Friendship Bean Soup Mix Jar Gift: A Healthy Gift for Teachers

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Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift – There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift

friendship bean soup mix in a jar - Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift - There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift
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I don’t know about you, but nothing fills me more with anxiety than trying to figure out an awesome Christmas gift for my daughters’ teachers. How can I possibly give them a healthy gift that truly reflects how thankful I am for the wonderful care they give my girls that’s also affordable? With three daughters’ who each have two teachers (they’re in French Immersion so they all have both an English teacher and a French teacher) plus their 6 before and after-school care providers, 12 teacher gifts can quickly become expensive!

DON’T LOSE THIS DELICIOUS RECIPE, PIN IT FOR LATER!

Friendship Bean Soup in a Jar - a healthy gift for teachers via @fitcheerldr #jargift #masonjar #mealprep #teachergift

This is why this year I decided to make the teachers something special, affordable (and healthy)…

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How to make Friendship Bean Soup Mix in a Jar!

Friendship Soup Mix Jar - Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift - There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift

The girls and I had an absolute blast making these!  We started off by using canva.com to design the recipe cards – the girls really enjoyed learning basic graphic design and photo editing skills, and were very helpful in choosing the layout for the recipe cards.

Click HERE for the printable recipe card.

Friendship Soup Mix Recipe Card - Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift - There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift
Friendship Bean Soup Printable pdf - Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift - There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift

We then took a trip to the Bulk Barn to pick up all of the food ingredients. (That store is my new BFF!). Normally I hate cooking because I can never find the spices I need – but Bulk Barn has everything!  If you ask the staff nicely they’ll even lend you some measuring cups so that you can measure out the precise amount you need of each ingredient:

Photo of a scoop of green lentils

The price was right too. I was able to buy all the dry goods I needed to make 12 jars of the soup mix for $17.49.

Friendship Soup Ingredients - Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift - There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift

We then ordered the 1 pint Mason Jars ($7.99) from Amazon, and purchased bows ($2.10), ribbon ($2.10), small sandwich baggies ($3.49) and gift bags ($9.00).  

Grand total for all of our supplies = $45.38

DSC 0263 - Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift - There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift

I really like that this “craft” for lack of a better term because it was well within my daughters’ skill levels.  I tried making the layered jar for chocolate chip cookies two years ago and that was a complete disaster – we had flour everywhere! (And Sierra wouldn’t stop eating the chocolate chips)!!

Each of the girls took their jobs very seriously, though we still ended up with barley and lentils all over the floor *grin*.  All in all the girls greatly enjoyed their time with me, and were very proud to bring the gifts to school for their teachers!

Friendship Bean Soup Brooke - Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift - There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift

And of course, we tried out the soup ourselves for our Sunday afternoon lunch – it turned out well and everyone asked for seconds!

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Does buying teachers gifts fill you with anxiety too?


More DIY Christmas Gifts:

Because presents made with love are the best, cross off everyone on your Christmas list with these easy, personalized projects. They’ll love the results, but no one has to know about the time (and money!) you saved.

friendship bean soup mix in a jar - Friendship Bean Soup Mason Jar Gift - There is no need to be a Martha Stewart or a Julia Child to make this easy and thoughtful DIY gift in jar, simply purchase the ingredients, add them to the jar, and voila! You’ve got a hearty, tasty soup that any friend or teacher is sure to appreciate. #teachergift #jargift #soupmix #cheapchristmasgift

Friendship Bean Soup Mix in a Jar Recipe

Author: Janice
250kcal
5 from 9 votes
Pin Recipe Print Save
Friendship Bean Soup Mix in a Jar – Nothing says Mmmm Good like homemade soup! Make the Friendship Bean Soup mix ahead of time for a quick go-to dinner or give them out as gifts.
Course Easy Soup Ideas
Cuisine American

INGREDIENTS

Jar Ingredients

  • ¼ cup white navy beans
  • ¼ cup kidney beans
  • ¼ cup green split peas
  • ¼ cup pinto beans
  • 2 tbs. pearl barley
  • 2 tbs. parsley
  • 2 tbs. minced dry onion
  • 1-2 beef bouillon cubes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup alphabet pasta (we used insect pasta)
  • 1 pint jar
  • Stretchy ribbon
  • Sandwich bags
  • Single hole punch

Soup Ingredients

  • 6 cups water
  • 1 can tomato soup

EQUIPMENT

DIRECTIONS

Mix Directions
  1. Wash and thoroughly dry a 1-pint canning jar.
  2. Place the macaroni in a plastic sandwich bag.
  3. Place the minced onion, parsley, basil leaves and beef bouillion in a plastic sandwich bag.
  4. Layer the ingredients as level as possible in this order: white navey beans, kidney beans, green split peas, pinto beans, pearl barley, bagged seasonings and bagged pasta.
  5. Secure the lid and decorate the jar as desired. Be sure to attach the recipe for making the soup!
Soup Directions
  1. Wash beans and allow to soak overnight. Drain.
  2. Add 6 cups of water to beans and allow to cook through (simmer over medium heat until beans are soft).
  3. Add 1 can of tomato soup, pasta and seasonings.
  4. Let simmer another 20-30 min. Serve & enjoy!

