Canning Yield Calculator: Produce per Jar

How this calculator works

Home canning guidance gives a range of how many pounds of fresh produce are needed to fill one quart jar. The calculator takes that range for your crop, divides your weight by the larger figure to give a minimum number of jars, and by the smaller figure to give a maximum. Pint jars hold about half as much as quarts, so the pounds needed per jar are halved.

A worked example

Twenty pounds of tomatoes needs about 2.5 to 3.5 pounds per quart. Dividing 20 by 3.5 gives 5.7 and dividing by 2.5 gives 8, so you can expect about 5 to 8 quart jars. A full bushel of tomatoes, about 53 pounds, commonly fills 15 to 21 quarts.

Typical pounds per quart

Where these numbers come from

Ranges follow the yield tables in USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation canning guidance, rounded for planning. Actual yield varies. This calculator only estimates quantity. It does not give processing times, pressures or methods, which depend on the food, the recipe and your altitude. Use a tested recipe and the canning altitude calculator to adjust for elevation.