My husband and kids are huge pickle fans. They also love green beans. So pickled green beans (sometimes called dilled beans or dilly beans) are a natural in our home. There are many, many different recipes for dilly beans, but I like this one best because it's so easy...and, according to my pickle lovers, tasty!

For the beans, you may use regular green beans, wax beans, or even yard long beans (either chopped up or wound around the jar).


Canned Dilly Beans Recipe
2 lbs. green beans, stems and blossom ends removed
4 garlic cloves
4 teaspoons dill seed or 8 sprigs fresh dill heads
4 teaspoons canning salt
2 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar (5% acidity)
2 1/2 cups water


1. Review the guidelines for water bath canning. Prepare jars and lids. Fill a large bowl or sanitary sink with ice water.

2. Fill a large pot with water and place over medium high heat; bring to a boil.

3. Add the green beans to the pot and begin immediately timing 3 minutes. When 3 minutes have passed, drain the water from the green beans and plunge immediately into the prepared ice water.

4. Wipe pot clean. Pour the vinegar and 2 1/2 cups water into the pot. Place over medium high heat; do not allow to boil. This liquid is your brine.



5. Once the beans are completely cool, take a single hot jar and to it add:

• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon dill seed (or 2 sprigs of fresh dill heads)
• 1 teaspoon salt*

6. Pack the jar with beans, being sure to leave 1/4 in. headspace. (If needed, cut the beans to make them fit. If there is room at the top of the jar, add chopped beans.)

7. Pour the hot vinegar-water brine over the beans, maintaining a 1/4 in. headspace. Bubble. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth. Add a lid and a screw band and place in the canner.

8. Repeat steps 5-7 until all the green beans are used up (or all the jars are filled).

9. Process pint jars for 10 minutes in a water bath canner.**

Makes about 4 pints.

NOTE: If you live at a high altitude, read this important information about adjusting canning times.

* Canning salt prevents the liquid in the jar from becoming cloudy. However, processed salt (including canning and table salt) are now linked to autoimmune disorders. Therefore, I recommend using real sea salt. (Just be sure to use fine sea salt; if you use coarse sea salt, there will not be enough salt in your brine, which is a safety issue.)

** Only pickled green beans may be processed in a water bath canner. If they are not pickled, green beans must, for safety's sake, be processed in a pressure canner.