How To Pressure Can Vegetable Beef Soup at Home

Today I’d like to welcome my friend Jamie as a guest poster on the site.  She is a goddess when it comes to home-canning vegetable beef soup. So read on to find out how you can do this at home.

canned vegetable beef soup in a bowl

Pressure Canning Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

There is nothing quite like a hot bowl of homemade soup on a cold and windy day. But if you are like me, sometimes you want the food but maybe not all the mess, or you don’t have the time at that moment. 

Therefore, if you learn the process of canning vegetable beef soup, you only have the mess once, but can enjoy the soup over and over again!

Home made canned vegetable beef soup is one of my favorites!

It is also a perfect soup to make at the end of the season when the last of the vegetables are finished. Therefore, this post isn’t a typical recipe. It’s more of a guideline to allow you to use your personal recipe.

Even though this soup has to be pressure canned, it is still relatively easy to make and can.

For using your specific pressure canner, read the instructions that came with it. It will require you to put a few quarts in your canner to start, add your jars with lids, properly attach the cover, let the steam release, let the pressure build, cook for the allotted time and then cool down.

If you don’t have a pressure canner yet, I highly recommend the All American Pressure Canner. 

Another good option, but less expensive is the Presto Pressure Canner.

1.Gather and Prep Your Ingredients

fresh vegetables for canned vegetables beef soup

This is the fun part in my opinion. I love looking for and buying fresh produce or picking it from the garden. There is just something rewarding about having a counter full of fresh ingredients instead of all the processed store boxes and cans. So, for this soup, I use carrots, potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, onions, celery, bell peppers, and beef (whatever is cheapest). Don’t worry, even the toughest harshest cuts of meat will turn out tender once the canning process is complete.

Next, wash all your vegetables and cut them into the size you prefer for your soup.  I like everything cut into 1/4″-1/2″ cubes/dice. I also leave the skin on the potatoes when I use baby reds. However, here is a part where your preferences really matter. Don’t go my way if you do not like it or have a better idea!

If you don’t want all the trouble of washing/peeling/ chopping fresh veggies, you can always use freeze-dried veggiesThey have all the same nutrients as fresh garden produce but don’t require any prep time and they work well in canning!

Fresh cut vegetables
Fresh cut vegetables
Freeze Dried Vegetables
Freeze Dried Vegetables

Cooking The Vegetable Beef Soup for Pressure Canning

Now that you have your preferred ingredients ready, it is time to start cooking.

  • In a large stockpot or pressure cooker and a little oil and beef stew meat
  • Add your favorite seasonings – I use pepper, minced garlic, onion powder, and a bit of salt
  • Once the meat is browned add the stock/broth and vegetables
  • Add more seasoning to taste
  • Let simmer until vegetables start to tender

You don’t want to cook the soup too long in the pot because it will cook more during the canning process and you don’t want everything to become mush.  

Flavor burst idea: I use boiling water, tomato powder, and beef bouillon as my broth.  It gives the soup a nice deep flavor.  

browned beef cubes for canning vegetable beef soup

Pressure Canning Vegetable Beef Soup

Now that the soup is done, you are ready to fill your hot, prepared jars.

I like to put my soup in wide-mouth pint jars so that they are single-serving size. So, fill your jars making sure to keep 1″ of headspace. In addition, make sure you remove any air bubbles.

Make sure you are giving your jars a water bath.

Water-bath canning is very important because it ensures safe storage at room temperature for up to a year. Also, canned foods that are stored in a freezer typically last for 3 to 5 years.

For an easy guide to water-bath canning, read the article from EatingWell about 10 Steps to Water-Bath Canning. They show us how processing preserves in a boiling water bath ensures safe storage at room temperature for up to a year.

Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup

Now you are ready for the pressure canning.

Place your jars into your canner, following your canner’s instructions. In my large canner, I can fit 16 pints (8 per layer) with a separator between layers.

Home Canned Vegetable Beef Soup

Adjust your canner lid, bring up to pressure, and process pints for 1 hour and 15 minutes for pints at 10 pounds of pressure (1 hour and 30 minutes for quarts).  

Let cool before removing the jars.

Finally, enjoy your home-canned vegetable beef soup! As you already saw, canning vegetable beef soup is easy using the pressure canning method!

Last but not least, please keep in mind that I aspect all your further questions in the comment section below. Do not hesitate to ask anything and share all your sincere thoughts on this recipe.

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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

139 thoughts on “How To Pressure Can Vegetable Beef Soup at Home”

  1. Hi, I made a vegetable soup with hamburger and canned veggies and we have a ton of it left. I was going to fill up 5 pint jars and pressure can it. Is this still considered safe since I didn’t use fresh veggies?

    Reply
  2. Any substitute for the tomato paste and onion? Both are my allergies. I use alot of Turkey or beef broth if that helps. Also allergic to chicken. Thanks for a great recipe, hoping to can this soup this .year

    Reply
    • for onions you can also use garlic for a great flavor!! IF you are not allergic for that.
      I never use tomato paste or sauce in my soup just straight out tomatoes…… MANY times I use Ro-Tel as a little kick if you can tolerate eating tomatoes.

