17 Shelf-Stable Meals in a Jar | Pressure Canning Recipes

Meals in a Jar Canning: Tomato Hamburger Soup & Beef Stew

After months of talking about it, we are finally doing it — meals in a jar canning. I am so excited about today’s project because I’ve wanted shelf-stable, ready-to-eat meals on my pantry shelf for a long time.

Disclaimer: This post is for entertainment purposes only and demonstrates the canning process using safe, tested recipes. Always follow guidelines provided by trusted sources like the USDA, National Center for Home Food Preservation, or your local extension office. Improper canning techniques can lead to serious health risks, including foodborne illnesses. The methods demonstrated in this video are based on best practices at the time of filming. It is your responsibility to verify and follow the most current recommendations for canning safety. Consult a certified expert if you have any concerns or questions. By choosing to replicate the processes shown in this video, you assume full responsibility for your results.

Today I’m making two different meals in a jar canning recipes:

USDA Soup Guidelines Farmers Soup – Page 188 The Amish Canning Cookbook
Beef stew

I’ve had a rough few months with being sick on and off, but I’m finally on the tail end of it and feeling good enough to tackle a bigger canning project.

Prepping the Ingredients Efficiently

Both recipes use the same vegetables, which makes prep much easier. I washed and chopped everything at the same time:

Celery
Onions
Carrots
Potatoes

Since we’re a family of two, I cut both recipes in half. Any extra chopped vegetables went straight into the freezer for later use.

This approach saves time and keeps me from pulling everything out twice.

Canning Equipment (affiliate links)

Cooking the Tomato Hamburger Soup

For the soup, I browned one pound of ground beef and sautéed the onions at the same time. I seasoned everything with salt and pepper using non-iodized salt, which works best for canning.

Once the meat cooked through, I added:

Chopped celery, carrots, and potatoes
Tomato sauce
A mix of broth and water

I brought the soup to a full boil, tasted it, and adjusted the seasoning before moving on to filling jars.

Cooking the Beef Stew

For the beef stew, I used a little over two pounds of stew meat. After browning the meat, I added the vegetables and enough boiling water to fully cover everything.

The stew also came up to a boil before jarring, which is important for safe meals in a jar canning.

Jarring and Canning Safely

I filled the jars with about one inch of headspace, making sure each jar had plenty of liquid. After debubbling, I wiped the rims with vinegar to remove any grease.

A quick note on safety:
While this specific soup recipe comes from a non-tested source, each ingredient has a tested, approved canning guideline. As long as every component is safe for canning, you can safely customize soups.

I pressure canned everything at 15 pounds of pressure:

Tomato hamburger soup: 60 minutes
Beef stew: 75 minutes

Since you can’t stop the canner mid-process, everything ran for 75 minutes to ensure the stew processed fully.

Cooling and Final Results

After the timer went off, I let the pressure come down naturally. I removed the lid carefully and placed the jars on the counter to cool undisturbed.

In total, I ended up with 17 jars of meals in a jar, which feels incredible. Having full meals ready to go on the pantry shelf brings so much peace of mind.