How to Deal with the Canning Jar Lid Shortage

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Struggling to find canning lids due to the canning lid shortage? Here are some tips and ideas on how to preserve your harvest anyway!

Canning Lid Shortage

How to Deal with the Canning Jar Lid Shortage

If you are a big canner like myself, you’ve probably been quite frustrated over the past year with the lack of canning jars, lids, and other canning accessories at the store. It seems that everyone has decided to pick up the hobby of canning (and I don’t know that it’s a bad thing!).

We are a family that preserves a very large amount of food in the summer and fall months, mostly because the selection at the store here in the winter is pretty poor. There’s nothing I love better than canning up a big batch of perfectly ripe peaches only to open one of the jars up mid-January and enjoy a summer treat or a yummy Peach Cobbler.

I wish I had all the answers and I could tell you why the jar lids are in such a shortage and when they are coming back but I’d probably be wrong and it wouldn’t be helpful anyway. What I can tell you is how our family is dealing with this canning lid shortage and perhaps give you some ideas on how you can make it work for you too until we see those shelves fully stocked again.

Canned Pickles and Green Beans

Can only the essentials.

At this time, I’m holding off canning things like dried beans because I don’t need to can them. The beans can easily stay in one of our 5-gallon storage buckets until we need to use them. Having ready-made meals is really handy, but when there aren’t lids to go around, it’s not necessary.

I’m holding on to my canning lids for things that have to be canned in the summer such as peaches, green beans, and other things that I want and need to preserve that way.

Dehydrated foods in jars

Use the freezer or dehydrator.

I do some freezing but usually not of vegetables since my freezers tend to be full of meat (freezing is my preferred method of meat preservation with canning second). If you have the freezer space available to you and you don’t need the product to be shelf-stable, go ahead and freeze it instead.

Our family prefers to use our dehydrator as a secondary preservation method to canning. This year I’ve dehydrated everything from blueberries to zucchini flour. I dehydrate the item until it’s completely dry and then use a vacuum sealer attachment and a silica gel packet to seal the dried food in a jar. (I re-use jar lids for this so I don’t need to use up new ones.) You could also seal them in a food saver bag if you don’t want to use the jar.

This has become my preferred method for many things since it’s shelf-stable and doesn’t take up any freezer space. Depending on the item I either just put it straight in the recipe or reconstitute it before using.

tattler canning lids

Try reusable lids.

Have you ever heard of Tattler or Harvest Guard reusable canning lids? They are both a 2 part lid that can be reused many times. They do cost about double the price of a regular canning lid and there is a definite learning curve to using them, but since they can be reused for many years, they might be worth the investment.

I’ve had a small amount of Tattlers in the past and I invested in a few more this year. They aren’t my favorite lids to use but they are nice to have on hand for situations like this lid shortage.

Canning Rhubarb

Check other places for lids.

In the past, I’ve usually gotten lids from a typical big box store, but this year I’m always watching the hardware stores and other out-of-the-way places for lids. Earlier this summer I found full cases of lids at Menards. I’m glad I got those when I did! If you are in a store, any store, it doesn’t hurt to ask whether or not they have canning supplies, you might just be surprised.

One thing to note, DO NOT buy metal canning lids off eBay, Amazon, or other large reseller platforms right now. Most of them are fake lids from China and I’ve seen awful reviews of them. Don’t waste all of your hard work with those overpriced lids.

Root Cellar

Look into old-fashioned preservation methods.

If you want to find even more methods of preserving besides canning, look into methods such as fermenting, salting, and root cellaring. I highly recommend the books, Root Cellaring and Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning. Both books are invaluable resources in situations like this one and I’ve had both on my shelf for a long time because I reference them so often!

We personally have a root cellar and we love it! (see the pic above) Building it has been a lot of work but we can’t wait to use it for many many years to come. The Root Cellaring book has many ideas for much simpler root cellar designs if you are not able to build a full root cellar.

In a root cellar, you can store many fruits and vegetables for months at a time without them spoiling. You will be able to save some jars when it comes to potatoes, apples, beets, carrots, and other staples. Once our root cellar is set up, I’d be happy to share a tour with you if that’s something you’d like to see.

div line

When it comes to dealing with this canning lid shortage, I don’t think that any one of the above methods is better than another. Using them all together will help you stretch your lids as far as they possibly can go. Hopefully, this isn’t something that we will have to deal with long term, but if it is, consider all the new systems that you will have learned for preservation in the meantime and look at this as a good learning experience.