      Reply
  3. If the meat and vegetables are fully cooked, how long do you have to pressure can I made a very large pot of vegetable beef soup and need to can it, but am afraid of turning it to mush as it is all cooked. Thank you

    Reply
  4. I will be canning veggie soup this year for the first time. I will be using V-8 juice and beef broth , frozen veggies except for the potatoes, and beef stew meat chunks. If I only do quart jars, and pressure can them for 1 hour and 30 min @ 10# pressure, will this be enough?

    Reply
  5. Thanks for the recipe and instructions. It’s was perfect. My goodness same questions over and over. I pressure canned meats and vegetables in the 70s. It’s always been the only safe way. Now we get to Google updated info. Trust your FDA and USDA sites.

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    • If the soup is already cooked. Why would you still need to pressure cook them for an hour and 30 minutes? Sounds like it would turn to mush. Just asking?

      Reply
    • Yes, you can. My mom only used the hot bath method. We used hamburger for this soup. The meat is fried before you can it.

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      • Is it possible to gain a seal from water bath method? Absolutely. Is it safe to water bath can low-acid foods that contain meat? No. It has been proven, scientifically, not to be safe. What I can’t figure out is why would anybody risk their health, but more importantly, the health of their family?

        Reply
        • It’s possible to get it to seal. The problem is that the internal temperature of the jar isn’t going to be enough to ensure that all bacteria are killed. I know that some people do a 3 hour water bath things you’re supposed to pressure can. I don’t feel safe enough with that.

          Reply
      • YOU MUST PRESSURE ALL MEAT AND LOW ACID FOODS. I know for a fact! I am not only a third generation food-preserver, but I have taken classes at UGA, by the ISDA and the FDA. If you don’t pressure can, you take the risk of salmonella or botulism. Both are odorless and tasteless! It is like playing Russian Roulette! There’s no telling how many people have died throughout the ages, not knowing that they died from food poisoning. Don’t ever take the chance, by not pressure canning and don’t listen to everything you read! Happy canning!! Thanks & God Bless!

        Reply
      • I realize that most people use to water bath can everything. But it’s not safe. Anything with meat, and vegetables need to be pressure canned. The only thing water bath canning should be used for are things that have high acid content. James, jellys, whole tomatoes…. you can get VERY sick. Botulism is real. Please research before you water bath can meat

        Reply
    • Never use a water bath for any food containing meat. A pressure canner is a great investment and will pay for its self many times over. Take advantage of meat when it is on sale and pressure can it for the future. Store in a cool location. If will keep for years.

      Reply
    • My understanding is that those pressure cookers are not at all safe for canning. Government websites have said that they do not go to a high enough heat or pressure to safely preserve food. If you look at their ad, they are even showing a woman placing a jar on its side, in the cooker, to process it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. I had bought one of these to replace my large Presto Canner, and was disappointed when I read about it not being safe, not for preserving at any rate.

      Reply
      • The canning setting is for water bath canning, not pressure. The Instant Pot website has information about this. They say that electric pressure cookers use pressure mechanisms, not temperature controls to cook the food, so they are not suitable for low acid foods, like meat or vegetables. You will only want to use this for things that you could typically water bath, like tomatoes or pickles.

        Reply
        • I also have the Power Pressure cooker and have successfully canned green beans last year and they are great. This year I have already done potatoes, chicken, broth, soup and hamburger meat. So far so good and all the settings and cooking times go along with my old Presto canner book. I still use boiling water bath for jellies and tomatoes. I did do some research on it, but it has worked fine for me and several of my friends.

          Reply
          • Karen. What are the times on the broth you canned in your pressure cooker xl? I’m willing to give it a try. Thanks

      • I have the same XL cooker and last year I prosessed Chili in it. It did an excellent job. But just 4 pints at the time.
        Enjoy your cooker! God Bless you!

        Reply
    • You can only do water bath canning in an electric pressure cooker. You must have a stove top canner for everything but jams.

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    • Roxanne most of those pressure cookers say not to use it for pressure canning. Read the instructions on the usda canning website and the ball canning website for more info about using pressure cookers for canning. Even the info-mercial only discusses using it for water bath canning-NOT for pressure canning meats and vegetables.

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    • No, you must pressure can due to low acid in this food, plus it has meat. Usually all meat and vegetables must be pressure canned.

      Reply
  6. I have been reading up on how to pre-make meals like this one and hope to get started soon. I may have missed it, but how long does this store for?

    Reply
    • I’m not sure as it is a guest post and I didn’t write it myself (one reason I’m no longer allowing guest posts…) I would say at least a year or two though!

      Reply
    • The amount of vegetables all depends on how big of a batch you are making or how thick you like your soup. Because you start the cooking process before canning you can taste as you go. It also depends on how many different veggies you use.

      Reply
    • Absolutely, it must be pressure canned. “The Ball Blue Book” is the standard for all things related to home canning. I have home canned many different foods. I have been home canning foods since my childhood (40+ years of canning experience). Your county home extension service is also a great source for home canning information. Canning is fun and productive but you MUST be safe in your pursuits.

      Reply
    • Read “The Ball Blue Book” on canning for your adjustments. Be sure to always purchase the most recent edition of that book.

      Reply
  7. Thank you for putting up the info. i would like to start my own soups and sell them and this is good information on how to get started. I’m finding it a little overwhelming on how much i need to do and know before i can deliver this product to market but your outline here was the best description on the canning process I have seen to date.

    Thanks

    Reply

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