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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"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 730 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 holistic nutritionist, 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 and Chia, Quinoa, Kale, Oh My!) 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.

Many links on this site are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from your qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

4.44 from 730 votes (725 ratings without comment)

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310 Comments

  1. Hello! I love your mixes! I was just looking for some ideas as i have stocked up on many legumes and cereals. Did you know this website is using them as their own? https://medium.com/@haultailapp/6-diy-homemade-soup-mixes-for-christmas-578ba85e921 Just telling you, i think it's right to tell you 🙂
    Wish you a wonderful day!
    Artkoea

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for letting us know, Artkoea! We'll reach out and get this issue resolved. We appreciate you taking the time to tell us about it.

      Reply

  4. So glad I found your site! I made these as gifts last year without even trying them for flavor. As a part-time cafe cook, I could see based on the ingredients that these would be tasty. 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! What is awesome is that they can be eaten as is for a quick meal or used as a base for those who want to add more veggies or animal product to the soups. I am sitting down now to make more as gifts for this Christmas.

    Reply

  5. Will these soup recipes work in a regular (not wide-mouth) pint canning jar? I have already purchased my jars, but am looking for a healthy GF soy-free soup mix for a family member with newly diagnosed allergies. I really don't want to go buy more jars, since I've already got the regular ones... or will the mixture not fit in a regular pint sized jar? Thank you for all the great recipes, they look wonderful! Merry Christmas!

    Reply

    1. Hi, Stacy! The fit will likely be a little tight in a regular mouth jar, but it should work! Please come back and let us know how it all goes. Happy gifting! =)

      Reply

      1. I was not able to find wide mouth (goodness, I can't really find any jars at this point in any store, and ordering online is massively expensive!), so I just used what I had (regular 16 oz pint jars). I cut the 5 bean soup down to 4 beans but still had a bit of room at the top, so I feel like it would have easily fit (we don't like split peas in our family, so I left those out). I didn't measure on the noodles for the chicken noodle, just left a wee bit of space at the top to place the wrapped (I hope you leave it wrapped?!) bouillon cube. Thanks for the reply, Danielle, and for the wonderful recipes! Merry Christmas!

        Reply

        1. Thanks so much for letting us know how it went with the regular mouth jars, Stacy! We really appreciate you taking the time to come back and tell us about it. We're so glad everything fit and that you're happy with the way they turned out! Hooray! (Oh and yes, you leave the bouillon cube wrapped!) Merry Christmas to you and yours, as well =)

          Reply

  6. I could only find LARGE chicken boullion cubes. Does anyone know if those will work? I'm used to the smaler 1/2 inch cubes. These are about 1" cubes.

    Reply

    1. Those should work just fine! If you check out the video you can see the size of the ones Cassie tucked into her jars. She also mentions in the comments to another reader that her cubes were larger than the standard cubes (making two cups of broth per cube instead of the typical one cup per cube) So for the Coconut Curry Soup Mix, you'll see her put one cube into the jar instead of the two listed in the recipe. Feel free to adjust if you think you need to based on your cube size—but more flavor won't hurt! Hope this helps!

      Reply

  7. How do I pack sundried tomatoes I tne Italian Barley Soup Mix? I haven't opened the package, but they look and feel quite moist.

    Reply

    1. You want to use sundried tomatoes that are completely dry for this! If yours aren't fully dry, we recommend finding ones that are. You can usually find them in the produce section of your grocery store. If you're having trouble finding them, you could always package your not-quite-sundried tomatoes separately or leave them out and let your giftee know to add them in when making the soup. Hope this helps!

      Reply

    1. In the cooking instructions for the chicken soup we recommend sauteing one diced carrot and one diced stalk of celery in a little oil until tender before adding the rest of the ingredients into the saucepan. This would be a great time to add in other veggies that might need a bit more time to cook. Leafy greens and other quick cooking veggies can be added towards the end of the cooking time. If you have dried veggies and want to use them in the jars, we don't see why that wouldn't work! You might need a bit more water and/or cooking time to fully rehydrate everything, though. But you could easily test that out and adjust the instructions on the gift tag, if needed. Hope this helps! Let us know how it works out for you!

      Reply

    1. I would think you could, but you may want to use a touch less garlic, since the powder will pack more tightly in a measuring spoon than the mince.

      Reply

  12. I also couldn't get the recipe to load. Disabling my ad blocker (I use UBlock Origin) fixed it. The chicken soup recipe was delicious! Thank you!

    Reply

  13. I LOVE these cute and delicious soups in a jar. I will definitely be making them for gifts. My question is how long will the contents in the jar keep? I would like to add a "Use By" date on the tag.

    Reply

    1. The beans will start to get hard to cook after about a year. So yes, feel free to add a "use by" date. 🙂

      Reply

  14. What happened to the recipes? I have the one with coconut one in a jar but I did not save the instructions anywhere!

    Reply

    1. They have all been combined into one recipe card at the bottom of the post, and are each listed under their photos. If you still can't see them, please let me know!

      Reply

        1. Hmm, let me try to figure that out, because it is showing on my end! Can you tell me what browser you are using, so I can troubleshoot? Thanks!

          Reply

  16. Hello. I am packaging these soup mixes for the first time. Instead of using bouillon cubes, can I use the bouillon that comes in a jar as a paste.? I need to make sure it won’t spoil doing this. These recipes look terrific and I thank you for sharing these with everyone. All, how long can I store these in jars? Thank you so much!

    Reply

  18. Just to let you know I made the chicken noodle soup ahead to see what it taste like before giving as gifts. It is really good. I did not add chicken because I was more concerned about the base. It truly doesn't even need chicken. The only change I would tell you to do is add 4 cups water not 3 and add 2 bouillon cubes. The noodles to suck up the water

    Reply

  19. Oh wow! Made a couple of jars of the curry coconut soup mix and had enough ingredients left over to make myself a a pot. Yummo! It’s absolutely delicious.

    Reply

    2. Hi hun,

      Thank you so much for this!
      Living in South Africa with covid-19 many people go hungry as they have no jobs and we still in lockdown.

      One question how many people can 1 jar feed?

      Reply