Our Pearl team recently got together to prepare one of our favorite recipes for a simple, homemade butternut squash soup, a bright and warming recipe perfect for the winter season. While preparing the recipe, we felt it was the perfect opportunity to share a guided step-by-step process that shows you exactly how to can butternut squash soup in mason jars.

To can our soup, we used our Pearl Luna preserving jar. This is a unique Pearl jar that we designed specifically with the canning process in mind and we can’t wait to share how effective it is for our readers who want to learn how to can soup in mason jars. In our case, we used four Luna preserving jars that can hold 500ml each of liquid to can our soup.

Let’s get started!

How to can soup in mason jars?

When you can soup a special process takes place. You begin by placing the boiling soup into a sterilized container with a vacuum closure or lid that you close securely. Following this, the jar will be transferred into a vat of boiling water to continue cooking for 130 minutes. During this process, any air that was in the jar will slowly leave the jar.

The key step is to make sure you remove the jar from the vat of boiling water and allow it to cool down for 130 minutes. During this time, air will want to try re-entering the jar, which won’t be possible thanks to the vacuum seal you have created!

The lack of oxygen in the boiling food and the vacuum seal creates the perfect conditions for canning and preserving your food safely and is one of the reasons you should invest in learning how to can soup in mason jars. A lifelong skill in the kitchen, it is perfect for helping you to store your food for long periods of time and also reducing food waste in the process.

Let’s look at these steps in more detail with our butternut squash soup.

How to can butternut squash soup?

The most important step when learning how to can butternut squash soup in mason jars, is ensuring that your mason jar has been fully sterilized. You also need to make sure that you are keeping your work surface as clean as possible.

When working with glass jars, pay close attention to temperature. To sterilize our Pearl glass mason jars and lid components, we rest them slowly in a vat of warm water and gradually increase the temperature to boiling point. This prevents any temperature shock and potential breakage. Don’t forget to sterilize every component, including the sealing gaskets.

Top tip

For food canning safety, make sure that the ingredients of your soup have been thoroughly cooked through. Even leafy greens such as spinach that you may introduce at the end. When re-heating your soup, make sure to heat it above 85 degrees celsius to prevent exposure to food dangers such as botulism.

With the equipment sterilized and the soup cooked, you have almost figured out how to can butternut squash in mason jars! You can finish by gently using a ladle to transfer your soup contents into each mason jar, cleaning them neatly, and tightly closing the lid once you have done so. The jars should still be warm with the soup inside, which will prevent temperature shock when adding them to the vat of boiling water. You can place the jars standing upright in the vat of boiling water with a lid to cover them. Make sure it never stops boiling and set your timer for one hour!

After one 130 minutes carefully remove the glass mason jars and allow them to slowly cool down naturally.

Top tip

To make sure your vacuum seal is well secured, you can take it gently in your fingers and attempt to remove it. It should be tightly sealed if done correctly. If using our Luna Pearl jar, you can leverage it open with our special metal slot.

Congratulations, you’ve just learned how to can soup in mason jars and are on your way to becoming a canning pro!

Buy canning jars for soup

Wondering where you can buy canning glass jars for soup? Look no further!

Our Pearl website contains a wide range of sizes and varieties of jars that are ideal for those looking to buy canning mason jars for soup. If you’re interested in exploring the model we used for this canning guide, you can explore our Luna preserving jar.