5 Recipes For Dried Soup Mixes: The Perfect Holiday Gift

Looking for a quick and easy last-minute handmade holiday gift? Dried soup mix in a mason jar to the rescue! Our editor and chef shares five recipes you can whip up from your pantry to gift in no time.

The dried soup mix in a jar trend is all over social media and has become a staple in the homes and pantries of busy families, homesteaders, preppers and soup lovers everywhere.

They also make the perfect last-minute gift idea.

All you need is a mason jar and an assortment of dry pantry goods, seasonings, grains or pasta and spices to make a stunning, unique and practical gift.

Here, we’re sharing five simple show-stopping dry soup mix recipes you can use for gifting, meal prep or to bulk up your emergency food pantry.

The Anatomy Of A Dried Soup Mix

Dried soup mixes are made up of shelf-stable ingredients, including beans or legumes, freeze-dried or dehydrated foods, bouillon cubes, salt and dried herbs and spices.

They can be as simple as an all-American Texas chili or as exotic as a South Asian curry with kaffir lime leaves, dried shrimp and jasmine rice.

Some soups include freeze-dried meat chunks, while others are more like soup bases into which proteins are added during cooking.

The ingredients are typically layered into a glass jar, like a mason jar, with or without a spice packet and the whole thing is labeled and stored in the pantry for future use, or gifted with an instruction card.

Although there are no rules for creating your own dry soup mixes, solid recipes can help ensure a tasty and reliable gift.

Staple Ingredients For Mason Jar Soups

With the right ingredients, you can create dozens of variations of homemade soup mixes from scratch.

This is also a great way to use up any dehydrated or freeze-dried vegetables, herbs and spices from your garden, such as dehydrated zucchini, onions or tomatoes.

Here are some staple ingredients for building mason jar soup recipes:

• Dried beans: Adzuki beans, black beans, kidney beans, canellini beans, pinto beans, great northern beans, whole soy beans, garbanzo beans, navy beans, etc
• Legumes: lentils (brown, red, yellow, green), split peas
• Grains: white or brown rice, quinoa, millet, barley
• Pasta: egg noodles, penne, macaroni, broken spaghetti, orzo, bowties and other bite-sized pastas
• Boullian cubes
• Salt (pink rock salt looks very pretty in gifts)
• Tomato powder
• Sundried tomatoes
• Dehydrated or freeze-dried veggies: like zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, okra, kale, corn, etc.
• Potato flakes
• Beef or chicken granules or freeze-dried beef or chicken
  • Note: You can also plan to or leave instructions to add fresh meat or poultry once the soup is made
• Croutons
• Onion flakes
• Garlic powder
• Curry powder
• Chili powder
• Turmeric
• Oregano
• Basil
• Dried lemon or lime citrus peel
• Coriander
• Dried cilantro
• Bouquet garni—dried thyme, parsley, peppercorns and bay leaves
• Powdered milk or cream
• Powdered coconut milk
• Shelf-stable bacon bits

Specialty Ingredients: These ingredients are less commonplace but add some culinary flair to more exotic mason jar soup mixes:

• Masa harina (a thickener for chilis or tortilla soup)
• Ramen noodles
• Rice noodles
• Dehydrated wild mushrooms like shiitakes, lion’s mane, morrells, etc.
• Whole egg powder
• Yogurt powder
• Dried shrimp
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Dried curry leaves
• Saffron
• Whole cardamom pods
• Kale chips
• Dried whole citrus, like lemons, limes and oranges
• Preserved lemons (gifted separately from the soup as an addition)
• Dried apricots
• Dried plantains
• Dried fish
• Dried or freeze-dried artichoke hearts
• Dashi
• Peanut butter powder
• Textured vegetable protein (for meatless soups and chilis with a “meaty” texture)
• Dried sea vegetables like dulse, arame and hijiki

Supplies Needed To Make Mason Jar Dry Soup Mix

Mason jar soup mixes don’t require any special equipment or tools. Here’s what you need:

• A quart-size or pint-size mason jar with a lid
  • For a homemade touch, add a fabric scrap to the lid and secure with a mason jar band
• A label
• A card with instructions if giving as a gift
  • I like to hole-punch a card, thread it onto some kitchen twine and tie it onto the lid
• A snack-size zipper bag for spices
  • You can incorporate the spices directly into the mix, but having them separate looks nice and follows the basic rules of cooking great soups and stews: to sautee the spices for 2-3 minutes before adding the water, stock or broth

That’s all, folks! Now, let’s get to the recipes.

