Friendship Soup Mix (with Pretty Printable)
Here’s a quick and easy gift you can make for neighbors and friends. I try to keep a few pints of this Friendship Soup Mix made up and ready this time of year, just in case I need a last-minute gift… or a good plan for dinner.
My daughter Abby helped me put these jars together. Simply layer the following ingredients in a jar. Feel free to adjust portions of split peas and lentils as needed to make the layers fit nicely, and save the pasta to go on top, wrapped in a bit of cellophane to keep it separate.
Friendship Soup in a Jar Mix
- 1 cup lentils
- ½ cup dry split peas
- ½ cup barley
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ cup minced onion
- ½ cup beef granules
- ¼ cup white rice
- ½ cup tri-color pasta (separated in plastic wrap)
Once you pack the layers into your jars, print a sheet of these these pretty labels.
Next, cut the labels apart and fold them in half, punch a hole in the corner, and tie one to the neck of each jar of friendship soup mix before giving them away (or selling them at the next Christmas bazaar).
The labels provide easy directions for preparing the soup at home, with just a few staples to add on the day of cooking:
Add Following Ingredients when Ready to Cook:
- 1 lb ground beef
- black pepper & garlic powder to taste
- 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 1 small (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 3 quarts water
- 1 jar Friendship Soup mix (set pasta aside)
Directions for Preparing Soup
Remove pasta from top of jar and set aside. In a large pot over medium heat, brown the beef with pepper and garlic; drain excess fat. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and soup mix. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in pasta. Simmer another 15-20 minutes, covered, until pasta, peas, and lentils are tender.
I first received a jar of this mix from a friend. It makes a delicious soup (with or without the added ground beef). I hope you and your friends will enjoy it as much as we did!
Just checking, will this fill a 16oz mason jar?
Yes, a 16 oz mason jar should work perfectly. Just adjust the amount of pasta you add inside the cellophane wrap at the top to fill up any empty space. I had to skimp a little on one of our jars because the neck was extra narrow and wouldn’t hold the full amount of pasta.
Just fyi I had to cut down on all the ingredients to get it to fit in a 16oz mason jar. Hopefully it still comes out okay! I love this idea, but would recommend a 24 Oz jar for future reference. Thanks for sharing!
Sorry about that, Heather. We usually use whatever jars we have on hand and only ever skimp on the pasta. (I’m not a huge fan of pasta anyway, so less is more in my book). I’m sure your soup will still be scrumptious. That’s the beauty of cooking as opposed to baking. There’s so much more room for adjusting measures without totally ruining the finished product. Ha!
Also, is beef granules the same as beef bouillon? 1/2 cup seems like a lot!
A tablespoon of beef granules is equivalent to one beef bouillon cube. So you could substitute 6 cubes for the half-cup of granules. The cubes are more concentrated, so half a cup of those would be a lot!
Your directions say a small can (15 oz) of tomato sauce. Did you mean to say 8 oz as that is a small can? Or is it truly the large 15 oz can of sauce?
The soup would probably still taste fine with an 8oz can, but the recipe really does call for a 15oz can. I usually cook big batches of soup for our large family, so 15-oz seems small to me compared to the 28oz cans I often use. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. Ha!