6 Homemade Soup Mixes in a Jar

Updated: November 20, 2024 / By: Cassie Johnston / This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy

Soup Mixes in a Jar

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featured review

Five yellow stars in a row

"I made a couple of these recipes for Christmas gifts, and they were a hit!"

- ELIZABETH -

I think these dry soup mixes are the perfect handmade gift for you to give to your loved ones-and the thousands of you who have made them over the years agree!

They are affordable to make (just a few bucks a pop), they are delicious, they are thoughtful, and my favorite part-they are consumable. You give the gift, the giftee uses it and appreciates it, and then it's gone-no tchotchke sitting around waiting to be donated to the thrift store in a few months.

In this post:

Why You'll Love THESE RecipeS

Cassie Johnston (a light skinned brunette woman with glasses and a red streak in her hair) smiles toward the camera with a wall of photo frames behind her

Thoughtful, beautiful gifts for just a few bucks a pop? These soup mix jars are a gift-giving win!

Gifts in jars are kinda my thing (I mean, I did write the book on it), and these soup recipes are maybe my most favorite gift in a jar of all. Tasty, thoughtful, and so pretty-these are the perfect handmade gift for anyone on your list.

Here's why you'll love these recipes:

  • Quick and easy to make. It'll take you less than five minutes to make each jar. You'll have your whole list done in no time! And so easy kids can do it.
  • So affordable. We're talking just a couple bucks per jar. Even less if you have the jars already!
  • Tags included. We saved you the step of making your own tags. Each soup comes with free tags to download and print.
  • Delicious results. Don't worry, I personally kitchen-tested each recipe made exactly as listed in the directions on the tag-each soup is super tasty!

SOUP MIX JAR FLAVORS

Italian Barley Soup Mix

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This barley soup is tomato-based (you add a can of diced tomatoes when cooking), vegetarian, and packed full of garlic and Italian herbs. To make Italian Barley Soup Mix in a Jar, layer these ingredients in the order listed in a wide-mouth pint canning jar:

  • 1 cup pearled barley
  • ½ cup sundried tomatoes (dehydrated, not packed in oil)
  • 1 tablespoon dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
  • 1 veggie bouillon cube

Instructions for cooking the Italian Barley Soup from mix: Remove wrapper from bouillon cube and add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus four cups of water and one 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the barley is tender, about 20 minutes. Serve topped with grated Parmesan. Season to taste.

Split Pea Soup Mix

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This beautiful green soup mix is so festive and green! I like to stir in a cup of chopped ham when it's finished cooking to make it really hearty. To make Split Pea Soup Mix in a Jar, layer these ingredients in the order listed in a wide-mouth pint canning jar:

  • 2 cups (scant) split green peas
  • ½ teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 tablespoon dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube

Instructions for cooking the Split Pea Soup from mix: Remove wrapper from bouillon cube and add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus four cups of water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the peas are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in one cup of chopped ham before serving. Season to taste.

Coconut Curry Soup Mix

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This lentil soup is bright orange, packed full of robust flavor, and super delicious served with a stack of warm naan bread! To make Coconut Curry Soup Mix in a Jar, layer these ingredients in the order listed in a wide-mouth pint canning jar:

  • ⅔ cup orange lentils
  • ⅔ cup green lentils
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 2 veggie bouillon cubes
  • 1 small dried chile pepper

Instructions for cooking the Coconut Curry Soup from mix: Remove wrapper from bouillon cubes and add them, plus all remaining ingredients, plus four cups of water and one 14-ounce can of full fat coconut milk to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard the chile pepper before serving. Season to taste.

Five Bean Soup Mix

It doesn't get much more beautiful than this layered bean soup mix. This baby is vegetarian, but is still packed with flavor. To make Five Bean Soup Mix in a Jar, layer these ingredients in the order listed in a wide-mouth pint canning jar:

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  • ⅓ cup pinto Beans
  • ⅓ cup green split peas
  • ⅓ cup black beans
  • ⅓ cup great northern beans
  • ⅓ cup kidney beans
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoons dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 small dried chile pepper (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 veggie bouillon cubes

Instructions for cooking the Five Bean Soup from mix: Remove wrapper from bouillon cube and add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus five cups of water and one 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the beans are tender and the soup is thick, about 90 minutes, adding more water as necessary to soften the beans. Remove and discard chile pepper and bay leaf before serving. Season to taste.