1. Curried Red Lentil Soup With Coconut Milk

This soup is warmly spiced without being overly spicy, and is perfect for curry lovers, as well as vegetarians and vegans.

Makes 1 quart-size jar

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powdered coconut milk
• 3/4 cup red lentils
• 1/2 cup brown, green or yellow lentils
• 3 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder (optional)
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons dried tomato powder or tomato flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar (brown, white or coconut)

How To Make The Dried Soup Mix

1. Put the coconut milk powder in a small ziplock bag at the bottom of the mason jar.
2. Next, start layering the lentils by color until you almost reach the top, leaving enough room for a spice packet.
3. Mix all the dried minced onion, spices and tomato powder, sugar and optional salt in a small bowl, then store in another small zipper bag. 
4. Place the spice bag on top of the lentils.
5. Seal and include these instructions.

Instructions for Curried Red Lentil Soup Mix With Coconut Milk

1. Heat enough ghee, oil or butter to coat the bottom of a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the contents of the spice bag, sauté for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the lentils from the jar, reserving the coconut milk powder, along with 4-5 cups of water, broth or stock.
3. Bring to a boil, and simmer gently for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Stir in coconut milk powder until dissolved. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice to brighten the flavor, then re-season with extra salt or pepper to taste.
5. Serve as-is or over rice with cilantro, mint or chutney.

2. Chicken Ramen Soup Mix

Makes 1 quart-size jar

Chicken ramen never goes out of style, but typical premade mixes tend to be loaded with excess sodium and MSG.

This homemade ramen soup mix can be enjoyed as-is, or you can add in egg, chicken, beef or your favorite protein while it’s cooking.

It also makes a great camping meal on the campstove, just add water & allow it to sit, covered, for 5-10 minutes to soften the noodles.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup broken ramen noodles, thin rice noodles, angel hair pasta or any quick-cooking noodle that’s ready in 3-4 minutes)
• 1/2 cup freeze-dried chicken (optional)
  • Note: If you don’t have freeze-dried chicken, fresh chicken or canned chicken can be added during cooking
• 3 tablespoons freeze-dried scallions (green onions) or three tablespoons minced dried onion
• 1/4-1/2 cup freeze-dried or dehydrated corn, carrots and/or peas
• 1 organic chicken or beef bouillon cube
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1-2 tablespoons dried cilantro
• A pinch of black pepper or red pepper flakes for more spice
• A soy sauce packet
• Optional ingredients: dried shrimp

How To Make The Dried Soup Mix

1. Place the noodles in the bottom of a heat-proof jar (like a mason jar), followed by the freeze-dried chicken and vegetables and optional dried shrimp. You can layer if you like to create the desired effect.
2. Open the bouillon cube, and mix with the garlic powder, dried cilantro and pepper in a small bowl. Store in a small zipper bag.
3. Place the spice packet and soy sauce packet on top of the noodles, vegetables and optional chicken.
4. Seal and include the following instructions.

*Note: For convenience, you could also provide a can of chicken or shrimp with this recipe, if you don’t have freeze-dried chicken.

Instructions for Cooking Chicken Ramen Soup Mix Stovetop

1. Pour the entire contents of the soup mix, including the spice packet, into a medium pot.
2. Add 2-3 cups of water and bring to a boil.
3. Simmer for 5-8 minutes, or until noodles are tender.
4. Season with soy sauce to taste

Instructions for Cooking Chicken Ramen Soup Mix In The Jar

1. Remove the spice packet and empty into the jar with the noodles, vegetables and protein.
2. Pour 2-3 cups of boiling water directly onto the soup mix.
3. Cover and let sit at least 5 minutes, or until noodles are tender.
4. Season with soy sauce and enjoy (but don’t burn your fingers! That jar is hot!).

3. Tuscan Bread Dry Soup Mix “Ribollita”

Makes 1 quart-size jar

Italian bread soup is a peasant dish made with day-old bread, creating a hearty, filling soup.

This soup mix base uses croutons to achieve that effect, plus hearty, healthy beans, spices and veggies.

