Canning Vegetable Soup at Home: Step-by-Step Guide

Whether you’re preserving summer harvests or preparing a winter batch to have ready-made meals on hand, learning how to can vegetable soup is a practical skill for anyone who values homemade convenience food.

Canning isn’t just for homestead moms — hobby canners and busy families can equally benefit from jars of ready-to-heat soup on the shelf.

My own experience comes from growing up in a small Amish community in middle Tennessee, and some of my fondest memories are from those summers working with neighbors to garden, cook, and preserve food.

When I was fourteen, we combined efforts with a neighbor family and canned a huge volume of produce. We made dill pickles, pickled beets, and lots of jam from wild blackberries, but one of the most memorable projects was canning about 200 quarts of vegetable soup together.

We spent a full day on it: picking corn and peas early, husking and shelling, and bringing in tomatoes, okra, carrots, potatoes, green beans, lima beans, and more. The variety made a rich, satisfying soup. I remember hesitating about the okra, but it added body and flavor—I still toss a little okra into my vegetable soup today.

That soup was incredible. At the time I wondered if my enjoyment was biased by the hard work we put in, but over the years I’ve come to appreciate how pressure canning intensifies and melds flavors. Fresh produce helps, of course, but even using frozen store-bought vegetables can yield excellent results.

Why Make Home-Canned Soup

A few weeks ago, frustrated by hectic Sunday mornings and the scramble to make dinner after church, I decided to can vegetable soup for convenience. Having jars on the shelf means we can come home and have a hot, homemade meal in minutes without depending on electricity or last-minute prep.

Home-canned soup gives you control over ingredients and seasoning. You get the convenience of store-bought canned soup with the benefit of simple, familiar ingredients—no mystery preservatives or unwanted seasonings. You can customize the vegetables and stock to suit your family’s tastes.

How to can vegetable soup

Canning vegetable soup is essentially making a large pot of soup and processing it in a pressure canner. Below are key tips to keep in mind before you begin:

• Keep everything clean. Start with clean hands, jars, lids, and work surfaces. Minimizing contaminants before sealing makes the process safer and improves the chances of a proper seal.
• Arrange jars without touching. Place jars close but not touching in the canner to reduce the risk of breakage from thermal stress.
• Customize vegetables to your preference. The ingredient amounts are guidelines. Swap or omit vegetables as you like to suit flavors and availability.
• Use tools to save time. A food processor or good knife reduces chopping time significantly.
• For vegetarian soup, use vegetable broth instead of beef broth, and replace ground beef volume with additional vegetables (roughly 3 cups of vegetables for each pound of beef) to maintain total batch volume.
• A pressure canner is required. Vegetable soup is a low-acid recipe and should be processed in a pressure canner to reach temperatures high enough to safely preserve it.
• Canning supplies. Most stores carry jars and lids. If you don’t own a pressure canner, you may need to order one. It’s an investment, but a worthwhile one if you plan to do much home canning.

How to Can Vegetable Soup

Canning your own soup is a reliable way to have quick, homemade dinners available year-round.

• Author: Elise
• Prep Time: 15-25 minutes
• Cook Time: 55-85 minutes
• Total Time: 70-130 minutes
• Yield: Varies

Ingredients

• 8 cups diced tomatoes (or pureed if you prefer)
• 8 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 6 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 cup lima beans
• 3 cups chopped green beans
• 2 cups corn kernels
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup green peas
• 6 cups beef broth, vegetable broth, or water
• 2 cups onions
• 3 lbs ground beef (or increase vegetables for a vegetarian version)
• 3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef with the onions.
2. Drain the meat and transfer it to a large (at least 8-quart) pot.
3. Add the remaining vegetables, broth, and Italian seasoning.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Heat over medium and simmer until the vegetables are just tender.

To can:

1. Ladle the hot soup into hot jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
2. Wipe the jar rims clean, apply the flat lids, and screw on the bands firmly.
3. Place jars in a preheated, hot pressure canner.
4. Lock the canner lid and heat until steam begins to escape.
5. Vent steam for 10 minutes, then close the vent.
6. Bring the canner up to 10 pounds of pressure.
7. Process quart jars for 85 minutes and pint jars for 55 minutes (follow current Ball canning guidelines for your altitude and equipment).
8. Turn off the heat and allow pressure to return to zero naturally before opening the vent and removing jars.
9. Allow jars to cool, then check seals. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place and enjoy your home-canned vegetable soup.

Enjoy your home-canned vegetable soup.