I for one did not realize how much I love dehydrating until last year. Now I cannot see doing zucchini any other way! I hope that you too will find some kind of bright side to dealing with this situation.

Now it’s your turn! Help me and the other Little House Living readers by sharing in the comments section how you are dealing with this canning lid shortage.

Merissa Bio

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71 Comments

    1. I use it just like it would any frozen zucchini, I add a little to water before using and rehydrate it a bit before adding it into breads, muffins, stir fries, etc. Right now I’ve been grating all of mine because that’s how I typically use it but I was thinking of doing some slices to add into soup.

      1. I dehydrate zucchini and then grind it up in my blender to make flour. 🙂 It’s too strong to use as a flour replacement but I’ve been creating other recipes with it such as flatbread for pizza.

  1. I haven’t canned this year yet, but thank you so much for the insight on the shortage. I will be searching the stores and storing up for future canning days. I appreciate your alternate tips as well.

  2. Thank you for the ideas! I found a new dehydrator at a garage sale this summer for $5 and have never dehydrated before but am looking forward to using it as well as canning.
    Going to check the stores for lids. Wish I would have kept my used canning lids for dried foods like you suggested! But I did buy a dozen plastic reusable lids for canning jars last year so I can use those at least.

  3. When I was young we used to seal our jams and jellies with paraffin wax. Okay for short term storage, i.e. 6 months, but not my preferred method.

  4. I like your blog, I have always been a canning person too, grew up around all that. Going to the cellar just to smell the fresh apple smell, potatoes, and seeing all of moms canning on the shelf. later years I had my own cooler room in the basement.
    Getting ready to can Peaches now, then gr. beans and carrots. My husband says I am nuts, but hey, its in my blood. Grew up that way. I am a country kid and thats what we did to servive the harsh winters. Thanks you little frugal friend.

    1. I agree with this statement in the blood and I enjoy canning, dehydrating and pressure canning. I have purchased two excalibur dehydrators on garage sales in past years going non stop over canning season. I did some zucchini slices for zucchini lasagna later this winter. Going try try the zucchini flour, hadn’t thought about that one, what do you think about using that as a thickener in gravy etc.

  5. Another method I’m in love with is freeze drying. Super long term ( up to 25 years) and fruits are fantastic. Speedy to set up but can be stored in Mylar bags, if you use jars can reuse lids and vacuum s real with an oxygen absorber.

  6. Have you ever re used jars with rubber seals like you buy spaghetti sauce and/ or pickles. In a pressure cooker you can can in those jars and they will re seal. I have used that method before and will probably use it this year with the lid shortage.

    1. I use them all the time. Never had a bad jar of anything.
      Grew up canning. Had to also be frugal.
      I soak all my lids , I’m reusing in vinegar. Vinegar softens the seals and they seal well.

  7. I just bought a dehydrator, in part to can a bit less. I’m drying pears, apples, tomatoes and blueberries. I generally freeze green beans, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and peas. I love your idea of drying zucchini. I’ll try that for sure.

    I’m saving my lids for pickles, sauces, salsa, relish, chutney and jams. I’ll also skip canning off sauerkraut, just holding it in.the fermentation crock. Has anyone had experience with that?

      1. Agree on freezing sauerkraut; the SO loves the stuff and he is the only one who eats it. Freeze in quart bags, turns out lovely.

  8. I think I have two ziplock bags full of canning lids. I use the jars for my pantry but I prefer the plastic screw on lids. I have been wondering what to do with them. I had no idea there is a shortage.

  9. You can actually use glass jars with their lids if you save them, that spaghetti sauce comes in, jelly, apple sauce etc. Our recycle place quit Taking glass so I saved my jars I would normally have recycled. I put high acidic fruits and tomatoes in them, “open pot” I know lots of people pressurize them but this works and I have never had any problems. Just make sure they are cooked long enough. We also made what we called ‘leather britches’. LOL!
    These are just dried beans usually left on the vine a little longer to get more bean seed. People did not have dehydrators then so the dried the string beans by stringing them on twine with a good sized needle. The strings got about a yard long. Then hung in a dry low humidity place until dry. We made lots of strings. Then when you want to cook them, you just wash and then soak the overnight, add season meat or whatever you use and cook until tender. They have a heartier taste than green beans that’s easy people love. Enjoy!

