These easy mason jar soups will be your new favorite lunch! They take minutes to prep, then all you need to do is add hot water before serving. They're super yummy too!
Stuck in a lunch rut? I've been there! In fact, I've been there many, many times. Today I'd like to introduce you to the super easy hack that got me out of my latest one: mason jar soups!
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Here's how this works: you fill a mason jar with rice noodles, frozen veggies, a few fresh veggies, and a handful of seasonings. Close up the jar and take it to work with you (or wherever it is you eat lunch). Then, a little bit before lunch time, fill the jar with hot water. Wait a bit and you'll have a DELICOIUS soup that tastes like something you just spent a bunch of time cooking in your kitchen at home.
This soup will exceed all your expectations!
Why This Recipe Works
For this recipe we'll only be filling our soup jars with ingredients that can be heated and/or rehydrated with hot water. There's no actual cooking required. But don't worry, the ingredients we're using are delicious! These simple soups are on par flavor-wise with my vegan ramen, but they're way simpler to prepare.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegetable bouillon. You can use pretty much any brand or flavor of bouillon you like here. You can even use bouillon paste instead of cubes! Just make sure you're adding enough for mixing with eight ounces of water to each jar, which may mean cutting them if you're using larger cubes.
- Soy sauce. I recommend sticking with a reduced sodium soy sauce to prevent the recipe from begin overly salty. You can substitute low sodium gluten-free tamari if needed.
- Toasted sesame oil. This is available in the international aisle of most grocery stores.
- Shredded carrot. We're shredding our carrot so that the hot water can easily soften it up.
- Rice vermicelli. Check the label on these noodles before you buy. You want to use a variety that's prepared by soaking in hot water, and not boiling.
- Frozen shelled edamame.
- Frozen corn.
- Fresh spinach. Just like with our carrots, we'll be shredding this.
- Fresh chives. Scallions would make a nice alternative.
- Toasted sesame seeds.
Equipment You'll Need
All you need to make this recipe is a spoon and some sixteen ounce mason jars with lids. If you don't have the jars, get creative. Any type of heatproof food container with a lid will work. Sixteen ounce thermoses or coffee cups would be great choices!
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
To prep your soup jars, simply divide the ingredients among your jars. Place the ingredients in layers in the order listed in the recipe. This part is important. You'll be putting the ingredients that need the most softening or rehydrating towards the bottom, where we'll be sure they get nice and soaked with hot water. Ingredients like sesame seeds where it doesn't matter so much, are at the top.
Close up your jars and store them in the fridge. They'll keep for about four days.
Tip: This recipe makes four jars, but it's easily scalable! Click the number of servings in the recipe and move the slider up or down to change it. You can even cut it down to make a single serving.
Ready to enjoy your mason jar soup? Great! First, warm up the jar by running it under water, starting with warm, then increasing the temperature to hot. This helps prevent it from cracking.
Now, carefully add your hot water. The water should be very hot. Boil it with a kettle, or use hot nozzle from a water dispenser.
Be careful when adding hot water. Even though we warmed up the jar, there's always a chance of the jar cracking. Set it down. Never add water while you're holding the jar in your hand.
After about ten or fifteen minutes your veggies should be hot and your noodles should be soft. Give the soup a nice stir before enjoying it. You can eat it right out of the jar, our pour it into a bowl.
Variations
- Swap out the corn and edamame with your favorite frozen veggies, like peas, broccoli, or cauliflower. Just about anything that's available in small bits will work!
- Add diced tofu. You'll need to make room by replacing one of the other ingredients with this. Plain tofu works, but flavored tofu is even better! You can find flavored tofu at the store, or make it yourself using a recipe like my smoked tofu or sesame ginger marinated tofu.
- Change the flavor by adding some spices. Try curry powder, garam masala, ground cumin, or Chinese five spice. Just use a tiny bit, starting with about a quarter teaspoon per jar. You can optionally skip the ginger and sesame oil if using these.
- Skip the noodles! Replace them with additional fresh or frozen veggies.
More Vegan Lunch Recipes
Check out my vegan lunch recipe round-up, or try one of these favorites:
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Mason Jar Noodle Soups (Easy Lunch Prep!)
Equipment
- 4 (16 ounce/473 ml) mason jars
Ingredients
- 4 vegetable bouillon cubes (Note 1)
- 4 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 ¼ teaspooons ground ginger
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 4 ounces rice noodle vermicelli (Note 2)
- 2 cups frozen shelled edamame
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup finely shredded fresh spinach
- 4 teaspoons fresh chives
- 4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
For Serving
- Very hot water (Note 3)
Instructions
- Place a bouillon cube into the bottom of each jar, then divide the soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger among the jars.
- Divide the remaining ingredients among the jars, adding them in layers in the order listed in the recipe: carrots, noodles, edamame, corn, spinach, chives, and sesame seeds.
- Close the jars and store them in the refrigerator until ready to use (Note 4).
- Just before serving, warm up the jar while it's still closed by running it under warm, then hot water, until the jar feels warm.
- Carefully pour the hot water into the jar (Note 5).
- Let the soup sit for ten to fifteen minutes, until the noodles are soft. Stir it up and optionally pour it into a bowl. Serve.
Notes
- Make sure the cubes you're using are sized for mixing with eight ounces of water. Some are larger and intended to make larger quantities of broth. You can use them, but you'll need to cut them into appropriate sizes.
- Check the package directions and make sure your noodles are prepared by soaking in hot/boiling water. Some varieties require boiling.
- Either boil your water just before adding it or use the hot setting from a water dispenser.
- Don't serve these right away. The vegetables need to thaw, otherwise they'll cool the water down too much and prevent the noodles from softening.
- Use caution here. You've warmed up the jar to minimize the chances of the jar cracking, but there's always a risk. Set the jar down on the counter, or better yet in the sink, before pouring. Do not hold the jar in your hand when you pour.
- Your soup jars will keep for about four days in the refrigerator.
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So delicious and inexpensive and easy to throw together. I actually leave out the noodles and add 1/4 brick of diced tofu to each jar for extra protein. I also prefer to steam the corn and edamame in the microwave before assembling so they are fully cooked. Other than that I make this exactly as written and it's a great quick way to eat lunch at work if all you have access to is hot water.
These look GREAT! Quick question - won't the frozen veggies thaw in the fridge since you are prepping it ahead of time? Are they supposed to thaw? Could you just use fresh veggies instead?
Thank you! And yes, they will thaw in the fridge, and they're meant to. If they're frozen when you add the hot water they'll cool it down too much, and the noodles won't soften. You can use fresh veggies. Just make sure they're chopped very finely or shredded, and use ones that will soften quickly in hot water, like leafy greens, unless you don't mind a little crunch in your soup! Enjoy!!
INGENIOUS!!!!! Have hospital stay coming up and cannot eat the truly awful food. Brought my own last time which was a bit unwieldy. These will be small enough to for the nurses' fridge, easy to label, and give me a healthy hot meal by adding hot water. And I already have all ingredients on hand. You get TEN stars for this one. Thanks?
Yay! I'm glad this will be helpful! Enjoy, and best of luck with your hospital stay!