Friendship Soup Mix in a Jar Recipe

We're giving soup and brownie mixes for gifts this year and LOVE this soup! It has excellent flavor and texture (my husband is a chef, so we are particular about our dining). We only made a few modifications to the recipe--reduced rice to 1/4 cup (we used Jasmine rice), reduced tomatoes to 1 14.5 oz. can (28 oz. was just too much-- it overpowered the rest of the ingredients), and used 1 tbsp fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder. Perfect! I know it will be a big hit with our friends and family this year!

Great "Italian" tasting soup plus it makes a great gift idea. Gave these to both people who liked to cook and those who did not. It is so easy, anyone can make it. It made a lot when we tried it so it lasted for a few days at our house, but it seemed to taste better each day. I browned stew meat (cut into small cubes), tossed in flour and garlic powder and browned in a little olive oil. I used a smaller 15 oz can of diced tomatos and 2 cans of tomato sauce instead of paste. We garnished the soup with parmesan cheese on top and it was really good. I made these up as gifts, putting them in wide mouth quart size mason jars with Christmas fabric on top. I gave them in a holiday basket with cotton "snow" lining the basket. I added the tomato cans, a wooden spoon and a box of corn muffin mix along with the recipe card to make it a complete gift. These were a hit! Thanks for the recipe!

I received this soup as a gift for Christmas probably seven years ago, and it’s so tasty. The base recipe is perfect and allows for lots of creativity. Back when I first made this, I was a vegan, and this soup became a comfort food for me as a vegan dish, so I still make it that way. Here’s how I do it: I add 2-4 cans of stewed Italian tomatoes. They break down during cooking, so there’s no need to cut them up. I just use a spoon at the end of cooking to press any large pieces against the side of the pot with my spoon. Because I use these tomatoes, I don’t add Italian seasoning to the soup. I also add yellow potatoes and baby carrots. I cut small potatoes into quarters and add baby carrots whole. The baby carrots can be handled the same way as the tomatoes. Larger pieces cook at the same speed as the beans, so if you want these ingredients to be smaller, add them later. Russet potatoes really don’t work unless they’re peeled, but there’s something about the starchiness of the yellow potatoes that I love in this soup. I use 6 small potatoes and maybe a cup or two of baby carrots in half the recipe for this soup. I sun barley for pasta. Some have complained about the texture being “gelatinous,” which I’ve learned comes from the pasta. I don’t mind that texture, but I think the extra barley suits the soup better than the pasta anyway. I omit the beef and use Better Than Bouillon paste in either the vegetable flavor or the non-beef “beef” flavor. If making this in the jar

These are a nice presentation besides being very tasty. I left out the rice but added some dehydrated vegetables and used some yellow and some green lentils just to make more layers. Be sure to stress in the instructions to add the tomato toward the end of cooking. The lentils wont get soft otherwise. Tomato sauce is much better in it than tomato paste.

I halved the recipe but kept the same quantity of pearl barley. I left out the rice and used 1 x 14.5 ox can diced tomatoes (no salt added) and 1 x 8 oz can of tomato sauce in lieu of paste. I also used non sodium beef bouillon because many reviewers had said it tasted too salty. I will give this mix to friends as an Xmas gift, with a wooden spoon, a ladle and the can of tomatoes and tomato sauce. Heck, I may even throw in a loaf of bread and a nice soup bowl if I can afford it!

I got this a a gift and I made it. I have to admit, it was very bland. I almost dumped it. I decided to monkey around with it a bit before I did. I added 1 Tblsp salt, 2 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tblsp white wine vinegar and 2 tsp black pepper and simmered it for another 20 minutes. What a difference. I would definitely make it that way again.

