How To Home Can Carrots From Your Garden – It’s So Easy

ByKen J.
51 Comments
home canned carrots in pint jars

I grew some carrots in the garden this year. I planted them around the inside perimeter of one particular garden bed which happened to have some tomato plants growing.

Did you know that carrots love tomatoes and tomatoes love carrots? It’s true!

My carrots did great! (So did my tomatoes).

We had an early frost, like we always do around here during early September. However I was able to save the carrots (and my other garden bed plants) with blankets. A few weeks later, more frost, night after night. That zapped my tomatoes and peppers. However the carrots kept going! Resilient little buggers…

More than a month later, yesterday, we decided to harvest:

They sure looked good. Size varied from 4 – 7 inches and most of them were pretty fat. They all weighed in at 20 pounds. Not bad for a 4×8 bed perimeter…

I pulled them out, snapped off the carrot top greenery, and (almost) filled a 5 gallon bucket.

I sunk a garden hose in the bucket and rinsed / swooshed out the dirt. Dumped and rinsed again till clean enough for the next step.

Next we cut the ends and peeled the carrots. Between Mrs.J and I we made pretty quick work of it…

Next step, Rinse Again.

After that, it was time to slice. That was my job. It took awhile, but that’s okay. It’s worth it…

You’ll notice the glove on my left hand. That’s a cut-resistant glove. And let me tell you something, I know for a fact that it saved a finger cut one time during the process! These gloves are good safety especially when slicing a lot of dense slippery round carrots!

Cut Resistant Gloves
(view on amzn)

I don’t have any more pictures. But here are the rest of the steps to pressure can carrots at home:

  • I clean and preheat my jars using dishwasher 30 min. cycle
  • Fill hot jars with carrots (I used pints), leaving 1 inch headspace
  • Add boiling water to each jar leaving 1 inch headspace
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Apply lid, ring, and tighten snug
  • Pressure canner prep with the usual amount of water on bottom (apprx. 2 inches), apply high heat
  • Fill ‘er up with your jars
  • Process at 11 psi for 25 minutes (altitude adjustments apply, depending…)

After the cooling process, jars are removed and cool enough to handle… I remove the rings to rinse the threads and jar of residual juice that may be present from processing. After they’re dry, I screw the rings back on loosely.

My 20 pounds of carrots resulted in 29 processed pints.

Delicious homegrown carrots for the winter!!

[ Read: Tomato Companion Plants That Are Beneficial For Your Garden ]

[ Read: All American Pressure Canner That Will Last Forever ]

Carrots Love Tomatoes
(view reference book on amzn)

51 Comments

    1. DJ5280,
      I went out to the shop to check my seed storage bin. I have so many darn seeds, I’m not entirely sure on this one! But I believe they were “Scarlet Nantes” from Fedco Seeds (I have more of those packages – plus some other variety carrots in that bin – among a zillion other seeds). I didn’t take notes this time around… (lesson learned – take notes!)

  2. I am completely ignorant of the canning process so I am asking a silly question. How long, generally speaking, will the carrots be good for consumption? I need all the help I can get. Thank you.

    1. Eli,
      You will get all sorts of varying opinions. Generally speaking, home canned foods will be good for consumption for many, many years. In my opinion, best practice is to consume / rotate your home canned foods (and other foods!) such that none of it gets terribly old before being consumed. Just keep replacing it so you have a circular inventory. First in, First out. Consume oldest first.

      I do have some home canned food which is currently several years old. It tastes completely fine!

    2. I haven’t bottled peaches or tomatoes for several years because I’m still working on eating 2012 harvest of both.

      At this point they are starting to discolor, but still taste fine. I just can’t eat peaches for every meal!

    3. Eli:
      My 2 cents worth.
      I currently have Carrots that were canned in 2015.
      The flavor is starting to deteriorate some and color is turning some.
      So this caning season they will be turned into Compost and refreshed with new.
      Please always remember “when in doubt, through it out”. If you have any question on the “good” of any canned foods (home or store bought) get rid of it…..

      1. NRP & Blue, sorry but you can’t put cooked food into compost as it is cooked and will not decompose. Neither will corn cobs from sweet corn or anything cooked. Canned food in many cases contains salt and that is not desirable in compost. Toss it.

  3. We have some gowning now in our fall garden which we were going to freeze. Good info .

    DW drove down to the nearest city yesterday to shop and stopped at the Books-A-Million store. She was surprised to see a new section called ” Sustainability” which was filled with all sorts of prepping books. Hmmmm? Fits in to the high gun sales, and reports that 60% of the population is stocking up for post election chaos.