    1. I have a L’Equip which has worked well for us for over 10 years however I think that most dehydrators with rectangular trays are great. I wouldn’t recommend the round ones if possible just because they aren’t as easy to make fruit leather with.

  10. I too have a root cellar. Can you tell me what you made your door out of? Is it lined on the back side with anything?

    1. The door and the entrance are all rough cut wood. Currently it’s not lined with anything and we are working on the venting system. The root cellar itself is concrete.

  11. I can’t understand why there is a shortage. It has been an year that we have dealing with this. Supply should have caught up by now. In my area of Wisconsin you can buy the jars and lids just about anywhere. That’s not what I need nor do I want the added expense of buying jars that I don’t need. I just need lids.

      1. I agree with your guess, however a lot of canners are hoarding lids…from what I have read. Probably it’s “all of the above.”

  12. We are using lids from Amazon. This is second year buying them from there. No problems at all and they are the cheap ones.

  13. We had this exact problem yesterday while canning peaches! Fortunately we had barely enough lids between wide and narrow to match our jars but boy will your ideas be helpful for next year. Thank you! P.S. sadly we just have away our dehydrator.

  14. I dehydrate 3/8”slices of both zucchini and summer squash for use in soups. It is my preferred method of processing these vegetables as they maintain their texture rather than being mushy like frozen or canned.

  15. Thank you for the great tips. I would love to learn how to salt fish and meat. When you said beans in a bucket are they dried beans?

  16. What a great read thank you for sharing, very informative, I would love to see a tour of that Root Cellar!I used to have one on on the phone when I was young.

  17. I would love to see your root cellar.

    btw- my Father told me of using a soil trench (furrow) before and during
    the Great Depression for storing some vegetables, at least potatoes.

    They lined the furrow with dry hay, laid the potatoes on the hay, covered
    the potatoes with a layer of hay and then covered the furrow with
    at least 6 inches of soil.

    When more potatoes were needed he would dig up the vegetables as needed
    for his Mother to cook.

    I visited Poland a few years ago, and as a student of history I have always
    wondered how the average farmer survived with both the German and
    Russian armies sweeping over their land…
    I believe I have a clue from my Father!

  18. Thank you for this post. It’s a good reminder that there are lots of different ways to preserve food.

    One thing that has me wondering is the high price of lids. When you consider the cost of lids, sugar and other canning supplies, there isn’t a huge saving–plus all that work. And if you have to buy the produce, canning could become quite expensive. I know we don’t can just for cheap…but I just sayin’. (Food for thought).

    Now I’m going to bring up something politically incorrect–reusing lids. This is very common in other parts of the world that don’t have the USDA to tell them not to! Also, I understand that the Amish typically use their lids several times. I don’t think there is anything unsafe about it as long as the lids seal, which for me they have done 100% of the time. If you would like to experiment with this, here are some suggestions–

    –Examine the lid closely to ensure it lies flat, the rubber/plastic ring is undamaged and there are no holes where air can enter. A tiny dimple in the metal from opening previously does not seem to have any effect.

    –Start with something like applesauce or jam that could be frozen if the lid failed. I also use new lids for expensive items like peaches where I want to minimize the risk of not having a lid seal. Again, I have never had a lid failure, but I always have in mind that one might.

    –I have an extremely healthy fear of botulism, so I always use a new lid for green beans and anything else canned in the pressure canner. However, if the vegetable is canned for the proper length of time and the lid seals, it really shouldn’t matter. I’m still sticking with new lids…but I’m just sayin’.

