Canning Seasoned Black Beans

One of the things that we have been out of in our pantry is Black Beans.  I’ve actually been forced to buy the grocery store canned variety, gasp! The crazy thing about beans is they are under $2 per pound for dry beans and yet they cost $1.50 for a 11oz can of the ready to eat variety!

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I like to can.  I do think I save money but I also enjoy the process.  Most everything you need to preserve beans you have on hand, in fact the beef broth and tomato sauce were home canned earlier this year.  The cilantro and bell pepper came from our garden!

Canning Seasoned Black Beans

2 pounds dry black beans

1 medium diced onion

6 cloves diced garlic

1 cup diced green bell pepper

2 teaspoons beef bullion

2 teaspoons cumin powder

1 quart beef broth

20 ounces tomato sauce

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 bunch chopped cilantro

Begin by sorting through the black beans for any stones or things that don’t look like beans.  In a large pot cover the beans with about 2 inches of water and soak overnight. In the morning, drain beans, rinse well.

In a skillet sauté onions and cook over medium heat until they just start to brown.  Add the garlic and peppers and cook for about 2 more minutes. 

In a large stock pot or I used my Instant Pot add beans, sautéed vegetables broth, tomato sauce and seasonings.  Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer.  Simmer for about 30 minutes, remember the beans will continue to cook when they are processed in the pressure canner.

At the end of the 30 minutes add the lime juice and fresh cilantro.

Use a funnel to spoon beans into sterilized Ball Pint Jars leaving about 1” head space.  Wipe down the rim of your jars with vinegar to ensure a good seal on your jars.  Add sterilized lids, finger tight.  Place filled jars in a Pressure Canner.  Process for  75 minutes at 10lbs of pressure.  Recipe Yields: 10 pints

What will we do with these?  They are great as a side dish to Mexican food, soups or made into refried beans.  You can’t home can refried beans according to the USDA guidelines because the viscosity is too thick to allow heat to sufficiently penetrate the interior.  

They also brought wheat and barley, flour and roasted grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from cows’ milk for David and his people to eat. 2 Samuel 17:28-29