6 Homemade Soup Mixes in a Jar
featured review
"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.
Why You'll Love THESE RecipeS
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
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:
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
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:
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
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:
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:
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
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:
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
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:
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.
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SOUP MIXES protips
featured review
"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
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
Notes
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- 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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Thank you for these recipes!
I’m going to try dehydrating the ingredients first for longer shelf life. These would be great for camping as well.
Hi CM! These recipes were specifically developed to use dried and dehydrated ingredients to maximize the shelf life—so there's no need to dehydrate anything further! We're glad you're excited about trying them out. Please let us know how you like them!
These are great.
I do wish you'd added on the page nutrition information.
I've given to several older neighbors, who have various nutritional needs. Some need more salt, some less. Fiber content, protein, etc.
I'm having trouble finding vegetable bouillon cubes where I live. Is it okay to just substitute them with chicken bouillon cubes?
Thanks!
Hi Jacqueline! Yes—you can use chicken bouillon if you prefer or if that's all you have!
Which ones are gluten free?
Hi Bec! Assuming you find and use gluten-free bouillon cubes, the Split Pea Soup Mix, Coconut Curry Soup Mix, Five Bean Soup Mix, and Spicy Black Bean Soup Mix would all be gluten-free. Just be sure to double-check your bouillon cubes!
What am I doing wrong? I am making the split pea soup in a jar and the recipe calls for 2 cups of peas. The 2 cups overflow the pint jar by itself?
Oh no! I'm not sure, Aimee. The only things I can thing of are to double-check that you're using split peas and a wide-mouth pint jar. Everything should fit in there!
Could you place the bouillon cube unwrapped in the jar, so that the contents could just be dumped into a pot?
Hi Monika! We don't recommend unwrapping the cubes because they won't stay fresh for as long. Once unwrapped, they start to lose flavor. So even though it's another step for your giftees when making the soups, we still recommend it!
I'm interested in the lentil soup, but am wondering if its ok to not rinse the lentils before using? I've always rinsed my lentils first. Thanks.
Hi Shannon! We usually pick through the lentils before putting them into the jars to check for anything out of place, but we don't rinse them. If that bugs you, just put the spices and bouillon into a separate spice packet (either in a ziptop baggie or folded parchment paper) and recommend to your giftees that they rinse the lentils first!
Hi from The Netherlands! I love this idea. For how many people are these soups? four?
Hi Lotte! Each jar will make approximately 4 lunch-sized servings!
These are such lovely gift ideas. I'm wondering about the inclusion of kidney beans, as the instructions say to cook them alongside everything else; however they contain high levels of lectins that can be very toxic. They must be soaked, then the soaking water gets discarded. The soaking water absorbs much of the ingredient that upsets the gut.
Hi Chef Fifi! Kidney beans do contain a toxin that can cause intestinal discomfort for some folks. Boiling the beans rapidly for 10 minutes destroys the toxin. In small quantities such as these, the initial boil and long simmer is usually enough to keep the tummy troubles at bay! For folks who are sensitive to kidney beans in particular, a full ten-minute boil before lowering to a simmer will take care of it!
How much does each jar make? Servings wise? Is it just enough for 2, or like family size? Just wondering so that I can plan accordingly for gifts. If I double the recipes, will it fit in a quart size jar?
Thanks so much!! I can't wait to make these!
Hi Jamie! These each make 4 lunch-sized portions. If you double the recipes, they should fit in a quart jar! We hope your giftees love them!
How far in advance can I make these do you think?
Hi Jacqueline! You can make these waaaaaay in advance! Everything is meant to be shelf stable so these will keep for a long time. They’ll easily keep in the pantry for 6-8 months—possibly longer, but we’ve never had them hanging around for that long!
What kind of paper did you use for the tags? I have all my jars ready and just need to print the tags.
Hi Danielle! You can print these on whatever paper you have handy. If you'd like a sturdier tag, you can use card stock. But regular printer paper is fine, too!