  5. each year a lady from our church gets an order of carrots and beets in from a sister church in california.

    the carrots come in a 25lb bag. I can them. some I have canned in home made chicken broth. water or broth-they are extra good.

    this year I’m going to try some pickled carrots :)

    1. Right? If I had filled that 32 square feet with carrots, we’re talking a “boat load” of harvest! If I got 20 pounds around the perimeter, maybe ~ 50+ pounds for the whole thing…

  7. Good info Ken.
    I only do a cpl of things differant.
    1. I dont peel the Carrots, I use a SS scrubber and wash very well. I believe a lot of the nutrients are in the peels.
    2. I’m at 6000 ft altitude and process everything at 15#, time adjustment for what is being processed.
    3. Remember to allow the PC to cool 100%, no pressure left, than open the Canner. Allow to sit for another 5-10 minutes before removing jars….

    Also I dont add Salt… Carrots and Water only.

    PS: next year try growing some Parsnips…. yummmmm

      1. Ken, All:
        If you grow Parsnips, let then stay in ground till the tops freeze completely off, pull just before ground freezes solid, the sugars migrate from the leaves to the Parsnips in the freeze….
        Very sweet.

        1. NRP..Question about parsnips… Have you ever had any skin irritation from the foliage? I know wild parsnip is like giant hogweed and you can get a rash after touching the plant and then being in the sun, but does the same thing happen with seeds/plants that are bred for the root?

  8. Ken,
    I have some kevlar gloves that I use when using my mandolin. I know they have kept me out of the ER a couple of times.
    Great article.
    I canned carrots many many years ago. They were mushy and no one would eat them. Don’t know what I did wrong. Haven’t done it since.
    Thanks for another good article.
    PEACE
    MadFab

    1. MadFab,
      Yes, they do end up softer than one may be used to buying from a grocery store in a can. Not bad though (just tested one of my recent jars – yum!).

  9. Good post. I have just planted my carrot crop. :) Too hot in the summer around here for good production.

    Has anyone ever tried dehydrated carrots? if so what were the results?

    1. Deep South:
      Yes I dehydrate Carrots also.
      Works GREAT for soups and stews.
      Takes a heck of a lot less room to store also..
      No thicker than 1/8 inch, use a slicer if you can.
      I vacuum pack in jars after dehydrating.

    2. Deep South,
      Carrots are one of my favorites to dehydrate. I like carrot slices, not diced, so commercially dehydrated carrots donā€™t appeal to me.

      Like NRP, I slice thin (straight or bias cut if smaller carrots). I par-boil a potful until barely tender, then dehydrate. They are excellent in soups or stews, even on their own. Also like NRP, I pack in jars and seal with my food saver jar sealer attachment. Iā€™m eating carrots packed in 2018 right now – so much better than those tiny little dices (that always seem kind of fake-y in taste and texture to me).

        1. NRP,
          I read it in instructions somewhere when I first bought the dehydrator. So you dehydrate raw? That would be a time saver. I do mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes raw, but peas corn carrots and green beans par-cooked. Am I just making things too hard on myself?

        2. So Cal Gal.
          Basically you are cooking/parboiling the Carrots first.
          Dehydrateing simply removes the water from the vegetable.
          And cooks slightly.
          You are making a “softer” Carrot by first cooking it.
          Seems it would make little difference to me.
          When I add the dehydrated Carrots to a soup or whatever it gets cook a lot…
          See what I mean???

        3. NRP,
          Yep… I am going to skip the parboil on my next batch. I may need to allow more cooking time when using in the soup or whatever, but Iā€™m all for a time saver. Thank you!!!šŸ¤—

        4. So Cal Gal. looks like a good approach to me..blanch procedure stops the enzyme that begins breakdown of nutrients…If you are purchasing frozen veggies they have already been blanched.
          In an addum… i do not blanch squash,or okra,either… and we roast and peel all peppers because of some of the enzymes .. blood type incompatability with nightshades.

      2. Deep South and So Cal Gal.
        I also dehydrate my carrots we prefer them to canned( commercial or home canned..) I have been purchasing organic from one of chain stores at reasonable price. We use them very lightly in soups , stews mostly- rarely as a veggie side. as a result 3 dehydrated pints will last us the best part of a year…
        .. i slice across in rounds.. and try to do it evenly. i do not always blanche mine.They will get a white cast to them if you don’t, but when rehydrated it goes away…( so i use those for 3 month time frame.) it does help them keep longer..so if i know they are going in deep hole.. i do.. i always seal mine in glass jars recycled jelly jars( from commercial products) and put in right size oxygen absorber..
        also good to do okra in dehydrated. does not require blanch.

        2. YES, Blanching them for a few min.3-5 min, depending on thickness. does help.then fast chill them., they also look prettier in the jar.

