How to Can Sweet Potatoes for Beginners
Learn how to can sweet potatoes in a pressure canner that’s perfect for beginners. Build your food storage with these golden gems perfect for your pantry shelves.
Sweet potatoes are a great first project for beginner canners. The quick peel, blanch, pack, and go method leaves little fuss.
When sweet potatoes come to harvest in the fall, you can stock up on a entire year’s worth for your long-term food storage in both pints for small servings, or quarters for families. Dehydrating sweet potatoes is another method to try, but let’s jump into the canning now!
How to Pressure Can Sweet Potatoes
Before you get started on any canning project, be sure to review your canner’s instructions and investigate the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s guidelines. You can get a free printable version of the book here or a printed version here.
This way, you are completely prepared for the process and don’t get caught in the middle unaware of what to do next.
If you’re using a Presto Canner, I also have a free printable checklist available in The Purposeful Pantry Resource Library which is a good help to keep you on track while you are canning.
So let’s get started!
Equipment Needed:
If you’d like to investigate some of the items in the list, you can see other canning recommendations I have in my Amazon Canning Store.
Stockpot
Ladle
Clean rings & lids
Clean towel
Hot water
Water or vinegar
Peeler
Colander
Debubbler
Bowl of ice
LEARN MORE: Canning on a glass top stove
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes
- Hot water. A simple syrup solution is optional if you’d prefer to pressure can with sugar. You can make it from 1 part brown or granulated sugar and 2 parts water. Heat until sugar dissolves and leave hot for packing.
- Salt (optional). 1 teaspoon per jar or to taste.
I’m using about 9.5 pounds of various varieties of sweet potatoes.
Directions:
- Review your canner’s manual on proper operation
- Review the NCHFP proper canning procedures. I love having the USDA book handy to grab even when I’m not at my computer
- Bring stockpot of water to a boil.
- Wash and scrub sweet potatoes.
- Peel and cube into 1-1 1/2″ pieces. Remember to remove any blemish, skin piece, or imperfection in the flesh. You want no chance of lingering botulism bacteria harbored in said area to cause a problem in canning.
- Blanch sweet potato cubes for 8-10 min (start timing when water reaches a boil).
- Remove and cool. I prefer to do so in cold water or an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
- Pack jars to the 1″ headspace line with cooled cubes of sweet potato.
- Pour hot water to the 1″ headspace line. I keep my water kettle of boiling water handy. You can use simple syrup if you’d like, but it needs to be heated.
- Debubble – use a debubbling tool, skewer, plastic knife and run around the inside of the jar to remove any air pockets.
- Refill water if necessary to bring back to 1″ headspace.
- Add lids and rings (finger-tight only).
- Process per the guidelines below.
- Remove jars and allow to sit for at least twelve hours.
- Remove rings, check seals.
- Wash and label.
- Store in a dark cool place.
Dial Gauge Pressure Canner (like mine) – PSI
| Jar Size | Jar Size | <1,000 ft | 1,001- 2,000 ft | 4,001- 6,000 | 6,001- 8,000 | 8,001- 10,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pint | 65 min | 11 lb | 12 lb | 13 lb | 14 lb | 15 lb |
| Quart | 90 min | 11 lb | 12 lb | 13 lb | 14 lb | 15 lb |
Weighted Guage Pressure Canner (Jiggler) – PSI
| Jar Size | Process Time | 0-1,000 ft | Above 1,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pints | 65 min. | 10 lb | 15 lb |
| Quarts | 90 min | 10 lb | 15 lb |
LEARN MORE: How to Preserve Sweet Potatoes
How to Use Canned Sweet Potatoes
- Mashed.
- Sauteed – carefully pull pieces into skillet and caramelize them. They will be soft, so be gentle.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long do home-canned sweet potatoes last?
According to the NCHFP,
“Label and date the jars and store them in a clean, cool, dark, dry place. For best quality, store between 50 and 70 °F. Also for best quality, can no more food than you will use within a year unless directions for a specific food provide other advice.”
You might find that your foods do last longer than a year. But keep in mind that over time, foods can begin to lose nutrients and quality the longer they are stored.
Are canned sweet potatoes firm?
No, they are fully cooked, but if you are careful, you can often pour the potato pieces (after draining), into a skillet to caramelize the sweet potato pieces. Otherwise, mash them with some butter, and seasonings of your choice and enjoy!
How to Can Sweet Potatoes with a Pressure Canner
Equipment
- Clean Canning jars, lids and rings
- Stock pot for blanching or steaming
- Jar lifter
- Peeler
Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes 11 lbs approximately = 8 pints
- Hot Water You can use a simple syrup instead
- Salt 1/2 teaspoon per pint – optional
Instructions
Prep Instructions
- Bring stockpot of water to a boil.
- Wash and scrub sweet potatoes.
- Peel and cube into 1-1 ½" pieces.
- Blanch sweet potato cubes for 8-10 min
- Remove and cool.
Processing Instructions
- Pour hot water to the 1" headspace line.
- Debubble, then refill if necessasry
- Wipe rim with water or vinegar
- Processs: PINTS = 65 minutes QUARTS 90 min + __ PSI – your elevation.
- After processing, remove jars and allow to cool for at least twleve hours
- Remove rings, check seals, wash, label and store.
Darcy’s Tips
A simple syrup solution is optional if you’d prefer to pressure can with sugar. You can make it from 1 part brown or granulated sugar and 2 parts water. Heat until sugar dissolves and leave hot for packing. PREP:
Remember to remove any blemish, skin piece, or imperfection in the flesh. You want no chance of lingering botulism bacteria harbored in said area to cause a problem in canning. Yield: 11 lbs of sweet potatoes should get you approximately 8 pints of canned. Store in a dark, cool, dry place for up to two years.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.
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can you not water pack can sweet potatoes. I a seasoned canner and have I ever used a pressure canner-I am afraid of them.
Unfortunately, no.
Do you have to pressure can them that long? I would like to pressure can sweet potatoes but would like them a little hard so they are not mushy and I can finish cooking them when I open them.
Yes – you have to follow the approved canning method for safe canning.
Can you preserve the leaves?
Dehydrate them, yep. You can saute them and freeze them like other greens, but dehydrated for powder is probably the best way to do bulk.
Hi Darcy, is it ok to can on a glass top stove? Thank you for any information you can give me.
Love your videos, they are so informative!
As mentioned in the article: https://www.thepurposefulpantry.com/can-i-pressure-can-on-a-glass-stove/
I Love mashed sweet potatoes,
Then I hope you’ll try this!
what might happen if you tighten the jar ring too tight?
Jar siphoning as the lid could buckle, and you would have to put that jar into the fridge to eat more quickly.
Hi Darcy, I would love it if you could indicate in your canning posts if the process will be water bath or pressure canning before I have to spend time reading the details. I will never ever ever pressure can so I can skip all of those. Thanks!
As in the very first sentence of the post: Learn how to can sweet potatoes in a pressure canner?
Ty. Ypu made it perfectly clear this was a pressure canning process AND you even clearly highlighted the pressure canner in the instructions. Much appreciated
Good instructions. Thank you.
I love boiled sweet potatoes served with just butter, salt and pepper. It would be great to have them canned and on the shelf, but always afraid they would be too mushy if canned. You have inspired me and I’m going to give it a try. Thank you!
They will be a bit mushy – but if you can be careful, some might be enough to caramelize in a skillet.