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Pressure cooker canner: one pot, two jobs, one firm rule

By the Plain Prepper editors. Updated 2026-10-15.

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Quick answer

A large pressure canner can also pressure cook, but an ordinary pressure cooker should not be used to can. USDA processes for low-acid foods assume a canner that holds at least four quart jars upright on the rack with the lid in place. Smaller cookers heat up and cool down faster, which can leave food underprocessed. Presto sells its 16 and 23 quart models as "pressure canner and cooker" units; its manual limits cooking fills to two-thirds, or half for foods that expand.

Why a regular pressure cooker is not a canner

The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) states that USDA has no recommended processes for canning in a small pressure cooker. Its reasons are physical, not about pressure alone:

• USDA's research for vegetables and meats used canners most similar to today's 16 quart or larger pressure canners.
• Pressure cookers have less metal, a smaller diameter and use less water.
• That shortens the come-up time and the natural cool-down time, and both count toward the total heat the USDA process times rely on.
• With less heat from those phases, the process time alone may not destroy the target microorganisms. Underprocessed low-acid food can cause botulism.

NCHFP adds that an old shortcut, adding 10 minutes to processes for pressure saucepans, did not hold up across sizes and foods, and USDA recommended against canning in pressure saucepans in the late 1980s. Electric multi-cookers are in the same position: NCHFP cannot recommend them because no USDA thermal process work has been done with jars inside an electric pressure cooker of any kind.

The test a pot has to pass

To count as a pressure canner for USDA processes, NCHFP says the pot must:

• Hold at least four quart-size jars standing upright on the canner rack, with the lid in place.
• Allow the recommended venting, which NCHFP sets at 10 minutes of steam before pressurizing.
• Show that it stays at or above the target pressure for the entire process time, with a dial or weighted gauge.

Some makers publish their own canning directions for smaller cookers. NCHFP's advice is to take those questions to the maker; its recommendation is not to use small cookers with USDA processes.

The quick home check: put four empty quart jars on the rack and try to close the lid. If they do not fit upright with the lid locked, the pot is a cooker, not a canner, for USDA recipes.

Two Presto models sold for both jobs

Spec	Presto 01755	Presto 01781
Liquid capacity	16 quarts	23 quarts
Quart jars	7	7
Pint jars	10	20
Half-pint jars	13	26
Boiling-water canning	Pints and half-pints only	Yes
Pressure reading	Dial gauge	Dial gauge
Burner limit	12,000 BTU or less	12,000 BTU or less
Warranty	12-year limited	12-year limited

Both are aluminum, work on regular and smooth-top ranges, include a cooking and canning rack, and have an air vent/cover lock that keeps the lid from opening until pressure drops. Both pass the four-quart-jar test easily with seven. The taller 23 quart model holds twice as many pints and half-pints.

Presto's 8 quart aluminum pressure cooker, by contrast, is sold for cooking only; its product page makes no canning claim.

Using the canner as a pressure cooker

Presto's instruction book says the canner can pressure cook favorite foods in larger quantities than a conventional pressure cooker, with its own cooking section. It sets firm limits for that use:

• Fill no more than two-thirds full. For soup, grains, and dry beans and peas that expand, no more than half full.
• Do not pressure cook applesauce, cranberries, rhubarb, cereals, pasta, split peas, dried soup mixes, or dry beans and peas that are not in its chart. They foam and sputter and can block the vent pipe, overpressure plug and air vent/cover lock.
• Before every use, hold the cover to a light to confirm the vent pipe is clear, and check that the air vent/cover lock moves freely.
• Never use it in a heated oven.

A big canner is a lot of pot for a weeknight dinner. For everyday meals, a separate small cooker is easier to handle; keep the canner for batch cooking and canning days.

Canning-day rules from the same manual

• Gauge check. Presto says to have the dial gauge checked for accuracy before each canning season.
• Gaskets. Replace the sealing ring and overpressure plug at least every 3 years, and sooner if hard, cracked, deformed or unusually soft.
• Venting. With the pressure regulator off, heat until a steady flow of steam comes from the vent pipe, then let it vent for 10 minutes before adding the regulator.
• Altitude. Above 2,000 feet, low-acid foods need more than 11 pounds of pressure; follow the altitude table in a tested recipe.
• Heat source. No outdoor LP gas burners, no gas range burner over 12,000 BTU, and no element that is too large. Overheating can warp the bottom.
• Recipes. Use a tested canning recipe. Presto warns that handed-down and web recipes often lack tested processing steps.

What to look for when you buy

Questions people ask

Can I can in my pressure cooker?

Not with USDA processes unless it holds at least four quart jars upright on the rack with the lid on. NCHFP says smaller cookers come up to pressure and cool down too fast, which can underprocess food.

Can a pressure canner be used as a pressure cooker?

Presto's 16 and 23 quart canners are sold as canner and cooker units. Its manual limits fills to two-thirds, or half for foods that expand, and bans foaming foods like applesauce and pasta.

Can I can in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker?

NCHFP cannot recommend it: no USDA thermal process work has been done with jars inside an electric pressure cooker of any kind.

How big does a pressure cooker need to be for canning?

Big enough for four quart jars upright with the lid closed. NCHFP notes USDA's research used canners most similar to today's 16 quart or larger models.

Sources

• Canning in pressure cookers, National Center for Home Food Preservation
• Using pressure canners, National Center for Home Food Preservation
• Can I can in a multi-cooker?, National Center for Home Food Preservation
• 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker, 01781, Presto
• 16-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker, 01755, Presto
• Pressure canner instructions and recipe book, 01755 and 01781, Presto
• 8-Quart Aluminum Pressure Cooker, 01282, Presto

Sources checked 2026-10-15.