Canning Green Chilies | photo of a bunch of green chilies

Canning Green Chilies

Canning green chilies are an important part of harvest time here at the cottage. We grew up here in Tennessee from the time we were two years old and a big garden has always been a part of our lives. From the time we were wee little things a garden was a part of our lives. Mom, dad, and grandma taught us at their knee how to love and care for the ground and how it will bless you with a big harvest if you do.  One of those harvests we brought in by the basket load is chilies. Canning green chilies have been a staple here at the cottage, and canning them has been an important part of growing them.

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canning green chilies | green chilie on a wooden board

 

How can green Chilies be canned?

Chilis can be flame-roasted and canned in salted water to preserve them for later use in your favorite Mexican dishes. They are a low acid food and will need to be pressure canned. You can also pickle them in a brine or can them in salsa or tomato and green chilies can be canned together. For this recipe, we are covering canning green chilies in salted water. 

Can you can green chilies in a water bath?

For this recipe, you will not be canning green chilies in a water bath canner but it must be in a pressure canner because chilies are a low acid food and they don’t recommend water bath canning with low acid foods. You can do pickled green chilies canned in a water bath canner because the brine is high in acid.

**Read Your Pressure Canner Guide And Follow Its Directions **

 

What you will need to can green chilies

 

Canning Green Chilies 

Ingredients:

Prepare the jars and lids

  • Wash a dozen 1/2 pint jars and lids in warm, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. 
  • Make sure they are not cracked or chipped.
  • Put the jar rack in your pressure canner 
  • Put your clean jars into the pressure canner and fill it to around 3-inches. Fill the jars with water
  • Turn the heat to high and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize.
  • Reduce the heat to keep jars warm.
  • In a small pot put the flat lids in water and turn on low to heat. Do not boil the lids
  • Fill a stockpot with spring water, filtered water, or other unchlorinated clean water and bring to a boil.
  • Get a couple of towels to put on the counter folded to cool your jars after canning
  • Get 2 washcloths. Fold one in fourths to put under your hot jar and one to wipe the jar rims.

Selecting and preparing Chiles

  • Rinse the chile peppers in clean water and let drain in a colander.
  • Using tongs on the grill, broiler, or over an open flame, blister the outer skin of the chilies. 
  • Place on a plate and cover the chilies with a bowl. Let the chilies steam under the bowl.
  • Continue to roast the chilies and placing them under the bowl as you go.

Protect skin from hot pepper juice wear rubber gloves!

  • If your chilies are spicy you will want to get your rubber gloves on to protect your skin from burning.

Preparing For Canning Green Chilies

  • Remove the skin of your green chilies, scrape out the seeds, remove the vein and the stem end.  
  • Dice your chilies into about one-fourth inch pieces or you can leave them whole if you want to.
  • Using the jar lifting tongs remove a jar from the water and pour out the water back into the pressure canner.
  • Place the jar on a folded washcloth.
  • Place the canning jar funnel in the mouth of the jar and fill it with the chilies leaving an inch of headspace at the top. Use your debubbler to check to make sure the headspace is correct.
  • Add in 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the top of the jar.
  • Ladle in boiling water to the 1 inch of headspace.
  • Using the debubbler slide it down the inside edge of the jar and then slide it toward the center. Do this all around the jar until all bubbles are released. 
  • Check your headspace making sure it is still one inch.  You can add more water if needed.
  • Using a washcloth or other lint-free rag or paper towel, wipe the rim of your jar to make sure you will have a good seal. 
  • Using a magnetic lid grabber, remove a flat lid from the water and place it on the top of the jar.
  • Grab a rim or ring and screw it onto the top of the jar until it is just tight. Do not overtighten or it will not properly seal.
  • Using the canning jar tongs lift the jar and place it into the pressure canner.
  • Continue until all of the jars that will fit into the canner at one time are finished and in the canner.
  • Do not layer the jars

Follow these steps for successful pressure canning

FOR THE PRESTO PRESSURE CANNER

  • Place the lid on the canning pot and let steam for 10 minutes.  Add the weights that are necessary depending on the altitude where you are canning (see chart below).

Elevation Adjustments

Pressure Canning Altitude Chart

  • Turn on the heat until your weights start wiggling. Turn down until the weight is gently jiggling but not overly so. 
  • Process pints for 35  minutes.  For us, it is 10 pounds of pressure. 
  • When your timer goes off do not touch your pressure valve or the weights. You will hurt yourself!
  • Turn off your heat on the burner and if you can pull it on a cool eye on the stove do. Otherwise, leave it off to cool there.

Caution

  • Wait until the pressure valve on your pressure cooker drops down and the pressure is gone in the pot. When it has released the pressure open the lid and remove your jars with canning jar tongs to a countertop with several layers of towels to protect the counter from the high heat and your hot jars from the shock of touching the cold counter.
  • The water in the canned green chilies will still be boiling as you remove them from the pot to the towel. Be very careful not to burn yourself!
  • Let your jars of canned green chilies to sit upright and undisturbed for 24 hours. Do not turn them upside down. You will begin to hear the jars popping. This is a joyful sound that tells you that your jars are sealing.

Testing for sealed jars

  • If after cooling any of your canning jars have not popped, and when you poke them with your finger the lid depresses and makes a clicking sound your jar didn’t seal. Remove the ring and gently lift the flat lid. If it comes off the sealing process didn’t work. You must put all of the unsealed jars in the refrigerator for eating or try the canning process again with a new flat lid. Throw the failed lid in the trash.

