vegetarian five bean soup mix
I have a treat for you guys this week! Craig and I have worked really hard over the past few days to come up with 10 handmade holiday gift ideas to post here on Wholefully all this week. We are huge fans of giving handmade gifts and are really excited about sharing some of our best gift projects for this holiday season! Come back here all week-long to see what goodies we have in store.
But over here on Wholefully, I'm doing what I do best-food, of course! A hearty, delicious, healthy soup-in-a-jar to be more specific.
These soup-in-a-jar kits not only look absolutely beautiful (pretty beans!) but they are also super healthy, vegetarian and totally delicious. With a little bit of pretty fabric on top, a nice ribbon and a label (which you can download for free at the end of this post)-they package up to be an absolutely adorable holiday gift that I'm sure a lot of folks on your list would be super happy to receive.
There are a lot of things I love about soup mixes like these, but I think my favorite is how quickly they come together and how economical they are. For the cost of five bags of beans and some spices (which you probably already have on hand) you get four jars that I think are really touching, personal gifts.
And being a fan of the healthy lifestyle, this whole food, fiber-packed, vegetarian gift is a nice change of pace from the buckets of candies and chocolates we all get at the holidays.
The key to making these kits more than just beans layered in the jar is an all-in-one spice packet layered at the tippy-top of the jar. Filled with great flavors, the spice packet is added to the soup as it simmers away on the stove, imparting delicious, robust flavor to every single little bean friend in that jar. All you need to make the soup is the jar of mix, a can of diced tomatoes, and some water.
Want to save this recipe?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
The simplicity of the ingredients means that this guy stores well and is a great option for people who are interested in preserving food. Even if you don't make these as gifts, they are awesome lined up on a pantry shelf. If we happen to get one of the diabolical ice storms that Southern Indiana is known for and power goes out for a week, you better bet I'll be whipping up a batch of this soup on the gas stove.
Below are my instructions for the base mix for the soup, but feel free to mix it up and play with it however you'd like-it's totally customizable! Change out the beans, add in new spices or even toss in some other dehydrated veggies (zucchini and peppers would be yum). Have fun!
📖 Recipe
Vegetarian Five Bean Soup Mix
Equipment
- 4 clear quart Mason jars plus lids and rings
- Parchment paper
- Tape or stickers
- Fabric and ribbon to cover top
Ingredients
- 1 pound pinto beans
- 1 pound split green peas or green lentils
- 1 pound great northern beans
- 1 pound black beans
- 1 pound kidney beans
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 2 tablespoons dehydrated onions found in the spice aisle
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 8 bay leaves
- 4 vegetable bouillon cubes
Instructions
- In each of the four Mason jars, layer ⅔ cup of pinto beans—shaking the jar gently to level the beans. Then repeat with ⅔ cup of green peas and so on, ending with the kidney beans. Set jars aside.
- In a small bowl, combine all remaining spices except bay leaves and bouillon cubes.
- On a 10" x 10" piece of parchment paper, spoon 3 tablespoons of the spice mixture in the middle. Place two bay leaves and one bouillon cube on top. Fold parchment around spices to make a small spice packet. Seal with tape or stickers. Repeat three more times to create four total packets. Squish the packets into the top space of each of the four bean jars. You can also package the spices into plastic zip-top baggies if you prefer.
- Place lids on jars, cover in fabric and ribbon and label as desired.
Nutrition
To print them, just pick up some full-sheet sticker paper from any office supply store, print and then cut out with a pair of sharp scissors. Tip for cutting round edges with scissors: keep the scissors steady, but move the paper.
What's your favorite food gift to give during the holidays?
I have 2 suggestions:
1. If you know the day before that you plan to make this soup the next day, you could let the beans soak overnight instead of the quick-soak in hot water the day of. This will yield a softer bean consistency.
2. Instead of using a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, you could include in the spice packet dehydrated and powdered tomatoes, turning this recipe into one that needs only water added. A 14-ounce (396 grams) can of diced tomatoes will yield approximately 1 ounce (28-30 grams) of dehydrated and powdered tomatoes.
Regarding Tip #2, if you are adept at dehydrating food, it is very easy to dehydrate and then powder tomatoes (although time consuming), and you can make large batches of them this way to store and then distribute throughout many different recipes as needed.
Just a quick question about the soup mixes. You don't say quantity of soup when finished. Is it two servings or four?
Hi Ellen! This five bean soup mix makes about 4-6 servings per jar!
I’m interested in giving this soup mix as a gift. But I don’t see direction for how much water to add or how much tomatoes!
Hi Cindy! The directions for making the soup are on the downloadable gift labels. If you're not planning to use the labels, here are the instructions for you:
"Remove spice packet from the jar and set aside. Rinse beans and place in a large stock pot. Cover by 1” of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for one minute. Remove from heat, cover and let soak for one hour. Drain and rinse beans. Return beans to the pot, add in spice packet, 1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until beans are very tender and soup is thick. Serve with a big hunk of crusty bread."
We hope your giftees love them! Be sure to check out our Six Homemade Soup Mixes in a Jar and Spicy Black Bean Soup in a Jar for more great gifting ideas! =)
Thank you for generously sharing this easy to make, beautiful, and delicious homemade gift idea. I saved a couple mixes for myself too. Yum!
Thank you so much for this great idea and the cute labels
I'm a little confused about the measurements. The ingredients list says 1 pound of each bean makes 4 jars. That amounts to 1/4 cup (4oz). But in your instructions, you say 2/3 cup for each. That would be about 21 oz rather than 16. Not trying to be nitpicky but planning a large group project and need to get the right amounts. Thank you!
Love this! I'm going to make these as a teacher gift. Can you let me know what size mason jars you used? thanks!
Quart jars!
How would you make this in instant pot?
I haven't done it in my IP yet, but this should work: empty the entire jar contents into the IP, add in one 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, and 6 cups of water. Cook on manual high pressure for about 30 minutes, with a natural release afterward.
Depending on the age of your beans, you might need to add 5-10 minute of cooking time (older beans take a lot longer to cook). Let me know if you try it!
What size are the fabric pieces? Any idea on where to get some pre-made ones?
For regular mouth jars, I'd say at least 3 1/2" square, maybe more depending on how much overhang you want. For wide mouth, at least 4 1/2".