NUTRITION

Serving4ServingsCalories250kcalCarbohydrates50gProtein10gFat2gPolyunsaturated Fat1gSodium561mgFiber7gSugar13g

NOTES

To make more than one jar, to determine how many of each bean you need for the quantity of jars you’re making, you would multiply the number of jars by the quantity of beans required for 1 jar. For this recipe you multiply 12 jars by 1/4 cup (.25 cups), so for 12 jars you will need 3 cups of each kind of bean.

Printable recipe card:

https://www.salads4lunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Friendship-Bean-Soup-Printable.pdf

PRIVATE NOTES

Click here to add your own private notes.

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Long photo collage of friendship soup mix in a jar and a little girl holding the jar gift.

Hello there! I'm Janice and I LOVE salads!! I’m also passionate about cooking EASY, healthy meals. Join me as I share and my family friendly recipes!

Janice Smith, B. Sc. Spec Honours (Kin), ATTH

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5 from 9 votes

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Recipe Rating




26 Comments

  1. “ Add 6 cups of water to beans and allow to cook
    through.” rough estimate as to HOW LONG?

    Reply

    1. Good question! You would simmer the beans over medium heat until beans are cooked through, approximately 45 min, however it is recommended that you check the beans often so that they are not over cooked.
      I originally posted this recipe in 2014 (my daughter in the photos is now 16!)

      Reply

  2. Could you use a can of diced tomatoes instead of the tomato soup????

    Reply

    1. I haven’t tried that, but I think it could work. It would change the flavour profile and the consistency as tomato soup and diced tomatoes are very different. If you use diced tomatoes you may want to add some tomato paste.

      Reply

  3. how many bags of beans did you have to get for 12 jars

    Reply

    1. To determine how many of each bean you need for the quantity of jars you’re making, you would multiply the number of jars by the quantity of beans required for 1 jar. For this recipe you multiply 12 jars by 1/4 cup (.25 cups), so for 12 jars you will need 3 cups of each kind of bean.

      Reply

  5. In the pic it show u using two whole bay leaves. But the recipe said 1 tbsp of bay leave. Confused. Do u mean 1tbsp of ground bay leave or should I use 2 whole leaves

    Reply

    1. Thanks for pointing out the descrepancy! Yes, it was 2 whole bay leaves, I have corrected the recipe card. The photo also incorrectly labelled the bay leaves as basil leaves. Although I made these jars a LONG time ago (the child in the photo is now 13), I distinctly remember that I used bay leaves.

      Reply
  6. Lamzalo.com says:

    For some reason I can t find the printable gift tag that is supposed to be included in this post for the Friendship Soup mix. Am I missing something, Can you tell me how to get it?

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! I had no idea that all of the images in this post were broken, I changed my site URL a few years ago and it seems that caused this. Here’s the URL for the printable recipe cards: https://www.salads4lunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/FriendshipBeanSoupPrintableRecipeCards.pdf I’ve updated the post with the images and printable recipe card. I’m going to also email you directly because I don’t know if my comment reply plugin is still working.

      Reply
  7. Karen Rose Stave says:

    For the additional ingredients, what kind of tomato soup do you mean? Does Campbell’s condensed tomato soup work? Or something else? Thank you!

    Reply

  9. Is it basil, or bay leaves for the ingredient?

    Reply
  10. Abby @ BackAtSquareZero says:

    As a teacher I would love to get a cute gift like this.

    Reply

  11. This is such a sweet idea! I know I’d appreciate it if my friends gave me this!

    Reply

  12. This is a great idea-healthy but pretty and easy to make AND to give. I love this. Pinned!

    Reply

  14. Hi Janice!
    The friendship bean soup sounds really healthy and delicious!
    Thats a great gift for anyone. Its affordable, yet so healthy! (Keep the teachers healthy) 🙂
    I loveeeee Bulk Barn too! I love it so much, that now my husband has to accompany me to BB, otherwise, I will spend the whole day there.

    Reply

    1. Bulk Barn is amazing!!! I need to find some time to go there over the holidays WITHOUT the kids so that I don’t end up with a bonus bag of gummy worms when I leave the store 🙂

      Reply
  15. Abby @BackatSquare0 says:

    Such a cute gift. I’d love getting something like this.

    Reply

  16. What a great idea!!! I like that this also looks pretty with the different colors!!!

    Reply