Chicken Noodle Soup Mix

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This soup makes a great holiday gift, and it's great to keep on hand to give when someone you love comes down with a cold. To make Chicken Noodle Soup Mix in a Jar, layer these ingredients in the order listed in a wide-mouth pint canning jar:

  • 1 tablespoon dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon dried sage
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • 2 cups (scant) wide egg noodles

Instructions for cooking the Chicken Noodle Soup from mix: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté one diced carrot and one diced stalk of celery until just tender, about 5 minutes. Unwrap the bouillon cube from the soup mix, and then add it, plus all remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Add in 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the noodles are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 cups chopped cooked chicken before serving. Season to taste.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

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This is such an awesome, hearty soup that's packed with Southwestern flavors. I love it topped with sour cream and avocado. To make Spicy Black Bean Soup Mix in a Jar, layer these ingredients in the order listed in a wide-mouth pint canning jar:

  • 1 ½ cup black beans
  • 1 tablespoon dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 veggie bouillon cube
  • 1 small dried chile pepper

Instructions for cooking the Spicy Black Bean Soup from mix:  Remove wrapper from bouillon cube, add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus six cups of water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the beans are tender and the soup is thick, about 90 minutes, adding more water as necessary to soften the beans Remove and discard the chile pepper and bay leaves before serving. Season to taste.

SOUP MIXES protips

  • Use our free printable tags to save yourself time.
  • Pretty ribbon and fabric can go a long way to make a gift in a jar feel really special. More ideas for how to wrap jars can be found in my Gifts in Jars cookbook!
  • These jars last for months (at least!) in the pantry, so make a couple for yourself or for friends to keep on hand for easy dinners.

featured review

Five yellow stars in a row

"I made these as gifts last year without even trying them for flavor. But when I was over at the house of one of the gift recipients, I found one last soup mix in their pantry. We made it and it was delicious! I am sitting down now to make more as gifts for this Christmas." 

- CHRISTINE -

WATCH Me MAKE All these SOUP MIXes IN A JAR

📥 Download the Free Labels

I've made you some free labels for all the soup mix jars that you can print off at home. Just fill out the form below to get them delivered right to your inbox.

📖 Recipe

Homemade Soup Mixes in a Jar

These homemade canning jar soup mixes are the perfect frugal holiday gift! Learn how to make six different flavors.
4.44 from 731 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Homemade Food Gifts
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 1 pint jar
Author: Cassie Johnston

Ingredients

For Italian Barley Soup Mix

  • 1 cup pearled barley
  • ½ cup sundried tomatoes dehydrated, not packed in oil
  • 1 tablespoon dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
  • 1 veggie bouillon cube

For Split Pea Soup Mix

  • 2 cups split green peas
  • ½ teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 tablespoons dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube

For Coconut Curry Soup Mix

  • ⅔ cup orange lentils
  • ⅔ cup green lentils
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoons dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 2 veggie bouillon cubes
  • 1 small dried chile pepper

For Five Bean Soup Mix

  • ⅓ cup pinto Beans
  • ⅓ cup green peas
  • ⅓ cup black beans
  • ⅓ cup great northern beans
  • ⅓ cup kidney beans
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoons dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 small dried chile pepper optional
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1 veggie bouillon cubes

For Chicken Noodle Soup Mix

  • 1 tablespoons dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon dried sage
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • 2 cups wide egg noodles

For Spicy Black Bean Soup Mix

  • 1 ½ cup black beans
  • 1 tablespoon dried chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoon dried garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 veggie bouillon cube
  • 1 small dried chile pepper

Instructions

To make all jars:

  • Layer all ingredients in a clean glass jar (pint size) in the order listed. Close lid, add tag, and gift.

