I was an teenager before I saw canned potatoes. I was at a friend’s house and her mom was quickly making dinner and I saw her open a can of potatoes and dump them in a pot to heat up. Once they were heated up, she drained the water added salt, pepper, butter and a splash of cream and she had creamed potatoes in just minutes. I knew then that canning potatoes would be in my future.

Canning potatoes is a little more involved than canning other vegetables and it’s not something I do every year but it is a great option for storing your potatoes if you don’t have a root cellar. If you have a root cellar and can store potatoes in ideal conditions they will probably last many month.

Without humidity potatoes will dry out and shrivel up in a few months so long term storage isn’t an option for me since all my storage is indoors. The years that we grow potatoes I always can some for storing. When I get a really great deal on potatoes I’ll buy extra for canning and freezing (yes, you can freeze potatoes, here’s how). 

I use these worksheets for keeping track of all my preserved food. It’s so helpful to know how much I preserve and how much we actually use each year. You can get the food preservation worksheets emailed to you by filling out the form below.

Canning Potatoes

In order to can potatoes at home you have to use a  pressure canner. There’s no fudging on this. You can’t use a water bath canner to can potatoes and just boil them for hours. This is the pressure canner I have and I’ve it; there’s no gasket to replace and it’s made in the US.

If you’ve never used a pressure canner, it can be intimidating at first but after you’ve used it a few times you’ll be comfortable with it.Here are some tips for using a pressure canner.

Like all root vegetables, you need to peel potatoes before canning them. I realize some people don’t and the first time I canned potatoes I didn’t and we all survived. However, as I’ve learned more about canning and the risks of botulism I don’t believe its worth the risk to leave the peels on.

Twenty pounds of potatoes will fill approximately 7 quarts.

Wash and peel the potatoes. As you peel, have a bowl of water to put the peeled potatoes in to keep them from browning. You can put some lemon juice or fruit fresh in the water if you want to. I find that plain water is just fine as long as the potatoes are submerged.

Rinse the potatoes and chop them into 2 inch chunks. You can leave small potatoes (2 inches or under) whole. Put the chopped potatoes in a large pot of fresh water on the stove. 

Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes. They should not be all the way cooked.

Heat another pot of just plain fresh water – a large tea kettle works great for this.

While the potatoes are boiling, prepare canning jars and lids by washing in hot soapy water. There is no need to pre-steriilze the jars or lids. I like to use wide mouth quart size jars for canning potatoes but sometimes I have to use regular mouth canning jars.

After 10 minutes of boiling, pour off the water and fill the jars with potatoes and pour hot water over them. Leave a 1″ head space. I’ve found that I loose more water from the jar when canning potatoes than I do when I can other things. I think it’s because I put too many potatoes in the jar. So don’t cram as many potatoes as you can in the jars and then cover them with water. Stop filling the jar with potatoes before you reach the 1″ mark and then fill the jar with water to get a 1″ head space.

Add 1/4 tsp salt to each pint and 1/2 tsp salt to each quart if you want to. I think potatoes always need salt so I do but it’s just for flavoring so if you don’t want to you don’t have to.

Put the lids and rings on the jars and put them in the prepared pressure canner. Process pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes at 10psi, adjusting for altitude. I like to use reusable canning lids for canning potatoes since I don’t give them as gifts.

How to Use Canned Potatoes

Our favorite way to use canned potatoes is to make smashed baked potatoes. Basically, you put the potatoes in a bowl and barely smash them. Then put spoonfuls of them on a greased baking sheet. Brush with oil and then add salt, pepper, chives, rosemary, or any other spice you like on your potatoes. Don’t skimp on the salt and pepper, potatoes need salt and pepper. I like to use bacon grease as my oil but olive oil is good too. Bake at 400°F until the edges are crispy.

You can also make creamed potatoes by heating the potatoes then draining the water. Add butter, salt, pepper and a splash of cream or milk and stir. You can add chives or rosemary too.

Mashing canned potatoes makes for a super fast shepherd’s pie, especially if you have some cooked meat in the freezer. It’s a super cheap meal if  you also have some home canned green beans and home canned corn on hand.

You can also pour off the water from the jar and then fry the canned potato chunks in a  bit of bacon grease or oil to use as an easy side dish or mix with eggs for breakfast tacos. Or bake with some onions – truly, the possibilities are endless.

The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables

If you you’re looking for more preserving inspiration, I know you’ll love The Ultimate Guide to Preserving Vegetables. In this book I share how to can, dehydrate, freeze and ferment almost every vegetable. I also share 100 favorite recipes for preserving the vegetables in fun way that will save you time and money later. Get your copy here. Get your copy here.

Have you ever had canned potatoes? How do you use them?

Thanks for sharing with your friends!