Hi Cassie,
I put my jars together for the chicken and split pea soups. Just wondered about the amount of water in the recipe. On the original bag for the split pea soup, it states 6-8 cups of water for the 2 1/2 cups of peas. In your recipe, for two cups of peas, you're suggesting 4 cups of water. Is that enough water? I used quart size jars and doubled the recipe using 4 cups of peas. Just want to be sure my gift recipe has the correct amount of water.
Thank you!
Hi Teresa! It's possible that the amount of water on the bag is for cooking the peas like pasta—with lots of boiling water that you drain off. If you're concerned about the amount, you can always advise your giftees to add more water or broth as needed to get the exact consistency they like! You could also make a batch at home before gifting to see how it goes. But 4 cups is the amount we'd recommend!
These recipes look great and I'm purchasing the items to make several. I just have a question about the Veggie Boullion cubes. The wrapped cubes in your video look like they're 3 times the size of the ones I have locally, which are for 8 ounces of liquid each, or a teaspoon. Should I be adding 3 of these smaller cubes? I noticed most of the recipes call for 4 cups of liquid.
Hi Sandy! If your bouillon cubes are smaller than the normal 1/2″ size, then you could add more. 1 standard bouillon cube is equal to 1 teaspoon of bouillon powder, so you can use that as a rule-of-thumb when comparing your size of bouillon cubes. Cassie's 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!
Love this! How long will soups be shelf stable for? Making as gifts ansd want to let folks know. Apologies if this was addressed in the article text and I missed it.
Thanks.
Hi Becky! They’ll easily keep in the pantry for 6-8 months—possibly longer, but we’ve never had them hanging around for that long!
I looked for the tags on the chicken noodle soup but only found the ones for the barley soup. Are there tags for the chicken noodle soup? Thank you
Hi Deborah! You can find the tags for each specific soup at the end of each recipe in the post, and at the end of each set of directions in the Recipe Notes. You can either scroll to the Chicken Noodle Soup Mix in the post and click on the orange button that says Download the Tags, or you can go to the notes section of the recipe card and at the end of the note labeled "To Make Chicken Noodle Soup," you can click the link that says, Download the tags here. Hopefully that helps! Please let me know if you're still having trouble finding them!
Hi! Thank you so much for these cute recipes. I’ve never done anything like this before and I’ve never made soup. Can I use canned beans or should they be dry?
Thank you!
Hi Lindsay! You're very welcome! Thank you for your kind words. =) Since the jars are meant to be shelf-stable, you'll want to use dried beans in these. The cooking instructions are also formulated for dried beans, so your soups will turn out perfectly! Let us know how you (and your giftees) like them!
Thanks so much for providing these recipes and the tags! This will save me so much time and fail-based learning (;-) Have a blessed fall, and holiday season!
Your recipes are not clear how many servings each will make. Please advise
Hi Sandra! Each jar will make approximately 4 lunch-sized servings.
How many servings do these make? A point jar of ingredients doesn't seem like it would make much. Also do you keep them in the refrigerator until you use them? One commenter said she did but can you store in the pantry and what's the shelf life?
Hi Rebekah! Each jar will make 4 lunch-sized servings. They don't need to be kept in the refrigerator because everything is shelf stable. They'll easily keep in the pantry for 6-8 months—possibly longer, but we've never had them hanging around for that long!
I'm not much of a cook, so these soup mixes have been a dream. I keep multiple jars in my refrigerator to give out as needed. I've received so many fun photos and videos from friends and family who have LOVED and sincerely appreciated your soup mixes. Would you create a few more of these recipes, especially recipes that don't take more than 45 minutes to cook? I would also love some insight on how to add meat to the soups for my meat-loving friends.
Thanks so much, Katie! We're so glad they've been a hit! Please tell your meat-loving friends that the best way to add meat to these soups is to cook it separately and add it in when the soup is simmering, either in chunks or shredded, depending on their preference. I hope this helps!
FYI, there are now freeze dried meats available for this type of stuff. : )
Here's an example. https://www.thrivelife.com/freeze-dried-chopped-chicken.html Hope that helps!
FYI, there are now freeze dried meats available for this type of stuff. : )
Also, I was thinking that coconut milk can be bought powdered, so if you used that that would mean you can do the Coconut Curry Soup without the additional can. Hope that helps!