To make soup (general instructions, see flavor-specific instructions in notes section below):

  • Remove wrapper from bouillon cube, add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the soup is cooked. Remove and discard the chile pepper and bay leaves, if used, before serving. Season to taste.

Video

Youtube video

Notes

      • Make sure to download all the tags for easy gifting.
      • To Make Italian Barley Soup: Remove wrapper from bouillon cube and add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus four cups of water and one 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the barley is tender, about 20 minutes. Serve topped with grated Parmesan. Season to taste.
      • To Make Split Pea Soup: Remove wrapper from bouillon cube and add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus four cups of water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the peas are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in one cup of chopped ham before serving. Season to taste.
      • To Make Coconut Curry Soup: Remove wrapper from bouillon cubes and add them, plus all remaining ingredients, plus four cups of water and one 14-ounce can of full fat coconut milk to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard the chile pepper before serving. Season to taste. 
      • To Make Five Bean Soup: Remove wrapper from bouillon cube and add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus five cups of water and one 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the beans are tender and the soup is thick, about 90 minutes, adding more water as necessary to soften the beans. Remove and discard chile pepper and bay leaf before serving. Season to taste.
      • To Make Chicken Noodle Soup: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté one diced carrot and one diced stalk of celery until just tender, about 5 minutes. Unwrap the bouillon cube from the soup mix, and then add it, plus all remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Add in 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the noodles are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 cups chopped cooked chicken before serving. Season to taste.
      • To Make Spicy Black Bean Soup: Remove wrapper from bouillon cube, add it, plus all remaining ingredients, plus six cups of water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the beans are tender and the soup is thick, about 90 minutes, adding more water as necessary to soften the beans Remove and discard the chile pepper and bay leaves before serving. Season to taste. 
 
 
 
 
 
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Frequently Asked Questions about SOUP MIXES

Each recipe is slightly different, but on average they make about 4 servings of soup per jar.

Sure can! Just double all the ingredients to make a quart-sized jar, which will equal about 8 servings of soup.

Chicken bouillon cubes will work just fine in place of the veggie bullion.

We keep them wrapped because it helps seal in the flavor for longer storage, but you can also unwrap them-dealer's choice!

Sure can! Just use the equivalent amount to one cube in powdered bouillon (typically it's one teaspoon = one cube).

Nope! We use a long boil method in the soup instructions so no need to soak the beans beforehand.

The age of the beans can dramatically affect the amount of water and the amount of cooking time beans need. Older beans = longer to cook (and you don't always know how old the beans in the store are). Best bet is to keep an eye on the soup, add more water if necessary, and taste test until the beans are softened.

Since all ingredients in the jars are shelf-stable, you should be able to get by with at least six months in pantry storage for each jar or up a year. For jars with beans, we recommend making them in the first few months so the beans cook quickly. Older beans take longer to cook.

Raw kidney beans have a toxin that can cause digestive upset in some folks. It is killed off after 10 minutes of boiling, which is included in the instructions for the soup. No pre-boiling needed!

We have not tested these recipes in the Instant Pot or Crock-Pot, but some folks in the comments have. Check there for suggestions!

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I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!

Cassie Johnston

Cassie is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist (AFPA, 2017) and Certified Health Coach (AFPA, 2017), cookbook author, and all-around food lover. She grew up cooking dinner with her parents every evening, and her passion for home cooking has been strong ever since. Cassie is the author of two published cookbooks—Cooking with Greek Yogurt (W.W. Norton, 2013) and Chia, Quinoa, Kale, Oh My! (W.W. Norton, 2014) and dozens of recipes published in major magazines and newspapers. Cassie has been sharing her award-winning recipes on Wholefully since 2010. She loves dark chocolate, homegrown tomatoes, motorsports, and anything that sparkles. She lives in Indiana with her family on a small homestead.

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4.44 from 731 votes (725 ratings without comment)

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314 Comments

  1. Toss in some bowl cozies, nice crackers, and a few other treats and I think I just found what is going in this year's Christmas gift baskets! Thank you!

