Canning Carrots – The Complete Guide - Self Sufficient Projects

Carrots store well in a root cellar for months on their own, so why can them at all? Because canned carrots are ready to dump straight into a soup or side dish with zero prep, and a well-stocked shelf of them means one less thing standing between you and dinner on a busy night. This guide covers the exact tested method, both for straight canned carrots and a pickled variation, plus the mistakes that trip people up most often.

Why Carrots Must Be Pressure Canned

Carrots are a low-acid vegetable, which puts them in the same category as green beans, potatoes, and most other root vegetables when it comes to canning safety. A boiling water bath alone cannot reach a high enough temperature to destroy Clostridium botulinum spores, so pressure canning is not optional here. If you want the fuller explanation of why this rule exists and how pressure canners work, our pressure canning fundamentals guide covers that in more depth.

Selecting the Best Carrots for Canning

According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, small carrots, preferably 1 to 1¼ inches in diameter, are the better choice for canning, since larger carrots tend to be too fibrous once processed. Skip any carrots that are woody, cracked, or showing significant blemishes.

What You’ll Need

A pressure canner with a rack
Pint or quart canning jars, new lids, and bands
A jar lifter, canning funnel, and bubble remover
Canning or pickling salt, optional, for flavor

For quantity planning, NCHFP notes that a canner load of 7 quarts needs about 17½ pounds of carrots without tops, and a canner load of 9 pints needs about 11 pounds. A full bushel weighs 50 pounds and yields 17 to 25 quarts, averaging about 2½ pounds of carrots per quart jar.

Hot Pack vs. Raw Pack

Both methods use identical processing times and pressures for carrots, so the choice comes down to preference.

Raw pack: Raw carrot pieces go straight into the jar, then get covered with boiling water. Simpler and faster to prep
Hot pack: Carrots are briefly boiled first, then packed into the jar with the same hot liquid. Some canners find this packs slightly more carrot per jar since a brief simmer shrinks the pieces a bit

Step-by-Step: Pressure Canning Carrots

Wash, peel, and rewash the carrots
Slice or dice into uniform pieces
Hot pack: Cover with boiling water, bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes, then fill jars leaving 1-inch headspace
Raw pack: Fill jars tightly with raw carrot pieces, leaving 1-inch headspace
Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart, if desired
Add hot cooking liquid or boiling water, maintaining 1-inch headspace
Remove air bubbles, wipe the rims clean, and apply lids and bands to fingertip tight

Processing Times and Pressures

These times and pressures apply equally to both hot pack and raw pack, straight from NCHFP’s tested tables.

Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner

Pints: 25 minutes. 11 lb at 0-2,000 ft, 12 lb at 2,001-4,000 ft, 13 lb at 4,001-6,000 ft, 14 lb at 6,001-8,000 ft
Quarts: 30 minutes, at the same pressures listed above for your altitude

Weighted-Gauge Pressure Canner

Pints: 25 minutes. 10 lb at 0-1,000 ft, 15 lb above 1,000 ft
Quarts: 30 minutes, at the same pressures listed above for your altitude

Vent the canner for 10 full minutes before pressurizing, and let it depressurize naturally once processing finishes rather than force-cooling it.

Pickled Carrots: A Water Bath Alternative

If you would rather skip the pressure canner entirely, pickling carrots in a vinegar brine brings them into the high-acid category, which makes a boiling water bath canner safe to use instead.

This tested recipe from NCHFP makes about 4 pint jars:

2¾ pounds peeled carrots, cut into ½-inch rounds
5½ cups white distilled vinegar (5%)
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons canning salt
8 teaspoons mustard seed
4 teaspoons celery seed

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a large pot and boil gently for 3 minutes. Add the carrots, bring back to a boil, then simmer until half-cooked, about 10 minutes. Place 2 teaspoons mustard seed and 1 teaspoon celery seed in the bottom of each hot pint jar, fill with the hot carrots leaving 1-inch headspace, then cover with the hot pickling liquid leaving ½-inch headspace.

Process pints in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes at 0-1,000 ft, 20 minutes at 1,001-6,000 ft, or 25 minutes above 6,000 ft

Let the sealed jars sit for 3 to 5 days before opening for the best flavor development.

Storage and Shelf Life

Once cooled and confirmed sealed, store jars in a cool, dark location. For best quality, plan to use canned carrots within about a year, though a properly sealed jar stored well will typically remain safe well beyond that window.

Common Mistakes

Water bath canning plain carrots instead of pressure canning them, a mistake that can lead to real botulism risk
Dry canning, meaning packing raw carrots into jars with no liquid and processing them as if they were a normal pack. This is not a USDA-recommended practice and does not reliably allow heat to penetrate the jar
Using large, woody carrots that turn unpleasantly fibrous once processed
Skipping the 10-minute vent step before pressurizing the canner
Guessing at altitude adjustments instead of confirming your actual elevation

Canning Carrots Is One Skill. Imagine Reclaiming Hundreds More.

Knowing how to safely turn a harvest of fresh carrots into jars of ready-to-use food is exactly the kind of practical knowledge that once made households far more independent.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I can whole baby carrots instead of slicing them?

The standard tested recipe covers sliced or diced carrots. Whole small carrots can work using the same processing times, though slicing or dicing helps heat penetrate more evenly, especially in larger pieces.

Do I have to peel carrots before canning?

Yes. Peeling and rewashing is part of the tested procedure, both for cleanliness and to remove the tougher outer layer.

Can I add other vegetables to the jar with my carrots?

Stick to a tested mixed vegetable recipe if you want to combine carrots with other vegetables, rather than improvising your own combination, since processing times are calculated for specific ingredient combinations.

Why did my canned carrots turn out mushy?

This is usually from over-processing, using very fresh or very small carrots that break down more easily under heat, or letting the hot pack simmer too long before jarring. It doesn’t indicate a safety problem, just a texture one.

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