Pressure canning times for vegetables: the USDA chart

Updated November 2, 2026 · Fernhart Labs · sources at the end

Short answer

In a pressure canner, green beans take 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts, whole-kernel corn 55 and 85 minutes, white potatoes 35 and 40, and carrots 25 and 30, all from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015).

The time doesn't change with altitude; the pressure does. With a weighted gauge use 10 psi up to 1,000 ft and 15 psi above; with a dial gauge, 11 to 14 psi depending on your altitude (tables below). Vegetables are low-acid: the guide gives no water-bath time for any of them.

Every vegetable in the guide

Times as the guide lists them, with the pack (hot or raw), the headspace to leave and the guide page. Use only the jar sizes listed for each vegetable, and never move a time to another food.

Pressure-canner process times for vegetables (USDA 2015)
Food	Pack	Jar	Process time	Headspace	Guide page
Asparagus, spears or pieces	Hot or raw	Pint	30 min	1 in	4-5
Asparagus, spears or pieces	Hot or raw	Quart	40 min	1 in	4-5
Beans or peas, shelled, dried	Hot	Pint	75 min	1 in	4-5
Beans or peas, shelled, dried	Hot	Quart	90 min	1 in	4-5
Beans, fresh lima, shelled	Hot or raw	Pint	40 min	1 in	4-7
Beans, fresh lima, shelled	Hot or raw	Quart	50 min	1 in	4-7
Beans, snap and Italian, pieces	Hot or raw	Pint	20 min	1 in	4-8
Beans, snap and Italian, pieces	Hot or raw	Quart	25 min	1 in	4-8
Beets, whole, cubed, or sliced	Hot	Pint	30 min	1 in	4-9
Beets, whole, cubed, or sliced	Hot	Quart	35 min	1 in	4-9
Carrots, sliced or diced	Hot or raw	Pint	25 min	1 in	4-10
Carrots, sliced or diced	Hot or raw	Quart	30 min	1 in	4-10
Corn, cream style	Hot	Pint	85 min	1 in	4-10
Corn, whole kernel	Hot or raw	Pint	55 min	1 in	4-11
Corn, whole kernel	Hot or raw	Quart	85 min	1 in	4-11
Mushrooms, whole or sliced	Hot	Half-pint or pint	45 min	1 in	4-13
Okra	Hot	Pint	25 min	1 in	4-14
Okra	Hot	Quart	40 min	1 in	4-14
Peas, green or English, shelled	Hot or raw	Pint or quart	40 min	1 in	4-14
Peppers	Hot	Half-pint or pint	35 min	1 in	4-15
Potatoes, sweet, pieces or whole	Hot	Pint	65 min	1 in	4-16
Potatoes, sweet, pieces or whole	Hot	Quart	90 min	1 in	4-16
Potatoes, white, cubed or whole	Hot	Pint	35 min	1 in	4-17
Potatoes, white, cubed or whole	Hot	Quart	40 min	1 in	4-17
Pumpkins and winter squash, cubed	Hot	Pint	55 min	1 in	4-18
Pumpkins and winter squash, cubed	Hot	Quart	90 min	1 in	4-18
Squash, winter, cubed	Use the process for pumpkins and winter squash, cubed			1 in	4-18
Spinach and other greens	Hot	Pint	70 min	1 in	4-19
Spinach and other greens	Hot	Quart	90 min	1 in	4-19

Times from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015). Use the pressure for your altitude and gauge from the next table.

The pressure for your altitude

For these low-acid foods the time stays the same at every altitude; the pressure goes up. Use the row for your altitude, never a lower one, and the table for the gauge you have.

Weighted gauge: pressure for low-acid foods by altitude (USDA 2015)
Altitude	Weighted gauge
0–1,000 ft	10 psi
Above 1,000 ft	15 psi

Dial gauge

A dial gauge that reads high gives the food less heat than you think, so have it tested every year before the season and replace it if it's off by more than 2 pounds (Guide 1, page 1-20).

Dial gauge: pressure for low-acid foods by altitude (USDA 2015)
Altitude	Dial gauge
0–2,000 ft	11 psi
2,001–4,000 ft	12 psi
4,001–6,000 ft	13 psi
6,001–8,000 ft	14 psi
Above 8,000 ft	No dial-gauge figure in the guide's tables

Vegetables to can only with the guide's recipe

These mixtures have a tested process only for the guide's own recipe, so this page gives no time for them: open the guide page and follow it exactly.

Vegetable mixtures and soups: follow the guide's recipe
Food	Process	Guide page
Beans, baked	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	4-6
Beans, dry, with tomato or molasses sauce	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	4-6
Mixed vegetables	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	4-12
Soups (vegetable, dried bean or pea, meat, poultry)	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	4-18
Soups containing seafood	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	4-18
Succotash	Follow the guide's recipe exactly	4-20

No times are shown for these on purpose: the guide's time holds only with its recipe or steps.

Pressure canning: the steps that keep it safe

Put 2 to 3 inches of hot water in the canner and load the filled jars on the rack.
Vent steam for 10 minutes before closing the vent or putting the weight on.
Start timing only when the gauge shows the right pressure (or the weight rocks as the maker describes).
If the pressure falls below your target at any point, bring it back up and time the whole process again from the start.
When the time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner come down to zero on its own; never cool it with water. Wait 10 minutes after taking the weight off before opening.
Let the jars cool, then check every seal after 12 to 24 hours. (Steps from Guide 1, pages 1-20 and 1-21.)

Questions

How long do you pressure can green beans?

20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts, hot or raw pack, with 1 inch of headspace (USDA guide, page 4-8). The pressure depends on your altitude and gauge: 10 psi with a weighted gauge up to 1,000 ft, 15 psi above.

Can you water bath green beans?

No. Green beans and other vegetables are low-acid, and only a pressure canner reaches a temperature that destroys botulinum spores in them. The USDA guide gives no water-bath time for any vegetable.

Do pressure canning times change with altitude?

For these low-acid foods, no: the time stays the same and the pressure goes up. With a weighted gauge that means 15 psi instead of 10 above 1,000 ft.

What if the pressure drops during processing?

Bring it back up to the target and time the whole process again from the start; the guide doesn't allow adding only the lost minutes.

How long do you pressure can potatoes?

White potatoes, cubed or whole, hot pack: 35 minutes for pints and 40 for quarts (page 4-17).

How long do you pressure can corn?

Whole-kernel corn, hot or raw pack: 55 minutes for pints and 85 minutes for quarts (page 4-11).

Jarwise: Canning Timer & Log

Canning app: USDA-tested times for your altitude, canner timer, jar log.

Jarwise has every tested food in the USDA guide. Set your altitude once and it shows the right time and pressure for your canner, with your altitude band highlighted; combinations the guide doesn't test get no time. A step-by-step timer covers venting, processing and cool-down, and a batch log and pantry keep track of your jars, offline and with no account.

Coming to Google Play

Sources

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 4: Vegetables and vegetable products Guide 4 (PDF)
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Guide 1: Principles of home canning (pages 1-8, 1-10, 1-13, 1-18 to 1-22) Guide 1 (PDF)
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (2015), Introduction (Caution; For safety's sake) Introduction (PDF)
National Center for Home Food Preservation: the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2015 revision (current edition) nchfp.uga.edu

More guides

All guides