Excellent tasting soup!! I would have given it five stars for taste, but my "issue" was with assembly. One reader had suggested putting the bouillon granules in the Mason jar first (followed by the dried peas). This made sense (so that the granules wouldn't settle down into the pea layer). However, when I made the soup I discovered the bouillon powder was rock solid and stuck to the bottom of the jar (I had to add some boiling water to dissolve and use it). I wouldn't think this would be any different had I followed the order of the layers as per the original recipe. Has anyone else experienced this? The bouillon seems to have absorbed moisture from the other ingredients. I made the recipe with the following adjustments: Decreased the bouillon to 1/4 cup; decreased the rice to 1/4 cup (although, next time I'm going to try the full 1/2 cup); increased the pasta to 3/4 cup (I couldn't find alphabet pasta so I used coloured rotini); 14 oz can diced tomatoes; and a 14 oz can tomato sauce (instead of paste). I'm giving them as Christmas gifts so am looking forward to others' opinions.

This is so delicious. It makes a lot of soup. If it is not going to beaten in one serving then I would cook the macaroni by itself. Add it cooked to bowl. Save what you don’t eat and keep separate. Freeze the rest of the soup in serving size containers. You can freeze macaroni separate too. Otherwise it will get mushy yuck. Great soup for a big family sit down.

I love this soup! Such great comfort food. I have used both hamburger and spicy bulk sausage for the meat and both are delicious. I also substitute Fire roasted tomatoes as I like the smoky flavor and it adds a little bit of a thick and if I want more spice? I add a little Tabasco. But that also can be added at the table. If not everyone likes spice. I also leave out the pasta I end up freezing some of this since it makes a nice big batch and I just don’t care for the texture of the pasta after it’s been frozen. A little grated Parmesan cheese on top is yummy too, and served with a crusty French or ciabatta baguette is all you need!

I thought this was very good. Followed the suggestions of others reduced the tomatos to 15 oz, and instead of tomato paste, substituted 15 oz. of tomato sauce. Also reduced beef bouillon to 3 TBS. I made 25 batches for Christmas gifts. Instead of using jars, I just used quart sized zip-lock bags, and a small sandwich bag for the pasta, that fit into the quart-sized bag with everything else. I also supplied the cans of diced tomatos tomato sauce, so all they needed to buy was 1# of ground beef. I put it all in a nice gift bag, with 2 packages of corn bread mix to make and serve with the soup. A complete meal gift (except for the beef!) My friends and family loved it.

This was wonderful! I tried it with both beef and chicken, and while I prefer the chicken, my family prefered the beef. I just used left over chicken, and used the chicken bouillon. Very good. My one issue was when I rinsed the peas,lentils, and barly they did not dry well which caused my bouillon to absorb the moisture in the jar. It stuck to the bottom of the jar, so I had to add more when making the soup. Also I had to buy jars and the 2 pint size worked just fine, I upped the pasta to 2/3rds cup. This makes great gifts!!1 I also used a 15 oz can of tomato sauce, and a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes.

Didn’t expect it to taste this amazing.

Great recipe, so good. I added diced celery, frozen corn, and frozen peas and carrots, plus a dash or two of chili powder. My wife got the soup as a Christmas gift, but I'll definitely make it again!

Bea, my dear, where did you find the label? It's beautiful! Love the apothecary jar. It makes this a double gift!

It was SOOOO good! I made for friends to give as gifts after I tried it myself. Presentation was beautiful and soup was amazing!

I always prep 4 jars and keep them in the pantry for cold winter weeks. This is great for a warm lunch or dinner. We typically use ground turkey and season it with fresh garlic and onion. YUM!

Family Enjoyed this Making a couple for Christmas Gifts Child to Grandparents :)

I was thinking of making a few of these up to give out this Christmas, so I sampled one this afternoon first. It makes such a pretty jar as well as tasting pretty good too.

I wanted to taste before gift giving. Very good, but I think additions like pablano or jalapeño peppers would be a good addition for extra flavor. Shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream or cream cheese make good toppers.

I’ve made this soup 3 times now. Love the flavor, but the split peas never soften. I’ll either have to start omitting them or precooking them. Don’t care for crunchy split peas!