Last summer I canned a variety of foods boiling beans with carrots stock our pantry with, in order to have plenty for Fall and Winter. I canned vegetables from our garden, fruit picked at local farms, as well as homemade soups and stews.

I’m glad I did, because we were able to have jars of Mom’s Old-Fashioned Chili in our pantry to eat whenever we wanted through the long Winter! Homemade chili must be canned using a pressure canner, so I slightly adapted my recipe so it conformed to safe canning guidelines and the results were wonderful! Some people feel like you should add cooked beans AFTER you open the jars so the beans don’t get soggy, but I have not found this to be the case. I add the beans and can them at the same time, with no problem.

I did this according to the pressure canner’s manufacturer instructions. The jars and lids were also prepped following USDA canning guidelines. Ground beef, diced onions and a large diced green pepper were cooked in a large pan until done. Grease was drained from pan and discarded. Meat mixture was then transferred to a very large stockpot. To the meat mixture, add canned diced tomatoes, kidney beans, chili beans, pinto beans, and black beans.

The chili was cooked on medium-high until it was boiling. At this point, give it a taste, and adjust salt, if necessary, to suit your preference. Air bubbles were removed, and the jar rims were wiped completely clean with a wet dishcloth to ensure a good seal. I centered flat lids on top and screwed down the rings until they were fingertip tight. Once cooking time was completed, I followed manufacturer instructions for letting the pressure drop to zero naturally, then followed instructions for safely removing the vent and lid. PLEASE follow your own pressure canners manufacturer instructions! Once they had completely cooled, I checked to make sure each jar was properly sealed, wiped down the jars, put a label on each one, and into our pantry they went!