Note: This recipe is for a soup mix that requires adding fresh vegetables during cooking. If you prefer, you can add freeze-dried carrots and celery for an all-in-one soup mix.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried white beans (canellini, navy, great northern beans)
  • For a faster cooking soup, swap lentils for beans
• 1 cup freeze-dried kale or kale chips
• 1-2 cups croutons (adjust amount depending on how much fits in the jar as crouton sizes and shapes vary)
• 3 tablespoons tomato powder or tomato flakes
• 1/4 cup dried minced onion
• 3 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon dried fennel seeds (optional, some variations of Tuscan bread soup use fresh fennel, so this imparts a similar flavor)
• A pinch of red pepper flakes (or more if you like it spicy)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ -1 teaspoon black pepper

How To Make The Dried Soup Mix

1. Layer the white beans, freeze-dried kale or kale chips and croutons in the jar until almost full.
2. Make your spice mix by combining the tomato powder or flakes with the minced onion, garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
3. Store the spice mixture in a small zipper bag and place it on top of the layered ingredients.
4. Seal and attach a label with these cooking instructions.

How To Make Tuscan Bread Dry Soup “Ribollita”

You’ll need olive oil, 2 diced onions, 2 diced carrots, 2 diced ribs of celery and 4 cups of stock, broth or water for the recipe, in addition to the soup mix.

If you like fresh garlic, consider adding it too, although the mix already contains garlic powder.

Optional garnishes are fresh parsley, olive oil, raw onion and Parmesan cheese.

1. In a large soup pot, saute 2 onions with olive oil until translucent.
2. Add the carrots and celery, and sautee another 5 minutes.
3. Add optional fresh garlic along with the contents of the spice packet and sauté for another 3 minutes.
4. Add the white beans, croutons and kale from the jar along with 4 cups of water, stock or broth.
5. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 1 ½ hours or until beans are tender.
6. Re-season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste, top with optional garnish, and enjoy!

4. Homey Instant Baked Potato Soup Mix

This soup tastes like a loaded baked potato in a soup, the ultimate comfort food.

Here’s how to make it.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup potato flakes

1 1/2 cups dry milk or cream

2 tablespoons freeze-dried butter (optional; they can otherwise add butter when the soup is cooked)

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 tablespoon dried minced onion or freeze-dried scallions

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 tsp turmeric

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast/Brewer’s yeast OR 3 tablespoons shelf-stable parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons shelf-stable bacon bits (optional)

How To Make This Soup Mix (this one’s really easy)

1. Combine all ingredients, except the bacon bits, in a bowl.
2. Pack into a wide-mouth mason jar
3. Add the bacon bits to a zipper bag or give them the whole bottle.
4. Seal, label and include these instructions.

How To Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup

For individual servings, add 1/2 cup of soup mix to a bowl and pour 1 cup of boiling water over it.

Stir, top with bacon bits, extra cheese, sour cream (and whatever else you desire) and enjoy!

For a whole pot, place the entire jar of soup mix in a large pot and add 5-6 cups of boiling water. Adjust the amount of water to achieve the desired consistency. Serve hot.

5. Turkey Noodle Soup Mix

This is a lovely host or hostess gift to bring to Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner (or any dinner with turkey).

It’s also super simple and economical.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of your favorite noodles
• 2 chicken or turkey bouillon cubes (optional, if you know they’re going to make turkey stock or have boxed stock on-hand, leave these out and add 1 teaspoon of salt instead)
• 1/4 cup dried minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 a teaspoon of ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (for color)
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon sage or poultry seasoning
• 1-2 bay leaves

How To Make The Dried Soup Mix

1. Combine everything in a jar, label it and include these instructions.

How To Make Turkey Noodle Soup

You can make this soup with just leftover turkey and the soup mix, or add fresh onions, carrots and celery.

1. If adding fresh veggies, sautee 1-2 diced onions, 1-2 diced carrots and 1 diced rib of celery until translucent.
2. Add 4 cups chopped turkey (and whatever leftovers you want) and the contents of the jarred soup mix.
3. Pour on 8 cups of water or stock and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer until noodles and veggies are tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Final Thoughts On Mason Jar Soup Mixes

My family and I made mason jar soup mixes for the first time last year as holiday gifts, and everyone was floored by how good they were.

They also commented on how nice it was to receive something that wasn’t a cookie, fudge or chocolate, and that they could quickly whip up for lunch or dinner during the holiday crunch with minimal fuss.

These make great gifts for friends, neighbors, grandparents, work colleagues, teachers, students, bachelors and bachelorettes and  homesteading friends, and are so easy to make that even young kiddos can do it.

Ours were such a hit that I’ve taken to making them regularly as part of our meal prep, and they sure come in handy on busy weeknights.

Try your hand at some of these recipes this holiday season, and beyond, and happy gifting!!