The pontiff welcomed Charles and Camilla to his study at the Vatican, as the royal couple were coming to the end of a nine-day European tour.
As the lid to a wicker basket containing jars and straw was lifted, the prince told the pope: "It's difficult to know what to give your holiness.
"Somebody else might like it," he joked.
The products came from the Prince of Wales' Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire and were intended for the poor and homeless.
In return, the Prince of Wales received a collection of books written by the pope in English, one of which warns about the dangers of climate change.
Handing Charles a bronze olive branch, the Catholic leader urged the future head of the Church of England: "Wherever you go, may you be a man of peace".
The prince replied: "I'll do my best".
The meeting on Tuesday evening last 27 minutes.
The Duchess of Cornwall wear a gold silk dress - more relaxed attired compared to the black dress and lace veil she wore when the royal couple met Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
A Vatican spokesman said: "Things have become more relaxed over the last few years, there are no hard and fast rules."