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Maggie Ellery
Gifts in a Jar

Layered Bean Soup in a Jar: The Gift That Turns Into Dinner

Six beans and peas in colored stripes, a seasoning bag on top, and a tag that tells them what to add. Eight bowls of soup from one quart jar.

By Maggie Ellery · Jump to recipe
A quart jar of layered beans and lentils beside small bowls of beans and a bowl of soup

Cocoa and cookie jars are lovely, but they’re treats. A jar of layered bean soup is supper. It’s the gift I give to the neighbor who just had a baby, the friend who’s moving, and anyone who says they “don’t really cook.” Six kinds of beans and peas, a small bag of seasoning on top, and a tag with the directions: that’s eight bowls of soup in a jar that looks good on a shelf.

Why this jar works as a gift

  • It keeps a long time. Dried beans, split peas and lentils are some of the longest keepers in the pantry. The jar keeps its best quality for about 12 months, so it’s fine if it waits in a cupboard until a cold evening.
  • The person you give it to needs almost nothing. Water, two cans of tomatoes and a pot. Liquid smoke is optional.
  • It travels well. There’s nothing to melt, crumble or go stale on the way.

How to layer it neatly

The stripes are what make people pick the jar up. A few habits keep them clean:

  1. Use a bone-dry jar. Wash and dry the jar and lid completely. Any moisture shortens the shelf life of the whole jar.
  2. Pour through a funnel. A wide canning funnel keeps the beans from scattering against the glass.
  3. Alternate light and dark. Red kidney beans, yellow split peas, black beans, red lentils, small red beans, then green split peas on top. The contrast is what reads from across the room.
  4. Press each layer flat. Level it with the back of a spoon before adding the next one, so the stripes don’t tilt in the car.
  5. Seasoning bag last. Fold the small bag of seasoning and set it on top of the green split peas. It keeps the salt, sugar and bouillon separate until the beans have soaked.

The split peas and red lentils cook faster than the beans. That’s on purpose: they soften into the broth and make the soup thick without any flour or cream.

What to write on the tag

The tag is the recipe for someone who doesn’t have the book. Keep it short:

“Remove the seasoning bag. Rinse the beans, cover with 4 cups boiling water and soak overnight. Drain, add 6 cups water and simmer 1–1½ hours. Add two 14.5 oz cans of tomatoes and the seasoning bag; simmer 30 minutes more. Serves 8.”

Add the date you filled the jar and a “Contains” line. This one has chicken bouillon, so mention it for vegetarian friends.

A note on salt

Most of the sodium comes from the bouillon and the 1½ teaspoons of salt in the seasoning bag: about 600 mg per bowl, which is why the book marks this soup high-sodium. To bring it down, use low-sodium bouillon and halve the salt; the tomatoes and brown sugar carry plenty of flavor. If you cook gluten-free, check the bouillon label, since some brands contain wheat.

Easy changes

  • Vegetarian: use vegetable bouillon in the seasoning bag instead of chicken.
  • Smokier: tell them to use fire-roasted canned tomatoes.
  • More heat: add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the seasoning bag.
  • Southwestern: top the bowls with crushed tortilla chips.

Make it a gift set

In my free gift-tag printable, this jar is half of the “Soup Supper” set: a pot of soup and the bread to go with it, paired with an Irish soda bread mix. Tie the two jars together with twine and a wooden spoon, and you’ve given someone a whole dinner.

My free printables include ready-to-cut gift tags with these directions already written, and The Dry Mix Pantry Cookbook has 25 soups and meals in a jar, including nine more bean jars, from nine-bean soup to three-bean chili.

Recipe

Layered Bean Soup Mix

Makes 1 quart jar (8 servings)Jar: quartKeeps 12 monthsDairy-free

In the jar

  • ½ cup dried red kidney beans
  • ½ cup yellow split peas
  • ½ cup dried black beans
  • ½ cup red lentils
  • ½ cup dried small red beans
  • ½ cup green split peas
  • 4 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp dried bell pepper flakes
  • 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
  • 2 tsp dried minced onion
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp celery seed

Add on cooking day

  • 10 cups water (4 to soak, 6 to cook)
  • 2 cans (14.5 oz each) tomatoes
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Make the mix

  1. 1Layer the six beans and peas in a quart jar in stripes of color.
  2. 2Mix the brown sugar, pepper flakes, bouillon, onion, salt, parsley, pepper, garlic and celery seed in a small bag and set it on top.

To use

  • Set the seasoning bag aside. Rinse the beans, pour over 4 cups boiling water, cover and soak overnight.
  • Drain, add 6 cups water and simmer 1–1½ hours until almost tender.
  • Add two 14.5 oz cans tomatoes, the seasoning bag and 1 tsp liquid smoke if you like; simmer 30 minutes more.

From The Dry Mix Pantry Cookbook by Maggie Ellery

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