Identifying Your Jars

  • When cool label and date your jars remove the rings

Storing Your Canned Green Chilies

  • and store them on shelves in a cool, dark place. That’s all you have to do for canning green chilies. 
  • Do not stack your canning jar because doing so can cause the jar’s seal to break and ruin your hard work.
  • If as you are using the chilies you find any that are not sealed. Throw away the contents. Do not use them, the food is no longer good.
  • Once you open the jar for use, refrigerate any leftovers replacing the lid and ring with a plastic lid.
  • These chilies will last for over a year.

Print the recipe for later

Yield: 12 half pints

Canning Green Chilies

sketch of the rosevine cottage girls and animals

Delicious canned green chilies you can have on hand all year for your favorite dishes that need them. No running to the store but have it at hand right in your pantry.

Cook Time 35 minutes
Additional Time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 12 pounds of chilies
  • Spring or filtered water
  • Himalayan pink salt

Instructions

PREPARE THE JARS AND LIDS
Wash a dozen 1/2 pint jars and lids in warm, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. 
Make sure they are not cracked or chipped.
Put the jar rack in your pressure canner 
Put your clean jars into the pressure canner and fill it to around 3-inches. Fill the jars with water
Turn the heat to high and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize.
Reduce the heat to keep jars warm.
In a small pot put the flat lids in water and turn on low to heat. Do not boil the lids
Fill a stockpot with spring water, filtered water, or other unchlorinated clean water and bring to a boil.
Get a couple of towels to put on the counter folded to cool your jars after canning
Get 2 washcloths. Fold one in fourths to put under your hot jar and one to wipe the jar rims.
SELECTING AND PREPARING CHILIES
Rinse the chilIe peppers in clean water and let drain in a colander.
Using tongs on the grill, broiler, or over an open flame, blister the outer skin of the chilies. 
Place on a plate and cover the chilies with a bowl. Let the chilies steam under the bowl.
Continue to roast the chilies and placing them under the bowl as you go.
PROTECT YOUR SKIN AND EYES FROM HOT CHILIE JUICE
If your chilies are spicy you will want to get your rubber gloves on to protect your skin from burning.
Remove the skin of your green chilies, scrape out the seeds, remove the vein and the stem end.  
Dice your chilies into about one-fourth inch pieces or you can leave them whole if you want to.
Using the jar lifting tongs remove a jar from the water and pour out the water back into the pressure canner.
Place the jar on a folded washcloth.
Place the canning jar funnel in the mouth of the jar and fill it with the chilies leaving an inch of headspace at the top. Use your debubbler to check to make sure the headspace is correct.
Add in 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the top of the jar.
Ladle in boiling water to the 1 inch of headspace.
Using the debubbler slide it down the inside edge of the jar and then slide it toward center. Do this all around the jar until all bubbles are released. 
Check your headspace making sure it is still one inch.  You can add more water if needed.
Using a washcloth or other lint free rag or paper towel, wipe the rim of your jar to make sure you will have a good seal. 
Using a magnetic lid grabber, remove a flat lid from the water and place it on the top of the jar.
Grab a rim or ring and screw it onto the top of the jar until it is just tight. Do not over tighten or it will not properly seal.
Using the canning jar tongs lift the jar and place it into the pressure canner.
Continue until all of the jars that will fit into the canner at one time are finished and in the canner.
Do not layer the jars
Follow these steps for successful pressure canning

FOR THE PRESTO PRESSURE CANNER

Place the lid on the canning pot and let steam for 10 minutes.  Add the weights that are necessary depending on the altitude where you are canning (see chart on post).

Turn on the heat until your weights start wiggling. Turn down until the weight is gently jiggling but not overly so. 
Process the half pints for 35  minutes.  For us, it is 10 pounds of pressure. 

When your timer goes off do not touch your pressure valve or the weights. You will hurt yourself!
Turn off your heat on the burner and if you can pull it on a cool eye on the stove do. Otherwise, leave it off to cool there.

Caution
Wait until the pressure valve on your pressure cooker drops down and the pressure is gone in the pot. When it has released the pressure open the lid and remove your jars with canning jar tongs to a countertop with several layers of towels to protect the counter from the high heat and your hot jars from the shock of touching the cold counter.

The water in the canned green chilies will still be boiling as you remove them from the pot to the towel. Be very careful not to burn yourself!

Let your jars of canned green chilies to sit upright and undisturbed for 24 hours. Do not turn them upside down. You will begin to hear the jars popping. This is a joyful sound that tells you that your jars are sealing.
Testing for sealed jars
If after cooling any of your canning jars have not popped, and when you poke them with your finger the lid depresses and makes a clicking sound your jar didn’t seal. Remove the ring and gently lift the flat lid. If it comes off the sealing process didn't work. You must put all of the unsealed jars in the refrigerator for eating or try the canning process again with a new flat lid. Throw the failed lid in the trash.
Identifying Your Jars
When cool label and date your jars remove the rings
Storing Your Canned Green Chilies
and store them on shelves in a cool, dark place. That’s all you have to do for canning green chilies. 

Do not stack your canning jar because doing so can cause the jar's seal to break and ruin your hard work.
If as you are using the chilies you find any that are not sealed. Throw away the contents. Do not use them, the food is no longer good.

Once you open the jar for use, refrigerate any leftovers replacing the lid and ring with a plastic lid.
These chilies will last for over a year.

Notes

** CAUTION** Use Rubber gloves when working with HOT peppers or chilies

** CAUTION ** Refer to your own instruction manual for how to use your presser canner.

 

So here we go! Ready To Can? Let’s start canning!

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