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Master How To Preserve Potatoes with this step-by-step guide, including expert techniques for long-term storage. Try out canning and dehydrating methods to keep your potato harvest fresh for months!

Freshly harvested potatoes with dirt still on them sit on the ground in a sunlit garden, surrounded by green leafy plants. Wondering how to preserve potatoes? Visit blessthismessplease.com, displayed at the bottom of the image.


 

Preserving Guide: How To Preserve Potatoes

Potatoes are one of the heartiest vegetables around, not to mention a worldwide kitchen staple! Which makes knowing how to preserve potatoes properly an invaluable skill, one that can save you hundreds of dollars while ensuring a steady supply of this versatile staple year-round!

Knowing the right preservation method can transform your potato surplus into months of delicious, nutritious meals. This guide will tell you all about the best ways to can or dehydrate your favorite root veggie!

Table of Contents

Jars of preserved fruits and vegetables are displayed on a table. Text reads: Free Preserving Guide. Sign Up Here! Free PDF. A call to action encourages getting more information via email.

When To Harvest Potatoes

Wait until the tops of the vines have died before you begin harvesting your potatoes.

How To Store Potatoes

Make sure to store your potatoes only at room temperature.

Dehydrating Potatoes

  • CUT: Peel and cut into thin strips or slice about 1⁄4-inch thick
  • DIPPING: Rinse in cold water. Water or steam blanch, and rinse well again.
    • Water blanch: 5-6 minutes
    • Steam blanch: 6-8 minutes
  • DEHYDRATOR: 8-12 hours
  • APPEARANCE WHEN DRY: dry, crisp

Canning Potatoes

QUANTITY: An average of 20 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of
13 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bag weighs 50 pounds and yields 18 to 22 quarts – an average of 21⁄2 to 3 pounds per quart.

PREPARE POTATOES:

Wash and peel potatoes.

Canning Potatoes:

  1. Place in ascorbic acid solution to prevent darkening. If desired, cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Drain.
  2. Cook 2 minutes in boiling water and drain again. For whole potatoes, boil 10 minutes and drain.
  3. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the jar, if desired.
  4. Fill jars with hot prepared potatoes, leaving no more than 1-inch headspace.
  5. Cover hot potatoes with FRESH boiling water, leaving 1-inch headspace and covering all pieces of potato. (Caution: Do not use the water you cooked the potatoes in; it contains too much starch.)
  6. Adjust lids and process in Pressure Canner: pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes.
Two tables show process times and canner pressures for dial-gauge and weighted-gauge pressure canners, listing how to preserve potatoes by jar size, style of pack, and pressure needed at various altitudes for pints and quarts.

Freezing Potatoes

I do not recommend freezing potatoes!

🍎🫙 Get a free Preserving Guide for all the details to dehydrate, can, and freeze 42 fruits and vegetables — get the FREE GUIDE here!

Expert Tips

  • Storage Time: When stored correctly in ideal conditions dehydrated potatoes can last 1-2 years, while frozen potato preparations remain good for 10-12 months.
  • The Best of the Bunch: Keep in mind that not all potato varieties store equally well. Russets, Yukon Golds, and German Butterballs are excellent for long-term storage, while waxy varieties like Red Pontiacs are better used fresh within a few months.
  • Preserving Imperfect Potatoes: If you have damaged potatoes, but want to still preserve them, you should either use them immediately or process them into other forms like dehydrated chips or frozen preparations. Only store perfect, unblemished potatoes for long-term preservation as damage spreads quickly
Top: A white bowl filled with diced raw potatoes on a wooden surface. Bottom: Whole, unwashed potatoes spilling from a burlap sack—perfect for learning how to preserve potatoes. Text: BLESSTHISMESSPLEASE.COM appears at the bottom.

More Tips For Preserving The Harvest

Did you use any of these preserving tips? Leave a note below in the comments or share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!

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2 Comments

  1. Kelly Dollmeyer says:

    Hi Melissa, thank you for all your wonderful recipes!

    I am someone who loves to preserve through canning, and have canned potatoes in the past. I have a hard time knowing how to best prepare them after preservation. If you have recipes for preparing canned potatoes I would be over the moon… and so would my amazing canning group!

    Reply
    1. Melissa Griffiths says:

      I basically only used canned potatoes in soup because I feel like the flavors help the canned ones not taste so much like “canned potatoes”. I don’t really like them mashed or on shepherd’s pie unless I’m adding a lot of something like cheese. I have a friend who does hers in French fries shapes and then she oil fries them! I have not tried that yet but it would be a delicious use of canned potatoes.