    Reply

    2. I love the granulated soup base myself and use it regularly! I did a little calculations on the bouillon cube questions.
      Wylers are 56 grams for 15 cubes, that equals 3.73g per cube where the Edward & Son's Vegan are weighing in at 10.5g per cube. This is a massive difference in more than double. Check your amounts and adjust accordingly. I hope this helped. 🙂 p.s. I LOVE LOVE your recipes!!

      Reply

  3. I was wondering what kind/size boullion cubes you put in the jars, they look larger than the ones I see in the store.

    Reply

  4. Thank you for all your tips I'm really excited to make the jarred salad. The soup in a jar are going to be a great gift to give for the holidays later this year. Thanks!

    Reply

  5. This is such a nice alternative to those cookies in a jar gifts, great for friends who don't have a sweet tooth or have just moved and might need some sustenance

    - Natalie
    www.workovereasy.com

    Reply

      1. Yes, it gets added when you go to cook the soup later! “To Make Coconut Curry Soup: Remove wrapper from bouillon cubes and add them, plus all remaining ingredients, plus four cups of water and one 14-ounce can of full fat coconut milk to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard the chile pepper before serving. Season to taste.” — hope that helps!

        Reply

  7. Ok...I'm loving these for gifts at school. One concern...what about the fact that natural dried beans are dirty. They are supposed to be washed before cooking. How do you wash the beans when they are mixed with the spices? The jars look so nice with everything piled up and mixed, but I can't see how my friends are going to rinse the dirty beans before they begin to cook.

    Reply

    1. I pretty much never wash my beans before cooking—a little dirt never hurt! You'll be boiling the soups to a high enough level to remove any bad germs, and because beans are grown in a pod, they don't get very dirty/dusty/soil-y. But if it bugs you, just put the spices and boullion into a separate baggy and recommend to your giftees that they rinse the beans first.

      Reply

  8. Loooove this gift idea! I am making for co-workers this year.
    one question. The recipe for the Italian Barley calls for sundried tomatoes. I can only find them packed in oil. Do I just dry off and put in jar?
    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. I hope it is ok to do this... but I don't think adding sundried tomatoes in oil will work>>>
      but here is a link on Amazon
      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071W98762?th=1

      Reply

  10. My bullion cubes seem much smaller than yours in the video. Per directions on the bottle it says one Cube will make 8 ounces as broth. Do I need to add more than one Cube if we're adding 4 cups of liquid?

    Reply

  12. What fabulous ideas - both the gift registry and the soups. I love what they represent and I'll bet the soups are instant love in a jar.

    Reply

  13. I love it all! the soup mixes are brilliant and great for gitfing and the idea to give back and take the "commercial" out of Christmas.

    Reply

  14. I love *everything* about this post. So many fun, creative soups - and what better to give for the holidays! Thoughtful, useful, homemade gifts are so wonderful.

    Reply

  16. I'm not sure if I'm blind or it's missing, but I'm not seeing the pepper in the Five Bean soup. The instructions (step 2) says " Remove and discard the chile pepper and bay leaves before serving" but I don't see the pepper in the ingredients. Will any pepper work? Specific one you'd prefer?

    Also, are these a one-serving soup?

    Reply

    1. Sorry! That was a carry over from the Spicy Five Bean Soup. No chile pepper in that one!

      And each jar makes about 4 lunch-size servings when all said and done. 🙂

      Reply

      1. Thank you for clarifying about the chili pepper in the 5 bean soup. I was just getting ready to print the labels, and saw that. You havent by chance, posted a revised tag for the recipe, yet, have you? And if not, is there a way that I can make the correction myself? Thank you!! :0),

        Reply

  18. So I'm having trouble find boullion at my local store in cubes that isn't full of tons of chemicals and fillers, any ideas for where to find these or brands to look for??

    Reply

  19. Perfect timing! I was looking for a little something else to send to some relatives out of town and I think this will work perfectly!

    One question - on the spicy black bean soup, should the amount of black beans be higher? The recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but the amount of water in the recipe and the photo make me think it might need to be more?

    Thanks for the great ideas!

    Reply

    1. They make about four lunch-size servings. For a bigger batch, just double the recipes and use a quart-size jar. 🙂

      Reply