preserves in a boiling water bath ensures safe storage at room temperature for up to a year.
Now you are ready for the pressure canning.
Place your jars into your canner, following your canner’s instructions. In my large canner, I can fit 16 pints (8 per layer) with a separator between layers.
Adjust your canner lid, bring up to pressure, and process pints for 1 hour and 15 minutes for pints at 10 pounds of pressure (1 hour and 30 minutes for quarts).
Let cool before removing the jars.
Finally, enjoy your home-canned vegetable beef soup! As you already saw, canning vegetable beef soup is easy using the pressure canning method!
Last but not least, please keep in mind that I aspect all your further questions in the comment section below. Do not hesitate to ask anything and share all your sincere thoughts on this recipe.
Rebecca Britton
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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.
