dry packed Vegetable Medley: Easy Canning Recipe for Mixed Veggies

This Vegetable Medley Canning Recipe combines fresh garden vegetables in one convenient jar, creating a versatile pantry staple for quick meals throughout the year. Pressure canning preserves the low-acid vegetables together, giving you a ready-to-use mixture that can become an easy side dish or an ingredient in soups, stews, casseroles, and other home-cooked meals. It is also a practical way to preserve several vegetables at once when the garden or farmers market provides an abundance of fresh produce.

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By Diane Devereaux | The Canning Diva® 
Last updated: October 1, 2026

Why I Created This Vegetable Medley Canning Recipe

I created this recipe to help my fellow canners and gardeners preserve as many fresh vegetables as possible during the growing season. Using a delicious combination of vegetables like baby potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and bell peppers, my goal was to have a vegetable medley on-the-ready I could later use to create a variety of meals and sides during the winter months.

I purposely did not season the vegetable mixture to keep each jar as versatile as possible. If you wish to preseason, you may do so by adding either fresh or dried herbs. Each jar does contain garlic cloves and red onions, however, feel free to add additional onion and garlic powder in your spice blend or change it up altogether.

My recommendation for dried herbs would be 1 tablespoon of dried herbs per quart jar and 1/2 tablespoon per pint jar. This can be added a little bit at a time after layering each ingredient. The key is not to exceed the per jar measurements. You can always add more seasoning when you go to use a jar.

This dry packing recipe helps canners retain the vegetable's shape and flavor by cooking the mixture in its own juices. After processing, it is normal to see a bit of of open space, also known as headspace, in each jar. This will not harm the vegetables nor prevent the lids from sealing contrary to what some believe.

Ways To Use Vegetable Medley in Meals

One option would be to add a jar or two to a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of yellow curry powder, a can of coconut cream, then heat it through and top with fresh cilantro and serve over rice noodles.

Another option is an open skillet meal. Simply add protein, heat, season and enjoy. For example, Italian sausage, chorizo, diced chicken or navy beans and you have a complete meal. You could also do the same and place it in the oven to bake a delicious casserole.

I was also thinking about how delicious the Vegetable Medley would be drained, placed on a cookie sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper, and shaved Parmesan cheese then roasted in the oven until browned. I also look forward to placing a couple quarts in a stockpot, add beef stock and then thicken to create a robust stew. The possibilities are truly endless.

Dry Packed Vegetable Medley Canning Recipe

Makes 12 quarts or 24 pints

Use this delicious mixture as a starter for any casserole, main dish or soup/stew. My main goal was to have an array of vegetables ready to create a simple side dish I could heat up in a skillet (drained) or empty into a saucepan and heat through. However, after creating, preserving, and eating a jar full, I see many more ways this yumminess can be enjoyed.

Ingredients

• 48 baby potatoes, red skinned, yellow, or a combination of the two
• 24 garlic cloves
• 4 pints baby Bella mushrooms, quartered
• 6 bell peppers, chopped into 2x2 inch pieces
• 1 pound bag carrots, peels and chopped in 2-inch pieces
• 1 pound string beans
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 stick butter, sliced into 1/4-inch thick pads

Instructions

1. Thoroughly clean and prep each vegetable in the sink using fresh running water. If keeping the skins on your root crops, be sure to scrub each piece with a vegetable brush and rinse thoroughly.
2. Starting with the first ingredient listed, and evenly disperse each ingredient into 12 quart or 24 pint jars. For instance, each quart receives 4 baby potatoes, 2 garlic cloves, and so on. Each pint jar would receive half the amount in a quart jar meaning 2 baby potatoes, 1 garlic clove, and so on.
3. As you stack each ingredient in the jar, use your headspace measuring tool to pack it down to ensure a tight fit. You may also use your hands to press the vegetables in place and pack tightly into jars.
4. After each vegetable is added and packed tight, be sure to place one pad of butter in each quart and half a pad of butter in each pint.
5. If you prefer to use a cooking oil (olive, avocado, etc.) as your fat, add 1/4-teaspoon to each quart and 1/8-teaspoon to each pint jar. If you prefer to preserve this medley without any fat/oil, you may do so. You may also fill each jar with water or broth if you wish not to dry pack. Just be sure if using water/broth, to fill to a 1-inch headspace.
6. Wipe each jar rim with a washcloth dipped in vinegar, add a lid and ring, and hand tighten.
7. Process in a pressure canner at 10 PSI or according to your elevation and canner type. Quart jars process for 65 minutes and pint jars process for 45 minutes.

So you may learn how to safely substitute ingredients in canning recipes, I highly recommend you purchase a copy of my book, The Canning Diva Presents Meals in a Jar. I devote an entire chapter to helping educate canners on how to safely substitute ingredients, how to use meat substitutions like Jackfruit, how to control your sugar and salt intake, and debunk a variety of myths and misnomers about using fat and oils when home canning.

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About the Author:
Diane Devereaux, The Canning Diva®, is an internationally recognized food preservation expert, author, and educator with over 30 years of home canning experience. She’s the author of multiple top-selling canning books and teaches workshops across the U.S. Learn more at TheCanningDiva.com.