    –Although I reuse regular canning lids, my favorite lids to reuse are the twist-off/pop-up one-piece lids that typically come on jams, pickles, etc. There is a plastic ring bonded to the inside of the lid and you can use it over and over. They must be used on jars of the same type, but the bonus is that the glass is typically heavier than what you get with canning jars. And, like the lid, the jars are FREE with the product you buy. The Nalley’s pickle jars at Costco are basically wide-mouth quart jars. Before reusing the lids from pickles, if there is a vinegar smell, leave the lid off the jar for a couple of months until the smell has completely dissipated. You will know when these jars have sealed. As they come out of the canner, you will note the lid bulges a bit. As they cool, the lid will pull down flat. Also, they’ve also always popped for me.

    *Tattler lids–love the idea, but I’ve heard of failures as high as 50%. Are you kidding me? Why would you go to the time, trouble and expense of canning with any lid with a high failure rate??? As I’ve said, I’ve never had a failure with a reused lid. I’m always prepared for a few not to seal(although none ever have), but 50%???

    When canning, remember that acid foods (fruits and tomatoes) are safely canned if the lid seals. If the odd jar doesn’t seal, use it right away, or freeze if possible.

    Merissa, good advice about not canning dry beans if you are short on lids. Don’t forget that cooked beans freeze beautifully. I usually use cottage cheese/sour cream cartons for this.

    1. Great great comment.I save jars too.spagetti,pickles,olives,chili sauce jars for ketchup,& cocktail sauce bottles.i save lids & reuse.Peaches are my next canning project.my produce guy seeded 1,000 onions & all bought up by people.His tomatoes are 50 cents a pound for ones with splits or blemishes.

  19. Was excited about learning to can. But then found out, am a single person and no real use for jar canning. I found Ball plastic lids at a local hardware store and they are great! Replacing out some of my canning lids that are rusting. Some of these plastic lids can be found online. Right now, I have been taking plastic lids from emptied peanut butter jars, mayonnaise and salad dressings and set aside. With my various sizes of glass canning jars, so far, pretty decent luck to replace out the rusted canning lids. I still use the larger glass jars for dry food storage and the smaller ones usually for leftovers. Does not leave too much room for color coded savvy, but right now the plastic lids I save for reuse are doing an excellent job!

  20. I mistakenly used the generic lids that Amazon sent me by not knowing better because I needed lids so bad and thought they would be ok. I ordered 48 Ball lids and they sent me a generic and probably am going to lose all 48 jars of tomatoes because they won’t seal. I had lots more tomatoes that needed canning so I ordered 72 more regular “Ball” lids and 12 wide mouth with bands, but I realized that I wouldn’t get the lids in time so I froze the tomatoes. I got my order today via ups. I got the box of 12 Ball lids with bands and 72 more generic regular lids. It’s a good thing I did go ahead and freeze the tomatoes. I contacted Amazon immediately and they are having UPS pick up the 72 generic lids tomorrow with no postage due and issuing me credit.

  21. When you dehydrate grated zucchini, how do you keep it from dropping through the drying trays?

    How much water to dry zucchini do you use to rehydrate to a cup of ‘regular grated’ zucchini?

    1. I put parchment paper sheets on my dehydrator trays before I put the shreds on. And when I rehydrate is just add some water and zucchini to a bowl, let it sit a little while, and drain off any excess.

  22. I save all my kids. I boil them and it raises the seals to a point that they are reusable. Have never had a problem doing this.

    1. At times I would like to use my kids this way, also grandkids. Great grandkids are too young to know about. Thanks for idea about making them reuseable!

  23. If you are truly an experienced canner you probably already know that you can re-use many of your caps again. I carefully wash the cap and jar after the contents have been eaten, place the cap upside down (so the “rubber” doesn’t stick to the glass), then store the jars for future use. When bottling season arrives (which, for me, is year round) remove cap, examine closely for certainty of stability, boil for 5-7 minutes to “re-hydrate” or to soften and plump up the rubber, then bottle as you would normally. I never re-use caps that have been used on bottled meat (because the fats break down the “rubber”) or any other pressure cooked items (because the high temperature causes a greater indent into the rubber, sometimes clear to the metal). But lids taken from water bathed foods work well when pressure canning. Just make sure the integrity of the cap is not compromised by tiny holes, rust or bends from opening the jar.
    My sisters and I have been bottling for over 45 years and have never had a problem. Happy canning!

  24. I have inspected my old lids and those without any raised edges I have washed and reused. So far about 70 jars in all have sealed. That is water bathed and pressure canned.