    3. Deep South, I have not yet dehydrated my own carrots, but I purchase them and use them regularly in many soups and stews. They have a sweet taste to me.

    4. i dehydrate carrots and other veg because of space constraints. the taste is inferior to canning in my opinion but fine for use in soups stews and curries. i do not used dried veg as a side in a meal.

  10. My wife and I just did canned turkey soup… I don’t know why but the internet and talking with people make it seem so intimidating. Its really easy, just time consuming. Fresh foods canned at home are the best. Last year I learned how to do mandarin slices. Gotta use pectic enzyme to eat of the outer film of each slice. worked great and the kids love them.

    1. Robi1 – I also canned mandarin oranges but sat there and picked off all the strings. A very time consuming process to say the least. But they were good! Would you tell how to use the pectic enzyme in the process of canning. We hope to be getting a large orange shipment from california this january which will include the mandarin oranges. Thank you !!!!!

  11. Question here:
    I grow a few carrots,
    but not ever a very successful crop to even fill a half quart jar to can. Well, maybe if I didn’t much on ’em.
    Carrots are very small and produce very little.
    Is it my soil?
    I’ve saved some seed from last years voluntary regrowth.

    1. Joe C,
      Carrots being a root crop need potassium and phosphate, more so than nitrogen. Do a quick soils test to see if you are missing or low on one of these. Also, carrots grow better in lighter soils, as opposed to clay soils. So adding sand and/or compost will help that. Just my 2 cents.

    2. Joe C

      You may need to try a different variety. Due to my soil conditions I grow Danvers Half long. Short 4 to 6 inches or so but good flavor.

  12. Carrots cut to an inch or a little longer freeze dry very well. Expiry date 2040 or until the hungry times come upon us. I see china is have a fresh food shortage and the shortage is expected to affect nearly the entire world as production has dropped – you know the lockdown for our own good.

  13. I need to can carrots soon and I mentioned it to a friend. I have beans left also and she said she always puts her beans and carrots together. What a great idea

  14. Hey Ken,

    A few years ago I had a bumper crop of pickles, and I love Bread&Butter pickles so I spent a Saturday slicing some up. What a slow process, so my wife suggested we buy a Madelyn.

    Well next slicing session I sliced enough for 26 Quart bottles. Best tool for the job. I’ll bet it would work on carrots too! Ha! Still have a few of them pickles, I think I’ll go get a jar out of the panty and have some right now!

    1. Agreed. After using a mandolin this year, I regret all the years without one. But I will be replacing the inexpensive one with a better quality one. It did the cukes and carrots if thinly sliced, but not onions.

  15. I’ve been wanting to can carrots for awhile and this article has inspired me. But first, carrots can be left in the ground well after frost. I plant carrots in November and they come up in the spring but don’t really do much better than the ones planted in spring.

  16. We did it! Today we canned 5.b of store bought carrots, we’ll keep our garden carrots to eat throughout the winter. I followed what Ken did except that we did not add salt and used a food processor, which significantly reduced the time involved, did that the night before. It filled 11 pints but one jar broke but the carrots survived as those jars do not splinter we will use the carrots. We used the Mirro brand with a weight but the weight never jiggled, it either lifted up and blew a lot of stead or just sat there.For $2.54 we got about the equivalent of between $12 – $15 worth of canned carrots, done our way.

  17. When I can my carrots, I use pint jars. I leave the carrots whole, cutting off some of the top and bottom, to use a uniform size, if I am able to do so. I leave almost an inch space at the top. Pack them in tightly cover with boiling water and process. I sometimes use a teaspoon of honey in the bottom of each jar, with a pinch of salt. Have your canner ready, with very warm or hot water. While I am doing this, I use the cutting board to slice the rest of the carrot pieces and layer them in the dehydrator. If you do not fill it, throw in some onion, broccoli or whatever. Sometimes I keep a jar with just carrots. Other times, I add the other things I dehydrate from the garden to throw into a soup the next winter. I find these carrots are far less soft. I love to slice them and add them to my homemade chicken pot pies after canning.

  18. TRY THEM WHOLE. When I can carrots, I use pint jars, cut off top and bottoms so they are uniform. I use standard size carrots and pack they tightly. Sometimes, I add a little honey to the recipe. My carrots taste much less mushy. I use them in home made chicken pot pies a lot. The top and bottom parts are sliced and put in my dehydrator as I prepare my jars. Either the Canning Diva or Daisy Luther have the whole carrot recipe in one of their books. You can check your Blue Book as well. As a plus, the bright orange color of whole carrots are a plus on my canning shelf. I love a variety of looks, colors…textures. One more reason for all the hot work along with sore hands and feet! By the way, I have done them this way for about six years now, won’t go back…less work, better quality.

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