What do you do when you have a massive harvest of Jade Bush Beans? MAKE DILLY BEANS! 

Dilly beans are a wonderful harvest treat. 

We love pickles and spicy food around here so of course I had to make a few jars of Spicy Dilly Beans.  Below you'll find several options to make your own dilly beans just the way you like

Some recipes call for blanching your beans first.  I did not.  I love crispy beans and easy recipes so we just used fresh beans.

Green, Yellow or Purple?

Honestly, you can use just about any bean to make dilly beans.  If you use Royalty Purple Podded bean, just know that those pretty purple beans will turn green once they are processed in your canner.  For this, we used Jade Bush Beans which are officially my favorite garden bean.  They continue to produce in hot weather and they've given us so many beans!

Spicy Dilly Bean Recipe

recipe adapted from Fresh Preserving

Makes about 6 pint jars

Ingredients:

3 lbs of fresh Jade Bush beans

3 3/4 cups vinegar

3 3/4 cups water

1/3 cup pickling salt (some people use kosher salt)

6-12 cloves of garlic (I really like garlic)

6-12 sprigs of dill

cayenne pepper flakes (optional)

mustard seeds (optional)

Some of our jars included cayenne pepper flakes & mustard seeds while others are more mild.  I like to have a few options available.

Directions:

Prepare you jars and water bath canner, making sure everything is clean before you get started.

Trim and cut fresh beans into jar-length pieces.  If you're using pint jars, about 4 inches long

Combine water, vinegar and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.

Place 1 or 2 garlic cloves (whole or crushed), 1 or 2 sprigs of dill in each jar. If you are making spicy dilly beans, add 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon mustard seeds.

Pack beans into each jar, leaving about 1/2 of headspace. Remove air bubbles.

Ladle hot brine (water,vinegar & salt) into each jar, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace.  Remove air bubbles and wipe off jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band.

Place each full jar in boiling water canner.

Process for 15 minutes and then remove to cool for 24 hours.

Check each jar to be sure they sealed properly

*This recipe was processed in a water-bath canner for 15 minutes.  You can skip the water-bath canning if you keep them refrigerated.  If you choose to refrigerate them, they are not shelf-stable and will spoil quicker.*

ENJOY!