  25. I agree with the person who said not to buy the lids online. I bought some lids last year online. I thought I was getting Ball canning lids. When they arrived, the lids were in a Ziploc bag by the dozen. They were a cheap lid and many did not seal so I stopped using them.

  26. Would LOVE to see root cellar tour/post. And more dehydrating posts please!!!

    Dehydrating in my oven has been something I started doing during lockdown in spring 2020 — saving fruit peels to use in homemade teas, of all things. I’m going to further my skills to help cut down on our need for canning lids for home use. SO has begun selling canned peppers in oil as well as homemade dips so all our “new” lids have to go to him first. I’m going to see about canning some homemade applesauce with ‘old’ lids in coming weeks, as we always save lids/rings to store leftovers in. We currently have a deep freezer as well as a second fridge in garage but I would love to cut back and store dry/canned goods to help utility costs in future.

    And some food for thought: could the canning supplies be increasing simply because big businesses don’t WANT us to be self-sustaining??? I’m all for using what you have, water-bath canning and reusing supplies, and simply doing it ourselves rather than rely on the stores for every single thing!!

  27. Doesn’t change the fact that there it’s a shortage, but I think it’s because w/ covid, people were home more & were gardening more than they had previously. Gotta do something w/ all that garden bounty! We’re had a hard time finding jars & lids last year. I did buy some lids off Amazon, but they were all “legit” & I, thankfully, didn’t have any issues. Definitely interested in trying to dehydrate zucchini – I’ve frozen it in the past, but it gets WAY too watery. I got some dehydrating racks for my Ninja Foodi, so I have no excuse not to give it a try!

  28. 1) I avoid shortages by picking up lids all year long- every time I am shopping I pick up a box of large and small lids. I think I have about 2 yrs worth at the moment. I also re-use the lids from canning on my jars of dehydration.
    2) Could you tell us more about the zucchini flour? I would like an alternative flour source. Learning to love your blogs more and more as I have time.

    1. I just dry shredded zucchini and then turn it into powder with my blender to use as flour. I’m still really experimenting with it since it’s a new thing for me as of last year but it’s pretty strong if used on its own, fine with other flours blended with it. Also, this year I’m trying it with different types of zucchini. I really like the yellow zucchinis because they are drier.

  29. I agree 100% about your comment on bad quality products bought from Amazon. I am returning several today that I was foolish enough to try.
    Be careful with some hardware store products also, I tried some of them and they failed. If it is not a name brand truly made in USA its not going to be used in this home. Love canning, I’ve done it for years.

  30. Two years ago, I bought a couple of dozen WM Mainstay lids. All they said on them is “Made in USA.” They were $1.28 per package in 2019. Every lid sealed. I reused some of them last year and they all sealed again. So far this year, I’ve reused a few again (third time around) and they have all sealed yet again. I can’t promise this kind of success for everyone, but it has been my experience. Since I’ve heard Wal-Mart lids dissed on several forums, I thought I would mention this, in case there is a little brand name snobbery going around. I always inspect the jars for nicks, I am always careful to wipe the rims of the jars and I begin counting processing time after the water returns to a boil. These are standard canning procedures, which I am sure everyone follows, but I thought I would mention them.

  31. I personally bought 7 cases of jars and over 90 lids this year for my mushroom hobby that seems will turn into a buisness. Its likely the mushroom boom is a big part of the lid shortage As pressure cooking for sterilization of grain spawn or liquid culture is essential to growing mushrooms.
    Soooo definitely buy em up when you find them! It will only get harder to find for a while.

  32. Yes, I would like to see the root cellar. Very interesting that you can use vinegar in order to reuse your lids.

  33. I have never been able to get my vacuum sealer for regular and wide mouth jars to seal. What am I doing wrong? Could you post a video about how to use the Food Saver jar sealer correctly? Thank You!

    1. I think they aren’t made quite right. What I do is place double lids in the sealer and then seal them. I actually need to seal a few right now so maybe I can grab a short video later today. 🙂

  34. I’m a fan of drying. Have worked full time all my life and caning seemed so labor intensive. Dehydrating you plug in and walk away. My number one thing to dry are melons, sliced thin. They have a melt in your mouth thing going.