Canned soup is delicious and easy for lunches, dinners, and even snacks. Store-bought soup often contains large amounts of sodium and even hidden ingredients like monosodium glutamate, unknown yeast and spices, and added artificial flavoring.
Homemade canned soup is not only healthier, it’s less expensive than store-bought versions, and you can control what’s in it. What soups are best for canning at home?
Canned Cream Soup
Tomato, mushrooms, celery, butternut squash, butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower and other vegetables and mixes make a delicious creamy soup. Cream foods are often cooked vegetables that are run through a blender and then made into a delicious, creamy soup with fresh milk or cream and a variety of spices. These may take a few extra steps to prepare for, but they are well worth the effort.
To make a condensed soup, simply skip adding extra cream and water in the recipe below and note on the label how much to add for that particular recipe. When opening a jar of creamy soup, simply add the amount of milk or water like condensed soup you would buy at the store, but at a fraction of the cost.
Canned Vegetable Soup
Depending on the recipe, you may or may not need to precook the vegetables. A delicious method for making homemade canned vegetable soup is to keep vegetable scraps from processing other vegetables in a container in the freezer. These can range from clean potato skins and apple skins and cores to onion skins and lettuce hearts. When you have enough to boil for the broth, boil until soft, then chill the broth. Blend them in a blender and strain through a food sieve or mesh strainer to remove larger particles.
Take the resulting broth and use it as a base for any vegetable or meat soup base. Simply chop desired vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, onions, precooked potatoes or root vegetables, zucchini, peas, cooked beans, green beans, or raw leafy greens and place in a bowl. Then add your favorite fresh or dried herbs or spice blends and mix well.
Finally, add this mixture to the jar, leaving half to a third of the headspace. Add the broth, stir, and pulse the mixture for about 20 minutes, or as directed in the vegetable soup recipe you’re using.
Canned Noodle Soup
- Noodle soups are not that difficult to prepare. The easiest part is for the noodles to dry out. Will need:
- A vegetable or chicken broth that has just been boiled and is still hot.
- Cooked minced meat such as chicken or beef.
- A favorite spice mix or fresh herbs; Italian seasoning works best.
- Fresh vegetables, raw or partially cooked.
- Dry noodles such as egg noodles, stars, alphabets, ditalini, macaroni, gemelli, or mostaccioli.
Measure out a quarter of the jar for each ingredient plus the spices. Again, leave about a half-inch of air pocket in the head space for a good seal. Then layer the ingredients as you add them: noodles, half the hot broth, the spices, meat, vegetables, and half the hot broth again. Make sure the rim and lid are clean and dry when you put the lid on. Can under pressure for the time specified in the pressure canning instructions.
Canned Bean, Chili, or Pea Soup
Unlike the other soups, bean soup must be cooked and completely ready to eat before canning to ensure that the final product is truly edible. When you’ve finished cooking the bean soup, simply dump it out while it’s still hot, leaving about a half-inch to an inch of headspace, and then press down on the can according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Home Canned Food Spoilage Detection
Unlike high-acid canned foods like ketchup and fruit, low-acid foods like soup are more likely to spoil due to improper canning or poor sealing . Before serving your delicious creation, inspect the jar lid for leaks, a swollen lid, rust, odd coloration, or a foamy or cloudy appearance.
If everything looks good, open the jar and smell the food; It should have a pleasant and delicious smell. If you detect any of the above, discard the food immediately. Before eating, boil the food for at least 10 minutes in case there are dangerous microbes in the food. If the food still smells good, it’s probably safe to eat.
Home canned soups not only fit your dietary needs, they contain less sodium, fat, and artificial ingredients. Healthy, hearty, and cheap, home-canned soup costs a fraction of store-bought varieties and definitely tastes better.
