How to Can Sweet Potatoes: 5 Canning Tips

Canning sweet potatoes at home can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to home canning or used to water-bath canning. Unlike canning recipes for tomatoes and certain fruits, preserving sweet potatoes requires the pressure-canning method. If you have a pressure canner (not a pressure cooker) on hand, here’s how to use it to can sweet potatoes:

1. 1. Gather supplies. Canning supplies include wide-mouth canning jars, two-piece metal jar lids (flat metal discs and rings), measuring cups, a canning funnel, a jar lifter, a large stockpot, and a wire rack that can fit inside of the pot as well as your pressure canner.
2. 2. Sterilize the jars. Before filling your canning jars, thoroughly wash them with hot, soapy water and boil them for at least ten minutes. When boiling your jars, it's imperative not to let the glass jars touch the bottom of the pot as the high heat could break them. Place a wire rack at the bottom of the pot to keep them elevated. Let the jars air-dry before filling them.
3. 3. Process the raw potatoes. Rinse your fresh sweet potatoes with the skins on to remove any dirt, then boil or steam them with hot water for anywhere from fifteen to twenty minutes to soften them a bit before canning. Next, peel and chop them into chunks. (Exactly what size is up to you—sweet potatoes can even be canned whole if they’re small enough.)
4. 4. Place in the prepared jars. Depending on how many sweet potatoes you have, budget roughly a pound of sweet potatoes per pint jar and roughly two pounds of sweet potatoes per quart jar.
5. 5. Fill with canning liquid. Pour either boiling water or boiling syrup into the jars, making sure to leave a one-inch headspace at the top of each jar.
6. 6. Prepare the jars. Use a canning knife to apply light pressure to the sweet potatoes and eliminate air bubbles. Then use a sterile cloth to wipe the jar rims. Finally, attach the lids.
7. 7. Finish in the pressure canner. Follow the instructions for your pressure canner to get it ready for your canning jars. Next, place your jars in the pressure canner using ten pounds of pressure for sixty-five minutes if you’re using pint jars and ninety minutes if using quart jars.
8. 8. Let the cans rest. Leave the hot jars in the pressure canner for five minutes, then transfer them to a towel to sit overnight. Test the seal on the lids before storing.

Canning sweet potatoes at home can be a daunting task, especially if you’re new to home canning or used to water-bath canning. Luckily, there are several ways to customize or salvage canned sweet potatoes (if you make a mistake):

1. 1. Choosing a canning liquid: Sweet potatoes will lose some of their flavor during the canning process, which is why some people use a syrup made with sugar, maple syrup, or honey instead of plain water as a canning liquid. If you’re canning the sweet potatoes in syrup, err on the side of making it not sweet enough rather than too sweet.
2. 2. Saving a botched batch: If your jars didn’t seal properly during the canning process, your sweet potatoes are still edible; they just have a shorter shelf life. You can keep those jars in the fridge for up to two weeks.
3. 3. Canning at high altitude: If you live 1,000 feet or more above sea level, place your jars in the pressure canner for the same total time as stipulated above, but use fifteen pounds of pressure instead of ten.
4. 4. Preserving color: Your sweet potatoes likely won’t turn brown if you place them in liquid right after peeling and chopping them, but if you’re concerned about their appearance, toss them with some lemon juice before canning them to keep their bright orange color.

Canned sweet potatoes are great for most recipes that call for a mash or purée, like a classic sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, a creamy sweet potato soup, a flavorful side dish, or a pie enhanced with brown sugar. Here are some sweet potato recipes to help you brainstorm as you prepare your canning station:

1. 1. Sweet potato bisque: This sweet potato side is a silky, easy recipe for those who enjoy eating sweet potatoes in a soup bowl. Use this sweet potato bisque recipe as your next appetizer.
2. 2. Sweet potato gnocchi: Like regular potato gnocchi, this sweet potato alternative serves as a gluten-free pasta substitute so long as you use almond flour instead of all-purpose flour. Heat these dumplings on your stovetop to make sweet potato gnocchi with brown butter and top them with olive oil and the sauce of your choice.
3. 3. Sweet potato pie: This comfort food is a common dessert at the end of Thanksgiving dinner. Try out this baked traditional sweet potato pie recipe if you want to expand beyond pumpkin pie and pecan pie.

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